Organizations and individuals in 35 nations, including first-time winners Bahrain, Peru, Saudi Arabia, and Slovakia, have been announced as Stevie® Award winners in The Eighth Annual International Business Awards, the world’s only international, all-encompassing business awards program.

Nicknamed the Stevies from the Greek word “crowned,” the awards will be presented at a gala event on Tuesday, 11 October at the Emirates Palace Hotel in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Tickets for the event are on sale now at www.stevieawards.com/iba. 

Winning 42 Stevie Awards this year, organizations and individuals in the United States made the best showing.  South Korea came in second place with 29 awards, while the host nation United Arab Emirates earned an impressive 24 Stevies.  The United Kingdom earned 22 awards followed by Turkey with 11 and Germany with 10 Stevies.

Some notable winners include:

• Company of the Year (Conglomerates): Siemens AG (Germany)
• Executive of the Year (Electronics): Yun Jong-Yong, CEO, Samsung Electronics (South Korea)
• Most Innovative Company of the Year (Middle East and Africa): Etisalat Group (UAE)
• Fastest Growing Company of the Year and Best New Company of the Year: Everonn Education Limited (India)
• Best New Product or Service of the Year (Health Products & Services): Cascades Intelligent Antibacterial Paper (Canada)
• Corporate Social Responsibility Program of the Year: ITT Corporation (United States)
• Marketing Campaign of the Year: Finansbank A.S. (Turkey)

A complete list of all 2011 International Business Awards honorees is available at www.stevieawards.com/iba. 

Stevie Award trophy and Distinguished Honoree (honorable mention) medal winners were selected from more than 3,000 entries received from organizations and individuals in more than 50 nations.  All organizations worldwide are eligible to compete in The International Business Awards, and can nominate in a wide range of categories, including management awards, company/organization awards, marketing awards, public relations awards, customer service awards, human resources awards, new product awards, IT awards, web site awards, and more. 

Business professionals around the world participated in preliminary judging in May-July.  Their average scores determined the entries that were eligible to be considered in final judging, which was performed earlier this month by the members of 10 specialized committees.  In total, 200 executives around the world participated in the judging process. 

About the Stevie Awards 

Stevie Awards are conferred in four programs: The American Business Awards, The International Business Awards, the Stevie Awards for Women in Business, and the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service.  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.   

Location hosting patron for The 2011 International Business Awards is the Ministry of Foreign Trade of the United Arab Emirates.  Premier sponsors include IBM Netezza and Smart Reader® Worldwide.  The Korea Business Communicators Association is the national sponsor for South Korea.  Localization sponsor of the 2011 Stevie Awards is SDL.  Location hosting supporters of the 2011 IBAs include Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development, Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce & Industries, Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority, Dana Gas, Forbes Middle East, the Gemological Institute of America and The International Business Times.

Susan Davis International of Washington, D.C., USA, won a Stevie Award for Communications Campaign of the Year in the PR awards categories of the 2010 Stevie Awards for Women in Business. Here we look at how the communications firm brought widespread recognition to the Women Airforce Service Pilots of World War II.

Congressional Gold Medal

The unsung heroines of World War II, the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP), were finally honored with the Congressional Gold Medal in a March 10, 2010 ceremony at the United States Capitol. The WASP—1,102 trailblazing civilian female pilots—were the first women to fly military aircraft. They were not granted military status until 1977, and today fewer than 300 survive.

Susan Davis International (SDI) worked on behalf of the Women In Military Service for America Memorial Foundation to tell the long-forgotten story of the WASP, their service, and their honor. The firm gained the WASP widespread international, national, and local media attention with a combined national and grassroots media strategy.

Media Campaign

To increase awareness of the WASP, SDI designed a media campaign to communicate the unique stories of each WASP as well as the broader story of their collective service. To create additional opportunities for the WASP and media to interact, SDI recommended, developed, executed, and managed two events including a Wreath Laying and Remembrance Ceremony and a Military Salute Reception on March 9, 2010.

Personal Stories

SDI researched personal WASP stories to build a comprehensive media
strategy for coverage in advance of, and during, the celebratory activities. SDI’s initial press release announced events the Foundation would host to honor
the WASP. Preview articles were secured in national and regional outlets
including U.S. News & World Report and the Los Angeles Times.

Grass Roots Strategy

In advance of the ceremony in Washington, D.C., SDI developed state-specific press releases for the ten states with the highest number of surviving WASP, which they strategically distributed to print, online, and broadcast media.

Media Interviews

As the sole connecting resource between the WASP and the media, SDI managed and coordinated hundreds of phone and in-person interviews in hometowns and in Washington, D.C. SDI also pitched and secured media interviews for Brigadier General Wilma Vaught, president of the Women in Military Service For America Foundation, and modern day aviator Lt. Col. Nicole Malachowski, who both contributed to the WASP story.

During the celebratory events, SDI worked closely with WASP and their military escorts to fulfill media requests. Immediately following the Congressional Gold Medal Ceremony, SDI worked with NBC and ABC pool cameras to facilitate on-camera interviews requested by affiliates around the country, most of which had been generated through SDI’s hometown outreach.

