The 2016 (14th Annual) American Business Awards judging committees have been announced. There are 11 judging committees this year, each reviewing entries from respective category groups. Today we will highlight the Live Events Awards judging chair and committee.

The American Business Awards are widely considered to be the premier business awards program in the U.S.A. All organizations operating in the U.S.A. are eligible to submit nominations -- public and private, for-profit and non-profit, large and small.  The 2016 awards  honor achievements since the beginning of 2015.  Entry details are available at http://www.StevieAwards.com/ABA. The extended final entry deadline is Tuesday, April 19.

REVIEW THE ENTRY KIT HERE.

Judging Chair:

Staci Johnson, Vice President of Marketing
Roth Staffing Companies, L.P., Orange, California, USA

Staci Johnson is the Vice President of Marketing for Roth Staffing Companies, one of the largest privately held staffing companies in the country. She heads the corporate marketing department and all its functions, including campaigns, website creation, digital marketing, email catalogs, social media, live events, virtual events, public relations, newsletters, branding … if it gets communicated, it goes through Staci’s Marketing team.

Staci was the recipient of the 2015 Gold Stevie Award for Marketing Executive of the Year. With her help, Roth Staffing Companies has been honored by Fortune as a 100 Best Workplaces for Women and 50 Best Small & Medium Workplaces, as well as Best Staffing Firms to Work For by Staffing Industry Analysts, and Best of Staffing for both Client and Talent Satisfaction by Inavero and CareerBuilder. Staci’s Marketing team has been lauded with VOICE Awards from the American Staffing Association for five consecutive years and referred to as the best Marketing department in the industry.  The team has also been recognized with B2B Marketing Awards.

Committee:

Jarie Bolander, COO
Lab Sensor Solutions, San Francisco, California, USA
Jarie is an engineering by training and an entrepreneur by nature with over 20 years of bring innovative solutions to market. He is currently the COO of Lab Sensor Solutions, a digital health company that is applying sensor technology to track clinical samples to prevent spoilage.

Marc Charles, Vice President, Director of Business Leadership
Momentum Worldwide, New York, New York, USA
Marc leads the team with over 10 years of agency experience working on a diverse roster of brands. He is an accomplished luxury, automotive, and multicultural marketing executive with a proven ability to drive measurable business results. His focus on innovative strategic solutions building brand equity , driving scale and maximizing ROI help move his agency and clients forward. He has held roles on account categories from Sports and Television to Financial Services and Technology.

Erin Farrell Talbot, Founder & President
Farrell Talbot Consulting, New York, New York, USA
Erin Farrell Talbot has 20+ years of public relations experience with firms ranging from start-­ups to Fortune 100 companies. Having held key roles in corporate communications departments and public relations agencies, she has developed keen insights and perspectives as a communications and media relations strategist.

Katherine Goldman, SVP, Executive Creative Director
Jack Morton Worldwide, New York, New York, USA
Katherine Goldman is SVP, Executive Creative Director at Jack Morton Worldwide in New York. There she has led strategy development and creative application for major clients including Verizon, IBM, UPS, Pitney Bowes, The Wall Street Journal, Goldman Sachs, CA Technologies, Panasonic and Xerox.

Gerald Huesch, President & CEO
Global Leadership School, Durmersheim, Germany
Senat der Wirtschaft, CEO Global Leadership School, CEO Deutsche Gesellschaft für Stressmanagement mbH: "The business world is complicated. There are no 1 : 1 equations anymore. We need to synchronize our leadership and collaboration for any task, project or transformation - to avoid deadly double and blind work." Gerald Huesch offers this global evidence based leadership system.

Philip Larson, Senior Producer
inVNT, Washington, D.C., USA
Phil Larson is a Senior Producer with one of the leading brand communications agencies in the world: INVNT. Specializing in creative services, meetings & events, media & digital, and branded environments, he’s collaborated and produced experiences for a wide range of clients that include: PepsiCo, Merck, SHRM, Subway, and MetLife.

David Saef, Executive Vice President, MarketWorks & Strategy, CTSM
Global Experience Specialists (GES), Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

Live Event categories to be judged include:

G01. Best Brand Experience Event
G02. Best Consumer Event (e.g. auto show, boat show, health & fitness expo, etc.)
G03. Best Exhibition Display, Stand or Feature
G04. Best Tradeshow or Convention
G05. Best Association Event or Meeting
G06. Best Corporate Image Event
G07. Best New Product Introduction Event
G08. Best Internal Recognition/Motivational Event
G09. Best Public Relations Event

The Stevie® Awards, organizer of The American Business Awards, announced today that the final entry deadline for the 14^th annual ABA competition has been extended to April 19. No additional late fees will be charged. Entries submitted through April 19 will not be penalized in any way in the judging process.

