The following professionals have been named committee chairs for the final judging of the 2012 Stevie® Awards for Sales & Customer Service. Finalists will be notified on January 25 and announced on January 26.

Final judging will begin on January 30 and run for two weeks. 2012 winners will be announced at the 6th annual sales and customer service awards banquet on February 27 at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas.

In total, more than 100 judges will participate in this year's final judging for the sales and customer service awards. Thank you to all of our judges for their participation.

Sales Achievement Chair: 
Jason Copeland, Senior Manager, National Sales Group, SurePayroll, Inc., Glenview, Illinois

 

Sales Department & Sales Team Chair:
Raj Hajela, Co-founder and Chief Revenue Officer,  Salesify,
Redwood City, California

 

Sales Individual & Solutions Provider Chair: 
William Binch, SVP Sales, Marketo,
San Mateo, California

 

 

 

Customer Service/Call Center Individual & Customer Service/ Call Center Team Chair:
Carita Vallinkoski, Expansion Management, Competence Call Center AG,
Vienna, Austria

 

 

Customer Service/ Call Center Department Chair:
Susan Cloutier, Operations Manager, Mayo Medical Laboratories,
Rochester, Minnesota

 

Customer Service Achievement Chair:
Cameron E. Hurst, Vice President, Assurant Solutions,
Asheville, North Carolina

 

New Product & Service Chair:
Ben Saren, Vice President, Marketing, Litle & Co,
Lowell, Massachusetts

 

 

Next week we will publish the names of our committee members.

Today, January 18, is the final entry deadline for the 2012 (6th annual) Stevie® Awards for Sales & Customer Service, the world's premier customer service awards, contact center awards, and sales awards.

If you have not yet requested your 2012 entry kit, you can download your entry kit here. For your convenience, we have also made a helpful video tutorial on how to successfully enter submissions here. 

The Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service has over 90 categories to honor sales excellence  and good customer service for individuals, teams, and departments. We also have new categories this year for products, service, and solution providers. Types of business awards categories include:

• Sales Individuals
• Sales Team
• Sales Achievement
• Sales Department
• Customer Service & Contact Center Individual
• Customer Service & Contact Center Team
• Customer Service & Contact Center Achievement
• Customer Service Department
• New Product & Service
• Solution Provider

All 2012 sales awards and customer service awards Finalists will be notified on January 25th. As part of our 10 year anniversary celebration, Finalists will be recognized as Gold, Silver or Bronze Stevie Award winners. Winners will be announced at the 6th annual sales and customer service awards banquet at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas on February 27th.

If you have questions about the 2012 Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service, please email us at help@stevieawards.com or call us at +1 703-547-8389.

In celebration of the 10th anniversary of the start of the Stevie® Awards, we will introduce Silver and Bronze Stevie Awards at our 6th annual Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service banquet. Henceforth, all honorees in Stevie Awards programs will be Gold, Silver, or Bronze Stevie Award winners. (Entries for our 2012 sales and customer service awards, which honor good customer service and sales excellence, are still being accepted. The last day to submit entries is this Wednesday, January 18; download your entry kit here.)

Finalists that receive the top scoring qualifying entry in each category will receive a Gold Stevie Award.  Finalists that receive a final average score of at least 8.0 out of a possible 10 will be named Silver Stevie Award winners. All other Finalists will be designated as Bronze Stevie Award winners.

Gold Stevie winners will automatically receive a Gold Stevie trophy.  Silver and Bronze Stevie winners will automatically receive a Silver or Bronze medal and will have the option to purchase their Stevie trophy. With the introduction of our new business awards distinctions, there will no longer be Finalist certificates.

Finalists at The 2012 Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service banquet will be the first to receive our new corporate awards distinctions. The annual banquet will be held on February 27 at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas.

How will your organization strive to win a Gold Stevie Award?

In order to better serve our website visitors, The Stevie® Awards has updated and improved the search function on our websites.

Our newly added search function powered by Google provides:

1. Easier access to information
   Now, searching on any one of our four awards program web sites - The American Business Awards, The International Business Awards, The Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service, and The Stevie Awards for Women in Business – will produce consolidated, fresh search results from all four sites.
   
2. Consolidated search results
   With search results provided by Google, you’ll find what you’re looking for faster and in a format you’re accustomed to.