SDI also matched specific WASP with print journalists. The firm had interested ABC World News in following WASP Bernice “Bea” Haydu on her journey to Washington and connected the ABC pool camera with her for a conclusion to the story.

The Story is Finally Told

SDI’s strategy produced more than 925 print articles, 1,200 online articles, and
68 stories on national radio and television. Local radio and television affiliates aired more than 1,170 stories across the nation. More than half of earned media coverage told the individual stories of the WASP, with 174 of those stories on front pages from Alaska to Maine.

SDI’s efforts produced more than 200 million media impressions, including a CNN live interview in the Capitol Visitors Center the morning of the ceremony. The WASP story was told on PBS News Hour, CBS Evening News, CNN, NBC Nightly News, ABC’s World News Tonight with Diane Sawyer, and NPR.  It also earned front-page coverage in such publications as the Washington Post, Contra Costa Times, South Florida Sun-Sentinel, Anchorage Daily News, and Denver Post.

The WASP story resonated in more than 180 markets across the nation, ensuring Women Airforce Service Pilots of World War II their long-delayed and much-deserved recognition.

About Susan Davis:

Susan A. Davis, Chairman and Founder of Susan Davis International, is an internationally renowned communications strategist. For more than two decades, she has created and managed innovative, award-winning media and public affairs campaigns for domestic and international industry leaders, governments in the U.S. and abroad, non-profits, and NGOs. Ms. Davis is widely known for her expertise in strategic positioning, alliance and relationship building, government relations, and crisis communications. She has provided counsel to government and industry leaders throughout the United States, Europe, and Central America, and continues to counsel key public figures worldwide.

About Susan Davis International

Susan Davis International (SDI) is a full-service, woman owned/operated boutique public affairs/strategic communications firm with a 25-year history of producing award-winning campaigns and events. SDI, with more than 68 agency partners worldwide, services clients including multinationals, the U.S. and foreign governments, federal agencies, non-profit organizations, NGOs, and trade associations.  For more information go to www.susandavis.com.

The Stevie Awards for Women in Business today launched the Call for Entries for its eighth annual competition.  Entry kits and complete details on the competition are available at www.stevieawards.com/women. 

The Stevie Awards for Women in Business feature over 50 categories including Best Entrepreneur, Best Young Entrepreneur, Best Executive, Mentor or Coach of the Year, Lifetime Achievement Award, Employee of the Year, Best Overall Company of the Year, and Most Innovative Company of the Year, among others.  The awards are produced by the creators of the prestigious American Business Awards and International Business Awards. 

All female entrepreneurs, executives, and the organizations they run, worldwide, are eligible to be nominated.

The discounted early-bird entry deadline is July 27 and the final deadline is August 31, 2011.  Entrants save 25% by entering early. Winners of the eighth annual competition will be announced at a gala awards dinner in New York in November.

New categories in 2011 include Non-Profit or Government Organization of the Year, Smartphone or Tablet App of the Year, Video of the Year, and multiple new Marketing Campaign, Communications/PR Campaign, and New Product or Service of the year categories.

Winners of the 2010 Stevie Awards for Women in Business included, among others: Teach for America’s Rebecca Fishman Lipsey (Best Executive), Nu Skin Enterprises’ Melissa Tantoco-Quijano (Best Asian Executive), International Financial Data Services’ Debralee L. Goldberg (Best Canadian Executive), Métier, Ltd.’s Sandra Richardson (Mentor of the Year), and Australia’s WildlyWealthy.com (Best Overall Company of the Year). A complete list of 2010 honorees is available at www.stevieawards.com/women.

The Stevie Awards for Women in Business are judged by many leading women entrepreneurs, executives and luminaries in business. 

A portion of each ticket sold for the November 11 awards dinner will be contributed to Camfed (www.camfed.org), which fights poverty and HIV/AIDS in Africa by educating girls and empowering women to become leaders of change. 

About The Stevie Awards

Stevie Awards are conferred in four programs: The American Business Awards, The International Business Awards, the Stevie Awards for Women in Business, and the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service.  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.   

Sponsors of the 2011 Stevie Awards for Women in Business include Infogroup and KeyBank’s Key4Women program.  Localization partner of the 2011 Stevie Awards is SDL.  The November 11 awards presentations will be broadcast by the Business TalkRadio Network.

Who are the outstanding women you think should be nominated in this year's awards?

 

Sung-In Shin, President & CEO of KPR & Associates, Inc., Seoul, South Korea will chair the final judging committee for the Company/Organization categories of The 2011 International Business Awards.

What are your top tips for companies wishing to promote their products or services in Korea?

My first tip is this: Korea is often described as a unique market for new entrants. The most important step is for companies to do their homework thoroughly. Extensive market research and analysis of the local business environment, including potential competitors, is essential to preparing strategies and plans that can succeed here.