“We’ve received so many requests for individual deadline extensions that we’ve decided to extend the deadline for everyone,” said Stevie Awards president Michael Gallagher. The original final deadline was March 16.

GET THE ENTRY KIT HERE.

The American Business Awards are widely considered to be the premier business awards program in the U.S.A. All organizations operating in the U.S.A. are eligible to submit nominations -- public and private, for-profit and non-profit, large and small.  The 2016 awards will honor achievements since the beginning of 2015.  Entry details are available at http://www.StevieAwards.com/ABA.

The American Business Awards recognize achievement in every facet of the workplace. Categories include:

• Management Awards
• Company of the Year Awards
• Customer Service Awards
• Human Resources Awards
• Information Technology Awards
• Marketing Awards
• New Product Awards
• Public Relations Awards
• Website Awards, Smartphone and Tablet Apps, and other Media Awards

New categories in the ABAs this year include Minority-Owned Business of the Year and Veteran-Owned Business of the Year.

Close to 200 executives worldwide will determine the Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Award winners. The judging process has begun.

Stevie winners will be announced on May 2, and the awards will be presented at a gala banquet on June 20 at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City. Attendance is not required to win.

The list of past Stevie Award winners in The American Business Awards reads like a who’s who of innovation and business success in the U.S.A. Explore the list of past winners here.

About The Stevie Awards
The Stevie Awards are conferred in six programs: The American Business Awards, the German Stevie Awards, The International Business Awards, the Stevie Awards for Women in Business, the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service, and the Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards. A seventh program, the Stevie Awards for Great Employers, will debut this spring. Honoring organizations of all types and sizes and the people behind them, the Stevies recognize outstanding performances in the workplace worldwide. Learn more about the Stevie Awards at http://www.StevieAwards.com, and follow the Stevie Awards on Twitter @TheStevieAwards

Winners in the tenth annual Stevie® Awards for Sales & Customer Service, recognized as the world's top honors for business development, contact center, customer service, and sales professionals, were unveiled on Friday night at a gala ceremony in Las Vegas, Nevada attended by more than 500 executives from around the world.

The complete list of Stevie winners by category is available at http://www.StevieAwards.com/Sales.

DP DHL, with Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Award wins for their operations in 29 countries, won the Grand Stevie Award trophy as the most honored organization in the competition for the third year in a row. Other organizations that took home Grand Stevies, in recognition of the sheer number of awards they won, include Carbonite, Inc., Delta Air Lines, eMoney Advisor, LLC, GuideWell Connect, iHeartMedia, John Hancock Financial Services, Lennox Industries, Inc., Marriott Vacations Worldwide, Sales Partnerships, Inc., and Visualize.

Carbonite and GuideWell Connect were the top winners of Gold Stevies, with five each. Winners of four Gold Stevies include Cisco Systems, HomeServe USA, Lennox Industries, Sales Partnerships, and WePay, Inc. eMoney Advisor,  and iHeartMedia, each won three Gold Stevie Awards.

Winners in the People’s Choice Stevie® Awards for Favorite Customer Service, a worldwide public vote, were announced in February, and were presented to winners during the ceremony.

The presentations were broadcast live via Livestream, and the recording is available to watch online.

More than 2,100 nominations from organizations of all sizes and in virtually every industry were evaluated in this year’s competition, an increase of 11% over 2015. Finalists were determined by the average scores of 115 professionals worldwide, acting as preliminary judges. Entries were considered in 59 categories for customer service and contact center achievements, including Contact Center of the Year, Award for Innovation in Customer Service, and Consulting Practice of the Year; more than 50 categories for sales and business development achievements, ranging from Senior Sales Executive of the Year to Business Development Achievement of the Year; and categories to recognize new products and services and solution providers.

More than 70 members of seven specialized final judging committees determined the Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Award placements from among the Finalists.

The Stevie Awards are delighted to announce the eleven distinguished professionals who will chair the judging committees of The 2016 (14th annual) American Business Awards.

The American Business Awards are the premier business awards program in the U.S.A., with categories to recognize achievement in every facet of work life, from management to marketing, human resources to new products and websites.

The eleven committee chair selections are based on the categories that will be judged. Judging chairs helped to form their committees, each of which will be comprised of 10-20 other executives. 

Winners in this year's American Business Awards will be announced on
May 2.  Judging will take place from late March through April. Winners will be celebrated at an awards banquet in New York City on June 20.  Tickets will go on sale May 2.

 Here are this year's final judging committee chairs.

COMPANY/ORGANIZATION

Chair:
Robert Frost, Vice President, Customer Care
Carbonite, Inc., Boston, Massachusetts

Rob Frost is Vice President, Customer Care for Carbonite, a leading provider of hybrid backup (cloud and local) and recovery solutions for home users and businesses. Rob is hyper-focused on customer satisfaction and sets the highest standards for customer service. As VP of Customer Care, Rob and his award-winning, global customer care team continually strive to make sure every customer interaction is a positive experience.

