Fabulous@50, of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, won the Gold Stevie Award for Event of the Year in the Media Awards categories of the 2014 Stevie Awards for Women in Business.
The final deadline for the 2015 Stevie Awards for Women is September 23.
Although extremely busy with her next event this November, Fabulous@50’s founder, Dianna Bowes, was able to spare a few minutes to talk with us about winning awards, her plans for the future, and her next big event, the Fabulous@50 Experience & Martini Party.
The Fabulous@50 Experience and Martini Party takes place the first Saturday of November every year at the River Cree Entertainment Facility in Edmonton, Alberta. It is a celebration for women, age 40-plus, and their circle of influence. The event brings women of a similar age together to have fun, and to be inspired with a little education from inspirational speakers and great exhibitors.
Expanding Into New Communities
Dianna has big plans for the future of her event. “My plan for Fabulous@50 is to continue to grow in other communities by engaging heart-centered women to join the ranks as licensees and build their own Fabulous@50 community,” she told us. “As well as growing readership of the E-Magazine and online membership, Fabulous@50 will always be about supporting women by bringing them great information and friendship.”
Gaining Credibility
Dianna also won a Bronze Stevie for Women Helping Women - Business/Business Services & Diversified Services in the Individual Awards categories of the 2014 Stevie Awards for Women in Business.
“Winning not just one but two Stevie Awards in 2014 was the icing on the cake,” she observed. “It benefited my company by giving us credibility for the hard work we put into developing a great event. And it also supported us in the development of our sponsors and the attraction of exhibitors.”
“The Stevie Awards for Women in Business helps build awareness for our events because of the incredible women involved and nominated for these awards,” added Dianna. “I feel so honored to be a winner of such a prestigious award.”
Growing Every Year
The purpose of the Fabulous@50 Experience is to inspire, educate, and empower women over 40. It is an event that brings together products, services, and speakers that are picked specifically for their demographic. “The 2015 event will be our 7th event, and growth every year has been incredible,” commented Dianne. “From bringing one friend in the first few years, groups have grown to 6 and then 12. Plus companies are providing their female employees with tickets to support their growth and connection. This event is looked forward to by many every year.”
Sponsorship and Support
Fabulous@50 is sponsored by local businesses, and it supports local charities such as the YWCA and Suit Yourself. Helping others is a foundation of Fabulous@50, and members get involved in everything from preparing Christmas gift shoeboxes for inner city kids to organizing an elegant charity auction. The group’s charity of record, Suit Yourself, is an organization that helps women dress for success as they enter or re-enter the working world.
Building a Community
Dianna is looking forward to this November’s event. “I am inspired when I see the ladies enter our events with openness to new experiences,” she explained. “At our November tradeshow, we see ladies who came a few years ago with one friend and are now are making it an annual event for a large group of friends and family of all ages. For me, it is all about the relationships and the building of a community of amazing women.”
About Dianna Bowes:
Dianna Bowes’ vision was not only to change her life, but also to transform others’. As founder of Fabulous@50, a network for women in and around their 50s, Dianna is a guiding light to thousands of women who are members, who come to her events, and who read the Be Fabulous! Magazine.
Following the break-up of her own marriage, and serious spinal surgery, Dianna took a good, hard look at her life and decided it needed a major make-over. Although pain, poverty, and life as a single mother are not the routes many would choose, they were a catalyst for Dianna. She decided her path to self-fulfillment could be inspiring for others. She retrained as a personal life coach and formed a company called Creative On The Move that offered an eclectic mix of graphic design services, event planning, and life coaching.
In 2008, she expanded her outreach by forming Fabulous@50. Her vision is to inspire, educate, and empower women in midlife by bringing them together virtually and in person to network, share, care, and grow. Suit Yourself named Dianna Bowes and Fabulous@50 as their Top Fundraiser in 2011, and Dianna received further accolades when she was named a 2011 YWCA Woman of Distinction in the “Turning Point” category.
About Fabulous@50:
Fabulous@50 is an organization that empowers, educates, and inspires baby boomer women through events, magazines, and an online and offline membership. Founded in 2008 by Dianna Bowes, this vibrant organization is growing at a steady rate and is licensing the business plan to women leaders in other communities. Fabulous@50 is an organization based on the concept of growth through relationships. For more information, go to www.fabulousat50.com/
Freelancer.com, the Sydney, Australia-based outsourcing and crowdsourcing marketplace for small businesses, won People’s Choice Awards in two categories, and also collected the most votes of any nominee.
The Grand Stevie Awards were presented to the organizations that submitted the best body of entries to The American Business Awards this year, in their own name or in the names of one or more clients, with a Gold Stevie Award win counting for three points, a Silver Stevie win for two points, and a Bronze Stevie win counting for 1.5 points. The organizations with the most points won.
More than 200 executives attended Friday’s awards banquet at San Francisco’s Julia-Morgan Ballroom at the Merchants Exchange Building. Stevie Awards were conferred in five levels of distinction: Grand, Gold, Silver, Bronze, and People’s Choice.
Also to be announced are the top overall honors in this year's ABAs: the Grand Stevie Award winners, for Organization of the Year, Interactive Agency of the Year, Marketing Agency of the Year, Public Relations Agency of the Year, and the Top 10. Grand Stevie Award winners have been determined by the total number of awards won in the ABAs this year, including those to be announced this Friday and those announced in Chicago this past June.
There are a number of new categories for 2016, including:
This year's Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Award winners in The International Business Awards were announced on August 13. The winners of the Best of the IBA Awards will be presented with Grand Stevie Award trophies at The 12th Annual International Business Awards banquet at The Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Toronto, Canada on October 23. 
Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie winners were selected from more than 3,700 nominations received from organizations and individuals in more than 60 nations. All organizations worldwide are eligible to compete in The International Business Awards, and can submit entries in a wide range of categories, including 
The big question for most businesses is not how to do good, but how to sustain, grow, and maximize their impact. As Floor explains: “That’s why we want to make sure businesses get the tools and optics they need, so they can clearly see the structure of their good activities and optimize their impact. The Yes We Care license is a business tool designed to support businesses in their efforts to do good things. We quickly and easily identify the doing-good activities and convert these activities into numbers that anyone can instantly grasp. We provide businesses with optics to maximize their impact in society, and to highlight these good activities for their customers, employees, and stakeholders.”
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