To access our search powered by Google, enter your keywords in the "Search Site" box at the top of any Stevie Awards webpage and hit enter.

Have you tried our new site search? Let us know what you think!  

The second early-bird deadline for The American Business Awards is today, Wednesday, December 14.Here are the first steps to help you start the submission process for The 2012 American Business Awards:

1. Get your entry kit here.
2. Review the 2012 ABA categories. We have dozen of possible categories including awards for organizations, teams, departments, and individuals as well as awards for websites, videos, blogs, apps, live events, and much more.
3. Review past winners' entries here. They're great models for how you should write your entries.
4. Make the most out of your submissions and learn how to submit winning entries here.

Have questions? Contact us at help@stevieawards.com; we'd love to help you get started on your 2012 submissions!

Not going to make the early-bird deadline? Don't worry - the next ABA deadline is March 28, 2012!

As the December 14 early-bird deadline for The 2012 American Business Awards approaches, we encourage everyone to submit their entries for the 2012 ABAs. Get your entry kit here.

Below are the top 10 reasons why you should enter:

1. Improve employee morale.  
   Applying for The Stevie® Awards is a simple and affordable way to recognize your organization and employees.
2. Impress potential clients.
   Your work will not only be reviewed and honored by peers and competitors, but also by potential clients!  Use the American Business Awards categories to show off your work and achievements.
3. Global recognition and free publicity.   
   Gold Stevie Award winners will have the opportunity to make a 30-second acceptance speech before an audience of 600+ executives from across the country during a nationally-broadcast awards dinner that will also be streamed worldwide over the Internet.
4. Company size equality.  
   You don't have to be a big company to win a Stevie!  Small organizations have an equal opportunity to win Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevies.
5. Access to your industry's leaders.  
   Many of the world's top business leaders will review your nominations during the judging process.
6. Flexible categories and newly-added categories.
   There are dozens of business award categories for individuals, companies, teams and departments as well as new categories to recognize websites, blogs, and apps!  Our ABA categories include acknowledgement of exceptional management and finance,  marketing and public relations, product development, customer service, and human resources.
7. Low entry fees. 
   The publicity that comes with winning a Stevie Award is well worth the low entry fees.
8. Earn industry status.
   The ABA is a great way to benchmark your achievements against competitors in your industry.
9. Oscar-like trophies.
   The Stevie Award trophies are among the most coveted prizes in the world and are produced by the creators of the Oscars. And now there's more of them, with the introduction of Silver and Bronze Stevies.
10. The Stevie Awards are the world's premier business awards. 
    You and your team deserve the kind of positive recognition that comes with being a Stevie Awards recipient.

What's your number one reason for applying for The American Business Awards?

There will be two ceremonies held to celebrate The 2012 American Business Awards- our traditional banquet in New York City on June 18, and our new tech awards ceremony in San Francisco in September (date and setting TBD). Tickets for both of these events will go on sale in mid-May. (Entries are now being accepted for The 2012 American Business Awards, get your entry kit here.)

Categories being celebrated in New York City include:

• Annual Report Awards & Other Literature Categories
• Corporate Communications, Investor Relations, & Public Relations Awards Categories
• Customer Service Awards Categories
• Human Resources Awards Categories
• Live Event Awards Categories
• Support Awards Categories
• Video Awards Categories

Categories being celebrated in San Francisco include:

• App Awards Categories
• Company / Organization Awards Categories
• Information Technology Awards Categories
• New Product Awards & Product Management Categories
• Web Site Awards Categories

Awards  in the company / organization awards, marketing awards, and management awards categories will be announced in New York City or San Fransisco, depending on the category. See a complete list of all ABA categories.

Which 2012 American Business Awards categories will you be applying for? 

The first early-bird deadline for The 2012 American Business Awards, the largest of The Stevie Awards programs, is this Wednesday, November 16th. To be considered for the first early-bird deadline, submit your entries by 11:59PM Wednesday night.

How to Enter:

1. Request the Entry Kit.  Once emailed to you, the kit will be your guide on everything you'll need to know about how to prepare and submit your entries.
   
   
2. Pick who you would like to recognize and what for. There are hundreds of categories to choose from as well as awards for individuals, teams, and departments. Click here to see the entire list of categories.
   
   
3. Don't panic if you're not going to make the deadline, the second early-bird deadline is December 14. Click here to see the ABA's calendar.  