Prior to joining Carbonite, Rob was Director of Client Services and Technical Support at Intronis. Rob also served as Senior Director of Support and Global Client Relations at Acronis, where he spent three years in Moscow, Russia, delivering global support in nine languages.

MANAGEMENT

Chair:
Jay Starkman, CEO
Engage PEO, Hollywood, Florida

In 2011, after more than two decades marked by substantial achievement within and outside the Professional Employer Organization (PEO) industry, Jay set out to build a new kind of PEO where quality service would be the driving focus of everything. That PEO is Engage. Today, Engage is one of the fastest-growing companies in the country.

Before forming Engage, Jay was president and CEO of AlphaStaff, a PEO, which he grew from a small player to a top-five industry leader. Jay sold the company in 2008 to a private equity group. Prior to AlphaStaff, Jay was president and CEO of OneChem, a software application provider to the chemical industry.  He also was managing partner of his own successful law firm, which specialized, in employment and commercial law. Among his numerous leadership awards, Jay most recently received the Gold Stevie® Award for Executive of the Year in the 2015 American Business Awards, and the Gold Award for Chief Executive Officer of the Year in the 2015 Golden Bridge Awards.

Jay is a previous member of the board of directors of the Employee Services Assurance Corporation (ESAC), the accrediting body for the PEO industry; and the National Association of Professional Employer Organizations (NAPEO).

MARKETING

Chair:
Gina Ellis-Strother, Director of Marketing
Charleston County Park & Recreation Commission, Charleston, South Carolina

Gina Ellis-Strother has been Director of Marketing for Charleston County Park & Recreation Commission since 2013.  She has had more than 20 years of experience in travel and technology marketing, and previous employers included American Airlines, SABRE, Worldspan, and Verizon Wireless.  

In 2015, the American Marketing Association of Charleston awarded Gina the Spark! Award for Marketer of the Year for her innovative rebranding and advertising work for Charleston County Parks. That same year, she was presented with the Gold Stevie Award for Marketer of the Year at the American Business Awards in Chicago. She is a member of the American Marketing Association, serves as an officer of the board at the Charleston Collegiate School, and continues to use her marketing expertise to support the nonprofit organization, The Parklands Foundation.  

Gina graduated Cum Laude with a Bachelor Degree from Hunter College at The City University of New York, and received a Master of Business Administration at The Citadel Military College of South Carolina. She presently lives in Charleston, SC with her husband Troy and daughter Gabrielle.

PR/IR/CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS

Chair:
Jock Breitwieser, Director, Corporate Communications
TriNet, San Jose, California

Jock Breitwieser runs corporate communications at TriNet, a strategic partner to small and medium-sized businesses for HR, payroll, employee benefits, employment law compliance, and risk mitigation. He drove the company’s communications during its IPO and is responsible for TriNet’s external communications and social media strategy.

Prior to TriNet, Jock spearheaded global public relations, customer references, and social media for Dell SonicWALL in 17 countries. He drove positioning and communications when the previously public company went private with Thoma Bravo in 2010 and during SonicWALL’s acquisition by Dell in 2012. Before that, he was global head of corporate communications and web marketing at CallidusCloud, a provider of cloud-based sales and marketing solutions. Before that, Jock worked at The Hoffman Agency, Edelman Worldwide, and
 EURO RSCG where he executed successful international PR and analyst relations programs in the U.S., the U.K., Germany, France, and Hong Kong for global clients in high-tech, telecommunications and financial services. He has also co-founded a network security startup, run a successful Kickstarter campaign, and served as marketing/communications advisor to startups. He has written a bestselling book on PR-practices, received numerous awards for excellence in communications, and was featured by Forrester Research for his exemplary approach to driving sales results with analyst relations.

Jock holds an M.A. in contemporary history, law, and political sciences from the University of Bochum, Germany. He also studied in Tours, France with a scholarship from the European Union. In his spare time, Jock enjoys international travel and competes in Triathlons.

Jock tells us: “Every year, The Stevie Awards honor the achievements of the very best organizations in the U.S. It’s an incredible honor to chair the group of outstanding experts that make up the Judging Committee for the Corporate Communications/IR/PR categories. The committee and I will take great pride in identifying the most deserving organizations and teams. It will be a pleasure to review the creative and highly professional submissions. I cannot wait to start judging the submissions for the 2016 Stevies.”

