Twenty-four groups were honored with Innovation Leadership Awards during a ceremony held last Friday by HOTCoffee, Huntsville's longest running meet-up of startup entrepreneurs. Recipients were praised for their work this past year in helping create a startup ecosystem in Huntsville that is vibrant, inclusive, and promotes a high quality of life for all. Also recognized at the ceremony were the top three groups in the private, public, and social sectors, respectively, as determined by the HOTCoffee community. The full rankings are listed below. "The community nominated 24 extraordinary contributions to building the startup ecosystem here in Huntsville, and that is just phenomenal," says Dr. John Whitman, visiting professor and interim director of The University of Alabama in Huntsville's Innovation, Commercialization, and Entrepreneurship (ICE) Lab. "We are looking forward to even more exciting initiatives in 2015."