Entries submitted after the early-bird deadline will not be penalized in any way in the judging process. Preliminary judging will begin in April after the final entry deadline of April 25, 2012.  

Who do you know that should be nominated in the American Business Awards?

Artitudes Design Inc., of Issaquah, Washington, USA received a Stevie Award for Corporate Social Responsibility Program of the Year in The 2011 American Business Awards. The same program also won in the 2010 Stevie Awards for Women in Business. (Entries are now being accepted for the 2012 ABAs - get your entry kit.)

As the CEO and Creative Principal of Artitudes Design Inc., Andrea Heuston
strongly believes in creating and cultivating a culture of giving back to the community. Because art programs have been consistently cut from the curriculum, teachers and schools look to the community to fill this growing gap. Heuston has responded by providing arts education to local elementary schools through the company’s Artitudes in Action: Art Docent Campaign.  We asked Heuston about her crusading efforts to keep art in the classroom.

Why is art such an important subject for young children?
Every child learns differently. Art has been proven to help develop problem solving and critical thinking skills as well as cognitive and creative skills. Our main goal is to educate children in a variety of mediums such as painting, drawing, sculpture, and movement so we can reach those with different strengths and abilities. We need to give children as many tools as possible to make them as successful as possible. With school budget deficits, art is one of the first subjects to be cut.  We all need to step up and help wherever public school systems need the support.

How can non-design companies help support projects such as the Artitudes Art Docent Campaign?
There are several ways that people can help support our cause in their own communities. Volunteering at local schools as an art docent is a great way to give back. Most schools have art docent programs, but not many have enough parent volunteers and supplies to sustain the programs. If you are unable to volunteer, consider helping spread the word, or donate supplies to schools in your area.

What are Artitudes Design’s plans for the future of the Art Docent Campaign?
Our plan is to remain small, but to reach more students each school year. We would like to raise awareness in our community, and to people everywhere.  We would love to see more volunteers donating their time so the task isn't left only to small programs like ours. Awareness is one of our main goals. We hope that if more people are made aware of the need for art education it will encourage more people to get involved in their local schools.

About the Art Docent Campaign
Since 2007, graphic design firm Artitudes has partnered with Seattle-area schools, working with them to select classes with the greatest need for art instruction. The company’s employees then volunteer their time as art docents, allowing them to give something back to the community about which they are passionate: Art.

These aren’t your typical art docents, however. Team members create sample art projects, write lesson plans, purchase supplies or use recycled materials, coordinate with an elementary school, and then teach the lesson to the class. If classes are focusing on a specific topic, such as the Lewis & Clark expedition, the docents will tailor their lesson plans to that subject. Recently, a fifth grade class was learning about impressionism, so the docents created a project based on Monet’s landscapes. The lesson included tearing magazines into pieces and creating an impressionistic landscape on paper.

Artitudes focuses on using recycled materials in its instruction. This helps
keep out-of-pocket costs low, is environmentally conscious, and allows students
to recreate the projects in their own time for very little cost. Every child
has a unique learning style and creative strength, therefore the company works
with different tools and mediums, including painting, drawing, and
sculpture.

A Growing Challenge
The biggest challenge that Artitudes foresees is keeping up with the growing
demand for arts education in schools. Washington State has a budget shortfall of over $2 billion, and school funding is already being impacted. Artitudes believes it is now even more critical to grow the art docent program to reach more students; but that this can only be achieved through continued media outreach, donations of time and money, and the creation of a non-profit organization dedicated to championing basic arts education.

Art instruction is an essential tool in the development of a child.  It is a
critical building block in developing cognitive and creative skills.  The Artitudes Art Docent Campaign is just one program that will keep art inspiration alive so that the children of today become the artists and graphic designers of tomorrow. 

About Andrea Heuston
Andrea Heuston, CEO & Creative Principal of Artitudes Design, has over 20 years of experience in the graphic design industry. She established Artitudes in 1995. Heuston strongly believes in giving back to the community and focuses on advocating for the prevention of child abuse and on promoting arts education. She serves as a Board of Director with the non-profit organization Olive Crest, is a member of Entrepreneurs’ Organization, and serves on the Executive Committee of NW Next Leaders Council.

About Artitudes Design
Artitudes Design Inc. is a full service graphic design firm that specializes in executive communications within the high tech, retail, and non-profit verticals through customized presentations, marketing, motion graphics, and branding solutions. Founded in 1995, Artitudes currently employs 15 people. For more information go to www.artitudesdesign.com.