HUMAN RESOURCES

Chair:
Narasimhan Srinivasan, Vice President & Head of Human Resource
Tata Consultancy Services, Edison, New Jersey

Narasimhan Srinivasan (Narsi) is the Vice President and Head of Human Resources for Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) in North America. He has been with TCS for the last 22 years. Narsi’s career spans 27 years, and during that time, he has played multiple roles in Delivery, Business Development and Human Resources areas in the IT Industry. He has been working in Human Resources for the last 9 years. His key roles at TCS include Global Head of Learning and Development, Head of Organizational Effectiveness, HR Director– APAC, Regional Manager–Bristol, UK, and Client Partner for Standard Chartered Bank, Target, AXA, and Nedcor Relationships.

Narsi graduated from Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani, India, with a Master ofScience (Hons.) Chemistry, and a Master of Science (Technology) Computer Science in 1985. Narsi is very much interested in sports and plays cricket and golf.

CUSTOMER SERVICE & SUPPORT

Chair:
Steve Fulmer, Senior Vice President of Government Guaranteed Lending
First GREEN Bank, Orlando, Florida

Steve Fulmer is the Senior Vice President of Government Guaranteed Lending at First GREEN Bank, a “local bank with a global mission” that endeavors to do the right thing for the environment, and the company’s people, community, and shareholders. Steve oversees all Small Business Administration and US Department of Agriculture Business Lending in Florida for the bank.

Steve has over 8 years experience in banking in Central Florida. He currently serves on the executive board of the Oviedo/Winter Springs Chamber and the steering chairman for Future Leaders of CREW Orlando.  

Steve has a Master’s Degree of Business Administration from the University of Phoenix and is a US Army veteran. 

NEW PRODUCT OR SERVICE/INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

Chair:
Derek Gerry, Director, Strategic Accounts
C-4 Analytics, Saugus, Massachusetts

Derek Gerry is Director, Strategic Accounts at C-4 Analytics, a provider of customizable full service digital marketing solutions in Boston. A skilled content and search optimization strategist with a deep appreciation for Saul Bass, Ken Nordine, and the fundamentals of marketing communication, Derek has been part of the team at C-4 Analytics since 2010. In his capacity as Director of Strategic Accounts, Derek has developed and implemented campaigns in the health care, consumer retail, energy, and automotive sectors.

Derek has spent nearly 20 years creating content and marketing campaigns for online audiences, working for some of the United States’ top companies, including Standard & Poor’s, Harcourt Brace, and IAC.

Derek is also an accomplished broadcaster who hosts a weekly news and commentary show in Boston, and he has appeared on several talk stations in the Boston area.

ANNUAL REPORTS & PUBLICATIONS

Chair:
Justin Bell, CEO
Lion Agency, Miami, Florida

Justin Bell is an experienced marketing executive and brand strategist residing in Miami, Florida. Justin is CEO of Lion Agency, a multinational digital agency with offices in Buenos Aires, Miami and São Paulo. Lion Agency is an award-winning agency (earning five American Business Awards in 2015), and works with leading brands including American Express, Celebrity Cruises, Elizabeth Arden, FANIA Records, Tío Gazpacho, and the University of Miami.

Justin joined Lion Agency in 2015 when Lion Agency acquired Arc+Arrow Creative Group. Justin founded Arc+Arrow in 2013 after working his way through various senior leadership roles at Omnicom Group where he worked with brands including Best Buy, Costco, Motorola, Wal-Mart, and Samsung, as well as Carphone Warehouse, Dixons Retail, and John Lewis in Europe.

Justin is a graduate of The Ohio State University and Ashland University with degrees in marketing.

LIVE EVENTS

Chair:
Staci Johnson, Vice President of Marketing
Roth Staffing Companies, L.P., Orange, California

Staci Johnson is the Vice President of Marketing for Roth Staffing Companies, one of the largest privately held staffing companies in the country. She heads the corporate marketing department and all its functions, including campaigns, website creation, digital marketing, email catalogs, social media, live events, virtual events, public relations, newsletters, branding … if it gets communicated, it goes through Staci’s Marketing team. 

Staci was the recipient of the 2015 Gold Stevie Award for Marketing Executive of the Year. With her help, Roth Staffing Companies has been honored by Fortune as a 100 Best Workplaces for Women and 50 Best Small & Medium Workplaces, as well as Best Staffing Firms to Work For by Staffing Industry Analysts, and Best of Staffing for both Client and Talent Satisfaction by Inavero and CareerBuilder. Staci’s Marketing team has been lauded with VOICE Awards from the American Staffing Association for five consecutive years and referred to as the best Marketing department in the industry.  The team has also been recognized with B2B Marketing Awards.

Staci started her career in Television after receiving her Bachelor of Arts in Television Production from San Francisco State University.  She went on to receive a Master of Arts in Communication Studies from University of California, Davis.  In addition to teaching television production and communication classes at UC Davis and Yuba Community College, her marketing career includes working in the healthcare, banking, government, and arts industries before settling in to 10 years at Roth Staffing Companies–and counting. 

