The Murphy Enterprise Center is awarding Ross Perot with the 2005 Murphy Award for his lifetime of achievement at the Jerry Durant of Family Dealerships Leadership Luncheon.

The luncheon is from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Friday at the Dallas Fairmont Hotel.

"Ross Perot is the quintessential entrepreneur," said Eileen Curry Resnik, Murphy Enterprise Center director. "He started his business with $1,000 that he borrowed from his wife and later sold it for $2.5 billion."

Perot, a native Texan, joined the U.S. Naval Academy in 1949 and was class president, chairman of the honor committee and battalion commander. In 1953, after leaving the Navy, Perot worked in sales for IBM and became a top employee. Perot left IBM and founded Electronic Database Systems in Dallas, one of the world's largest technology services firms.

Fortune magazine deemed Perot as the "fastest, richest Texan" in a 1968 cover story, according to http://www.famoustexans.com.

Perot is known for his involvement in public policy issues, leading efforts to reform public schools in Texas and running for president of the United States twice.

"I hope when I go to the luncheon I get to know more people that are going to be in the field that I want to work in, in the future," said Nicole Courtney, Wright Entrepreneurial intern. "It's all about networking."

The Murphy Enterprise Center is part of the Department of Management at NT. It exists to help students with new business opportunities. For the second year in a row, the center was recognized as one of the Top 100 Entrepreneurial Colleges and Universities by Entrepreneur magazine.

The luncheon will also recognize the Wright Interns and their employers, scholarship winners and the winners of the new Venture Creation Contest.

The contest rewards money to students with the best business plans, to bring those plans to life.

Award winners are chosen based on integrity, leadership, business growth, entrepreneurial spirit, and contributions to business and community.

The Wright Entrepreneurial Intern program is for students who want to own their own business, regardless of their major. Students gain exposure to the many dimensions of an entrepreneurial environment through real-world entrepreneurial activities.

"Before I was a Wright intern, I didn't think much about entrepreneurship - but after being in the program, I've seen first-hand the benefits and all the great things you can do," Courtney said.

Baseball Hall of Fame member Tommy Lasorda is the event's keynote speaker. Lasorda is known as one of the most famous managers in baseball history. Lasorda has been with the Los Angeles Dodgers for 56 years as a scout, coach, manager and, now, executive.

"If there is a living person who personifies baseball, it would have to be Lasorda," Resnik said.

Tickets for the luncheon are on sale at the Murphy Enterprise Center and are $75 for students and $125 for faculty and staff of NT.

"The luncheon is open to the public and generally they are corporate executives, small business owners, entrepreneurs and NT alum," Resnik said.

The center is located on the third floor of the Business Administration Building, suite 328. For more information on the MEC or how to become a Wright Entrepreneurial intern for 2006, visit the center's Web site at http://www.MurphyCenter.unt.edu or call (940) 565-2848.

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