How is your organization engaging with your local community?

The following professionals participated in the preliminary judging of the 2011 (8th annual) Stevie Awards for Women in Business in September-October. Their average scores determined the Finalists. We thank them for their interest, time, and insights. This year's Stevie Awards winners will be announced at an awards ceremony at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City on Friday, November 11. Learn more about the event and reserve your table today.

Amal Al-Najjar, Human Resources Supervisor, Fluor Corporation Ahmadi, Kuwait
Ebony Bain, Miss, Plan it Well, Edmonton, United Kingdom
Virginia Balcom, Marketing Director, Lighthaus Logic, Vancouver, Canada
Maxim Behar, CEO, M3 Communications Group, Inc., Sofia, Bulgaria
Susan Benton Russell, Founder, Benton Communications, Inc., Hermosa Beach, CA, USA
Carolyn Betts, CEO, Betts Recruiting, San Francisco, CA, USA
Daniel J G G, Block, PhD, Chaplain, U.S. Army (retired), La Farge, WI, USA
Tya Bolton, CEO / Admistrative Extraordinaire!, Exceptional Business Solutions, LLC, Columbia, MD, USA
Marcia Brand, President, Creative Marketing Concepts, Inc., Alexandria, VA, USA
Jean Brandolini Lamb, Director, Global Branding SAP, New York, NY, USA
Crystal Brown-Tatum, CEO/President, Crystal Clear Communications, Shreveport, LA, USA
Debbie Champion, Attorney at Law, Rynearson Suess Schnurbusch &Champion, St. Louis, MO, USA
Pamela Clark, Founder/Executive Director, New Heights Educational Group, Defiance, OH, USA
Etta Cohen, Founder, Forward Ladies, Leeds, United Kingdom
Maria Coyne, Executive VP, KeyBank, Cleveland, OH, USA
Christine Dunn, Founder, Savoir Media, Belmont, MA, USA
Rochelle Ekanayake, Managing Director, MrPierce Studios International Asia (pvt) LTD, Colombo, Sri Lanka
Diane Emo, VP Marketing, Coverall North America Inc., Boca Raton, FL, USA
Lori Ericson, Product Planning Development, Epicor Software, Denver, CO, USA
Patricia Garcia, Experience Architect, Critical Mass, Aurora, IL, USA
Lorretta Gasper, Director Corporate Communications and Investor Relations, CDC Software, Atlanta, GA, USA
Barb Girson, Owner, My Sales Tactics, Columbus, OH, USA
Audrey Godwin, Managing Member, The Godwin Group, PLLC, Renton, WA, USA
Julie Gordon White, CEO / Broker, BlueKey Business Brokerage M&A, Berkeley, CA, USA
Aileen Gorman, Executive Director, Commonwealth Institute, Boston, MA, USA
Renda Hawwa, Corporate Communications, IntelligentMDx, Cambridge, MA, USA
Ruwena Healy, President, Marketing 24/7, Inc., Trussville, AL, USA
Charity Herb, Online Content Administrator, American Greetings, Cleveland, OH, USA
Robyne Highsmith, Founder, Teen Dare To Dream Program, Zionsville, IN, USA
Dr. Kate Darcy Hohenthal, Founder, The Birthday Club, Manchester, CT, USA
Marie Holliday, EFT-AAMET, President, EFT Spain, Murcia, Spain
Jennifer Houston, President, WE Studio D™, Waggener Edstrom Worldwide, Bellevue, WA, USA
Rebecca Jones, Senior Marketing Manager, The Retail Outsource, Coral Gables, FL, USA
Rose Jurczewski, Owner, Funxion Fuzion, Roselle, IL, USA
Patricia Marie Kelly, Owner, Marie Kelly Unlimited, Algonquin, IL, USA
Laura Kerr, Project Principal, Sabre Airline Solutions, Southlake, TX, USA
Roja Kolachina, CEO, Synerteq, Inc., Rockville, MD, USA
Rafal Kucharski, Advertising Manager, Wytwornia Mebli, Swarzedz , Poland
Rebecca Lane, Miss, Epitome Health and Beauty, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom
Jill Liberman, President, L'Posh Beauty, Boca Raton, FL, USA