Staci tells us: “I hope it’s not too clichédé to say how much of a humbling honor it is to be invited to Chair this Judging Committee for the Stevie Awards. I have such great respect and admiration for those professionals who have participated in helping select past Stevie Award winners and I am excited to join this exclusive group. The American Business Awards go above and beyond to find, select, and recognize truly exceptional companies and business leaders worthy of praise. I look forward to helping honor and congratulate this year’s recipients.”

WEBSITES & APPS

Chair:
Eric Farr, Principal
BrainStorm, Inc., American Fork, Utah

Eric Farr is a Principal at BrainStorm, Inc., a leading provider of end-user adoption and change management solutions. BrainStorm’s mission is to change the way the world works. On top of changing the way the world works, BrainStorm is known for being one of the best places to work in the country. BrainStorm was named to Outside’s Best Places to Work for the fourth consecutive year, three time Utah Business Best Companies, and was featured twice on Fortune.com for being one of the 100 best places to work for both women and camaraderie in the nation. Corporate culture isn’t the only award-winning aspect of the company: BrainStorm has also been recognized by Microsoft, Zip Recruiter, and, of course, the Stevies for their outstanding products and services.

Eric, recently named one of the Ten Coolest Entrepreneurs by Utah Valley Business Q Magazine, has over 20 years of experience in entrepreneurship and business leadership, and has been instrumental in building BrainStorm’s unique relationships with its customers and partners.  In Eric’s free time you can find him exploring each corner of the world, often on a motorcycle. 

Eric was thrilled to have BrainStorm honored in the 2015 Stevie awards and is looking forward to being the Chair of the committee judging the Website and App Awards for the 14^th annual American Business Awards.

VIDEOS

Chair:
Jody Brown, Executive Vice President, Public Relations, Corporate Communications, and Congressional Relations
CACI International, Inc., Arlington, Virginia, USA

Jody Brown is Executive Vice President of Public Relations, Corporate Communications, and Congressional Relations at CACI International Inc., a provider of information solutions and services in support of national security missions and government transformation for Intelligence, Defense, and Federal Civilian customers. Jody initiates and directs the company's internal and external communications, public relations, congressional relations, marketing communications, corporate branding and strategies, philanthropy and community relations, and employee communications. She leads the coordination of strategic leadership events, provides critical direction for change management activities, and is a member of the company's Mergers & Acquisitions Executive Team. Jody provides strategic input and direction to the company's investor relations and has led or made major contributions to a wide range of projects and initiatives that have spurred and supported CACI's growth. Her contributions have been essential in enabling CACI to sharpen client focus, increase awareness of the company's solutions and capabilities, expand into new markets, enhance recruitment communications, and enhance shareholder value.

Jody is a member of the Professional Services Council (PSC) Legislative Action Network and sits on PSC's Communications Committee and Government Affairs Committee, which provides valuable information exchange on legislative, regulatory, and related policy issues; and is a member of the Women's Foreign Policy Group, which promotes women's leadership in international affairs. In community outreach activities in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area where CACI is headquartered, Jody is an active supporter of the American Heart Association, and Comfort for America's Uniformed Services (Cause). Within CACI, her leadership achievements have been acknowledged with numerous company awards and recognition.

The news is out: German Stevie Awards winners were announced this morning at a press conference in Munich, Germany. The big winner of the second annual German Stevie Awards is Public Relations agency, Weber Shandwick Germany. They were the most awarded with six Gold, a Silver, and three Bronze Stevie Awards.

The press conference and Periscope event featured Michael Gallagher, President & Founder of the Stevie Awards, judging chairman Christiane Shulz (Weber Shandwick Germany), Wolfram Winter (Sky Germany), and Klaus Mitterer (intelliAd), who all announced the winners.

More than 50 executives from all over Germany reviewed nominations to decide who received the coveted Stevie Awards. The judges intensely reviewed entries, selected some of the most innovation solutions, and ultimately named the Gold, Silver, and Bronze Stevie Award Winners. Next to Weber Shandwick Germany, Havana Orange GmBH was the next big winner of the year. The marketing agency based in Munich won three Gold Stevie Awards as well as three Silver and Bronze.

Other organizations that won multiple Gold Stevie Awards include: Alacris Thernostics (Berlin), German Post DHL Group (Bonn), ZF Friedrichshafen (Friedrichshafen), King & Mayr (Geilenkirchen), mobilcom-debitel (Erfurt), and Vodafone (Dusseldorf).

Taking home the Stevie Award for the most innovative technology company of the year with more than 2,500 employees was ABB AG (Mannheim) and Startup of the Year was won by Consus clinic management GmbH & Co KG (Freiburg). Inventorum GmbH (Berlin) took home Retail Company of the Year.

All Stevie Award winners are listed on the German Stevie Awards homepage at http://stevieawards.com/gsa/2016-gewinner-der-german-stevie®-awards.

Winners will be presented with their awards at an awards ceremony on April 8, 2016 at Hotel Vier Jahreszeiten Kempinski in Munich..

Want to learn more?
For more information, images, or interviews, contact The Stevie Awards in Germany, c / o Catrin Beu
Mobile: +49151400747 54, email : catrin@stevieawards.com

Winners of the 2016 People's Choice Stevie® Awards for Favorite Customer Service, a worldwide public vote, were announced today. Voting was conducted from January 21 through February 19, with the highest number of votes deciding the winners in 11 industry categories.

All organizations honored in the Customer Service Department of the Year categories of this year’s Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service were eligible to be included in voting for the people’s choice awards. The Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service, now in their 10^th year, are the world’s top honors for customer service, contact center, business development, and sales professionals.

This year’s people’s choice winners, who will each receive the coveted crystal People’s Choice Stevie Award, are:

• Computer Software (<100 employees): dESCO
• Computer Software (100+ employees): Carbonite, Inc.
• Distribution & Transportation: DHL Express Bangladesh
• Financial Services (<100 employees): Provident Financial Bulgaria
• Financial Services (100+ employees): Paycor, Inc.
• Healthcare / Pharmaceuticals: Navicure
• Leisure & Tourism: Marriott Vacation Club International
• Public Services & Education: Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Logistic Support Center
• Retail: Wayfair
• Telecommunications: Vonage
• Other Industries: CubeSmart

More than 27,000 votes were cast this year.

Nicknamed the Stevie® for the Greek word “crowned,” the awards will be presented to winners at the 10^th annual Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service awards banquet on Friday, March 4 at the Paris Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada. Tickets for the event are now on sale. More than 500 executives from around the world are expected to attend. The presentations will be broadcast live via Livestream

About The Stevie Awards
Stevie Awards are conferred in six programs: the Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards, the German Stevie Awards, The American Business Awards, The International Business Awards, the Stevie Awards for Women in Business, and the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service. Stevie Awards competitions receive more than 10,000 entries each year from organizations in more than 60 nations. Honoring organizations of all types and sizes and the people behind them, the Stevies recognize outstanding performances in the workplace worldwide. Learn more about the Stevie Awards at http://www.StevieAwards.com.

Sponsors of the 10th annual Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service include ValueSelling Associates.

Everyone likes free things. What is a trip to the dentist without the free toothbrush and floss? Costco samples? There are never enough. Free pizza in the office conference room? Everyone is there. This year The (14th Annual) American Business Awards is offering a slew of categories that do not have an entry fee. Yes, you read that right. Free entries for your chance to win a Stevie Award!

The only catch? The entry deadline is tomorrow, February 18. These are savings of up to $470. If your organization is in the U.S.A. and you're considering submitting nominations to the ABAs, now is the perfect time

.Late entries will be accepted through March 16 with the payment of a late fee. For the categories listed below with waived entry fees, the $55 late entry fee will still apply.

REVIEW THE ENTRY KIT HERE.

The awards categories with waived entry fees are as follows:

Startup of the Year (for companies that began operations since January 1 2014). 
a. Business Product Industries
b. Business Service Industries
c. Consumer Product Industries
d. Consumer Service Industries

Tech Startup of the Year (for companies that began operations since January 1 2014). 

Energy Industry Innovation of the Year: This category recognizes singular innovations in energy-related technology, production, conservation, storage or delivery, by an organization or an individual in the U.S.A., since January 1 2015. 

For the 2016 competition we have introduced a variety of free categories to recognize individuals in various fields:

Communications Professional of the Year: for non-executive communications, PR, and IR professionals. 

Technical Professional of the Year: for non-executive technical professionals including software developers, web developers, technical writers, etc. 

Marketer of the Year: recognizing non-executive marketing professionals. 

Product Developer of the Year: recognizing all non-executive product development or management professionals. 

Support Staffer of the Year: recognizing non-executive support personnel, including office managers, administrative assistants, secretaries, maintenance professionals, etc. 

Entries in all of the awards categories listed above require:

1. An essay of up to 650 words describing the nominated organization's achievements since January 1 2015
   
   b. In bullet-list form (up to 150 words), a brief summary of up to ten (10) of the nominated organization's chief achievements since January 1 2015
   
   c. Optional (but highly recommended), a collection of supporting files and web addresses that you may upload to our server to support your entry and provide more background information to the judges

Remember, the first step to submitting a nomination is to review the entry kit. You can do so here.