Katherine Macaluso, President, A.M. Engineering and Testing, Inc., Port St. Lucie, FL, USA
Sheila Marcelo, Founder & CEO Care.com, Waltham, MA, USA
Carol Marx, Past President, American Agri-Women, Rickreall, OR, USA
Georgia McCabe, Sr. Partner, Brownstein & McCabe Associates, Englewood, FL, USA
Jeannine McHenry, Art Director/Principle, J. McHenry Design, Marina Del Rey, CA, USA
Colin McKillop, Chief Executive Officer, Butcher Enterprises, Windsor, ON, Canada
Sharon Metzung, Publications & Graphics Manager, Lake Metroparks, Concord Township, OH, USA
Lisa Miller, Principal, LaineGabriel, Columbus, OH, USA
Hannah Montroy, Enterprise Business Process Improvement Facilitator, Shamrock Foods Company, Commerce City, CO, USA
Judy Musgrove, Owner, Cover To Cover, Sacramento, CA, USA
Pat Mussieux, Founder, Wealthy Women Leaders, London, ON, Canada
Wendy Nolin, VP of Marketing, TalentGuard, Austin, TX, USA
Dolly Oberoi, CEO, C2 Technologies, Inc., Vienna, VA, USA
Wendy O'Donnell, Manager, Training and Delivery, UnitedHealth Group, Costa Mesa, CA, USA
Elizabeth Ojeda, President, Collective Solutions & Services, Denver, CO, USA
Mark O'Toole, Senior Vice President, The Castle Group, Inc., Boston, MA, USA
Michael Parrillo, QA Manager, Lapp Group, Florham Park, NJ, USA
Harish Pillai, COO, Indus Health Plus Pvt. Ltd., Pune, India
Kim Pita, Managing Principal, Pita Communicaitons LLC, Rocky Hill, CT, USA
Penny Pompei, National Executive Director, Women Construction Owners & Executives USA, Alexandria, VA, USA
Toni Potter, Director, Technica, Dulles, VA, USA
Frank Powell, President, Horizon Radiology/NightForce Radiology/PetRays, The Woodlands, TX, USA
Vicky Prior, Writer, Editor & Communications Consultant, Vicky Prior Communications, London, United Kingdom
Jesintha Rajaratnam, Partner, Joje India Consultants - Finance & HR FZC, Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates
Fanjarivo Rakotonirina, President, Tropical Items Madagascar, LLC, Boulder, CO, USA
Shenan Reed, Managing Director, Morpheus Media, New York, NY, USA
Dennis Reno, Vice President, Customer Experience, Oracle, San Francisco, CA, USA
Sandra Rinomato, Toronto, ON, Canada
Gyan Saxena, Chief Operating Officer, DatamanUSA, LLC, Denver, CO, USA
Amy Scarlino, President & COO, Catchpole Corporation, Wellesley, MA, USA
Aysegul Seferoglu, External Communications Coordinator, Effect PR, Istanbul, Turkey
Nora Senior, Executive Chair UK Regions and Ireland, Weber Shandwick, Edinburg, United Kingdom
Roz Sohnen, Producer/Director Roz Sohnen Productions, LLC, Brooklyn, NY, USA
Misty Stocksdale, Brand Navigator, Blacktop, Kansas City, MO, USA
Caroline Storey-Sabetti, Executive Director, Marketing, Staff Management | SMX, Chicago, IL, USA
Heena Sunil Bulchandani, Specialist-Training & Development, DEWA, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Letty Swank, Founder, GiftwrapperZ, Los Gatos, CA, USA
Stephanie Taylor, Marketing Director, Promark Financial, Santa Ana, CA, USA
Jacqueline Teo, General Manager, Programme Management Office, FOXTEL, Putney, Australia
Hilary Topper, CEO, HJMT, Melville, NY, USA
Veronique Topping Knight, Web Developer, WomanOwnedNewYork.com, New York, NY, USA
Lynn Walk, Office Manager, Health Revenue Assurance Associates, Inc., Plantation, FL, USA
Wendy Weidenbaum, President and CEO, Weidenbaum Development, New York, NY, USA
Julia Zamorska, VP of Corporate Communications, iolo technologies, Los Angeles, CA, USA
Joseph Zitzelberger, Director of Manufacturing Development, PACCAR Inc., Chillicothe, OH, USA