Hopefully you have seen the important changes made to The 2016 American Business Awards (if not you'll find them here). Every year we make slight changes and additions to allow the hardworking business people of America's accomplishments to be recognized. The American Business Awards are the premier business awards program in the U.S.A., with categories to recognize achievement in every facet of work life, from management to marketing, human resources to new products and websites.

The final entry deadline is this Thursday, February 18. Late entries will be accepted through March 16 with the payment of a late fee.

REVIEW THE ENTRY KIT HERE.

This year we have introduced a few new categories:

Minority-Owned Business of the Year

This category will recognize the achievements since January 1, 2015 of businesses in the U.S.A. that are majority owned by members of an ethnic minority.

Entry requirements:

a. An essay of up to 650 words describing the nominated organization's achievements since January 1 2015

b. In bullet-list form (up to 150 words), a brief summary of up to ten (10) of the nominated organization's chief achievements since January 1 2015

c. Optional (but highly recommended), a collection of supporting files and web addresses that you may upload to our server to support your entry and provide more background information to the judges

Veteran-Owned Business of the Year

This category will recognize the achievements since January 1, 2015 of businesses in the U.S.A. that are owned by veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces.

Entry requirements:

a. An essay of up to 650 words describing the nominated organization's achievements since January 1 2015

b. In bullet-list form (up to 150 words), a brief summary of up to ten (10) of the nominated organization's chief achievements since January 1 2015

c. Optional (but highly recommended), a collection of supporting files and web addresses that you may upload to our server to support your entry and provide more background information to the judges

The Stevie Awards is always working to provide new awards categories to suit every aspect of the business world. If you are a Minority or Veteran Business owner, check out those two categories for your chance at the prestigious Stevie Awards.

As always, more than 250 other awards categories are offered in The American Business Awards including:

• Management Awards
• HR Awards
• IT Awards
• Marketing Awards
• PR Awards
• Creative Awards
• Website Awards

…and much more. Dont forget, the entry deadline is Thursday, February 18!

You've been busy this year. The holidays are officially over and it’s back to work. Whatever the reason, you haven’t gotten around to submitting entries to the 2016 American Business Awards. But you've gotten a reprieve. We are going to show you how to submit entries to the ABAs in 10 minutes. The entry deadline of The American Business Awards, the preeminent business awards program in the U.S.A., is this coming Thursday, February 18. Submit your entries through Thursday to avoid late fees.

We know, you're still busy. Your calendar this week is still chock full. But surely you can find some time during your lunch break to prepare your submission. Because in 10 minutes you can prepare and submit an entry to the ABAs and potentially win a Stevie®, one of the most coveted trophies on the planet.

Here are a number of ways you can do that.

Repurpose Nominations From Other Awards Programs
The submission requirements for the ABAs are fairly open-ended, and there's a wide variety of categories to choose from. If you've entered any other awards programs this year, simply repurpose the nominations you wrote for those competitions for the ABAs. Most categories require only the submission of an essay of up to 650 words and a bullet-list summary of the achievements portrayed in the essay. It should be fairly easy to reconfigure your other awards nominations for the ABAs.

Repurpose Your Press Releases and White Papers
It's likely you've already done the heavy-lifting of describing your organization's achievements, your innovations, your new products and services, your marketing and PR campaigns, etc. Throughout the year you've been trumpeting your successes through press releases and white papers. Simply comb through your output over the past year and cobble together the text you've already written into a short essay. Note that the 2016 ABAs will recognize your achievements since the beginning of 2015.

Repurpose Your Press Clippings
With every ABA nomination you have the option to attach any number of press clippings, work samples, video clips, photographs, etc. to your essay, to help paint the picture for the judges. Does one or more of your press clippings feature a compelling story that can be the basis of the essay for your ABA nomination? There's no need to reinvent the wheel if it already exists and you can reuse it.

Hire a Consultant
Did you know that there are a number of consultancies that specialize in preparing and submitting awards nominations on behalf of their clients? There are quite a few in the U.S.A., and they've been remarkably successful over the years in winning Stevie Awards for their clients. Contact us if you'd like a referral to one of them who can take the process of getting entries into the ABAs off your hands this week.

Submit Media Work
Most often people think of business awards as recognizing a member of management or a member of your team. The American Business Awards has categories for a broad range of achievements including videos, apps, websites, publications, and live events. It's really easy to enter these categories. These categories generally require only a short essay of up to 125 words, describing the nominated work's purpose and results to date, and the nominated video or app, etc., itself.

Resubmit a Nomination From Another Stevie Awards Program
Did you have success with a nomination in the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service, or the Stevie Awards for Women in Business? One Stevie Awards competition has nothing to do with another, and resubmitting a nomination from one program to this year's ABAs is a valid strategy followed by many organizations.

Contact Us for Help
You'll save a lot of time by letting us do some of the important work for you. We'll save you the trouble of plowing through our category lists to find the category that's right for you, for example. Contact us, by email at help@stevieawards or telephone at +1 703-547-8389. Tell us what your organization wants to be recognized for, and we'll suggest the best category for your nomination.

Whichever strategy you choose to get your ABA nominations written and submitted,  be sure to submit through February 18 to avoid late fees!

Ready to enter The 2016 American Business Awards?  Begin here:

Wolfram Winter of Sky Deutschland GmbH in Bavaria, Germany, is Chair of the Committee to judge the Public Relations Awards, Video Awards and Publication Awards categories in the 2016 (2nd annual) German Stevie Awards.

He was named Executive of the Year in the Corporate Communications, Investor Relations and Public Relations categories of the 2015 German Stevie Awards; and under his leadership, Sky Deutschland won a Gold Stevie Award for Company of the Year-Media & Entertainment in the Company/Organization Awards categories of The 2015 International Business Awards.

The German Stevie Awards final entry deadline is February 12. Find out more here.

The 2016 International Business Awards opened this month and is now accepting entries. Find out more about how to enter here.

Wolfram Winter is Executive Vice President of Communications, Public Affairs & Advertising Sales at Sky Deutschland GmbH, and is Managing Director of Sky Media GmbH, a wholly owned subsidiary of Sky Deutschland. Winter is a senior spokesperson for the entertainment group and is responsible for the marketing of advertising time on all Sky platforms.

The Importance of Awards Competitions

As a winner of Gold Stevie Awards in both the German Stevie Awards and the International Business Awards in 2015, we asked Wolfram what he felt made it important to participate in these competitions.

“Competitions such as the Stevie Awards are like fashion runways for agencies and businesses: you get up there and showcase your best work. Awards competitions provide an opportunity for the most creative minds in the industry to show off their best work, cases, and campaigns. Plus, they provide an excellent opportunity for the exchange of knowledge and for active networking.”

The Judging Process

As Chair of one of the 2016 Judging Committees, we asked Wolfram for his comments on the experience of judging submissions to the 2016 German Stevie Awards so far. He told us that he had been deeply impressed by the range of companies that had entered as well as the high quality of the submissions. “The effectiveness and original thinking demonstrated by some of the participants has been remarkable,” he explained. “And these are precisely the qualities essential for any successful PR or Marketing campaign.”

Judging of the German Stevie Awards opened on February 5 and will continue through February 19. If you would like to participate, complete the application here.

What To Do

We asked Wolfram what he thought constituted a successful awards submission. “First, a nomination should meet the awards criteria—that’s essential. Then, it’s important to stand out from the other nominations through creativity and originality, and if possible to give the jury that “Aha Moment”—something which only ever happens with a few, really good applications.”

What Not To Do

On the flip side, we asked Wolfram what he saw as the most common mistakes made by companies entering awards competitions. “Participants often fail simply in the basic requirements,” he observed. “For a submission to be successful it should be clearly structured with detailed responses to all the given questions. That might seem obvious, but in practice often gets overlooked.”

“Another common mistake: assuming too much. When submitting an entry that a jury is going to have to read and evaluate, remember that it is often difficult for the judge to recognize and understand what is so special about a campaign or project. A clear, brief explanation of the core information can help tremendously.”

“In conclusion: Keep it simple. And short wouldn’t hurt, either!”

Looking ahead, we asked Wolfram what he expected of the 2017 German Stevie Awards. His gnomic response: “Disruption.”

About Wolfram Winter:

Wolfram Winter is Executive Vice President Communications, Public Affairs & Advertising Sales at Sky Deutschland and Managing Director of Sky Media GmbH, a 100% subsidiary of Sky Deutschland. With a degree in political science and training in journalism, he is responsible for representing the entertainment company as its senior spokesperson as well as the advertising sales business across all Sky platforms.

In 2007, he founded Premiere Star GmbH, a distribution platform for the pay-TV broadcaster, which was completely acquired by Sky Deutschland in 2009. Before that, he served as Managing Director of NBC Universal Global Networks Deutschland, where he oversaw television activities in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Prior to that, he was the programming manager of DF1, a predecessor of Sky Deutschland GmbH.

Follow Wolfram Winter on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/wolframwinter

About Sky Deutschland:

With 4.5 million customers and annual revenues in the amount of approximately 1.8 billion Euros, Sky is the pay-TV market leader in Germany and Austria. The program offering at Sky includes live sport, films, series, kids’ channels, and documentaries. Sky Deutschland, with its headquarter in Unterföhring near Munich, is part of Sky plc, Europe’s leading entertainment group. More than 21.5 million customers in five countries are watching the exclusive Sky programs whenever and wherever they want (Status: 31 December 2015). For more information, go to www.sky.de