The next step is to identify your target audience clearly and segment it appropriately to deliver the most compelling messages through the most efficient channels.

Finally, communication with the market must be sustained continuously, not just at irregular times like for new product/service launches.

Here's my second tip: Companies that want to succeed in Korea must clearly differentiate their products or services from competitors. Without sharp differentiation, it is easy for a service or product to be passed over. Consumers gravitate toward a brand that captures the imagination with a distinctive selling point.

Finally, this point: New entrants in the market must leverage local experts­ in areas such as legal, accounting, public relations, and advertising. In addition to the language issue, there are many complex factors in the Korean market that require thorough understanding and consultation.

What item of news recently caught your eye and why?

The Korea-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA) went into effect on July 1. This will boost bilateral business exchanges and economic expansion. I hope that it will also speed ratification of the Korea-US FTA, which is awaiting a vote in the respective national legislatures.

Do you have a favorite app?

I frequently use major news media apps to stay up to date on the latest domestic and international news related to our business and that of our clients, as well as to gain insights for business conversation.

If you could choose another profession, what would it be?

When I was at university, my parents and professors wanted me to pursue a career in education. This would appeal to me as an alternate profession as I enjoy sharing my knowledge and experience with the younger generation, who will be the future leaders of our society.

What quality or qualities do you most value in your business associates?

I value integrity and trust, open communication, selflessness, a challenging spirit, and a value-added service attitude. I believe professionals with these characteristics are more likely to be successful.

What do you think is the worst bad habit to have at work?

I think that lack of initiative is the worst trait to have, followed by a negative attitude and having a litany of excuses. I firmly believe that a positive attitude is essential, especially in a client-service business.

As someone at the top of your profession, what keeps you inspired or makes you hit the ground running in the morning?

I like to view every day as a gift, and it is up to me to make the most of that gift. I also look at complaints and criticisms as opportunities for me to improve. When encountering difficulties, I think back to the rigorous military training that I experienced in my youth and reflect that the current situation is not nearly as challenging as that in which I succeeded in the past.

About Sung-In Shin:

Sung-In joined KPR in 1996 as a partner and executive vice president, and subsequently became president & CEO in 1999. He has since led the company to record outstanding business performance and has himself gained widespread recognition as a leader of the public relations industry in Korea.

Under his guidance, KPR has won numerous international and domestic awards for excellence, starting with the International Public Relations Association (IPRA) Golden World Award in 2003; Asia-Pacific awards for brand marketing effectiveness and public relations in 2004, 2005, and 2008; and a Gold Prize in the Mercury Excellence Awards in 2010/2011. KPR was named the PR Agency of the Year in Asia (Korea) at the 2010 International Business Awards and the Korean Consultancy of the Year 2011 by The Holmes Report.  Sung-In was selected as Korea’s PR Company CEO of the Year in 2009 by the Practical Science Forum of Advertising and Public Relations.

Prior to joining KPR, Sung-In was a founding member of Communications Korea and served as that company’s planning director from 1987 to 1995. Following his discharge as an officer in the Republic of Korea Marine Corps in 1980, Sung-In joined the Overseas Business Development Division of Hyundai Engineering & Construction Co., Ltd., where he also worked in Malaysia as a project coordinator until 1987.

Sung-In has served two terms (2004 and 2008) as president of the Korea PR Consultancy Association (KPRCA) and has been an adjunct professor teaching PR and advertising at Hanshin University since 2000.  He is married and has one daughter. He enjoys hiking and reading in his spare time.

About KPR & Associates:

Established in 1989, KPR & Associates is one of the most experienced public relations firms in the Korean market, and with 110 full-time professionals it is also one of the largest. It is differentiated from the majority of its local competitors (including the Korean offices of many multinational PR firms) by the full range of services it can offer, which include consumer and sports marketing, events and promotions, digital and online marketing, corporate and financial public relations, and issues and crisis management, as well as expertise in information technology, healthcare, corporate social responsibility, and the public sector.

KPR positions itself as the leading provider of comprehensive, effective, and dependable solutions for clients' communication needs. Its client list features many renowned multinational brands as well as major domestic enterprises and organizations.  KPR also gives back to the community by organizing an annual collegiate PR ideas contest to help develop the domestic PR industry, and the company provides internships for deserving university students.

For additional information, visit http://www.kpr.co.kr/eng/

What do you think of Mr. Shin's tips?  Has your organization succeeded in cracking Asian markets?

Tomorrow (July 7) is absolutely the last day that entries will be accepted for The 2011 (8th Annual) International Business Awards.  Preliminary judging ends on Sunday, and final judging begins next week.  And we're pleased to announce the chairpersons of the nine specialized final judging committees that will determine the honorees in this year's IBAs.

If you're not familiar with the IBAs, they're the world's only all-encompassing business awards program.  Open to all organizations and individuals worldwide, the IBAs typically receive entries from more than 40 nations.

So here are the nine executives who will chair this year's final judging committees:

Company / Organization Categories: Shin Sung-In, CEO, KPR & Associates Inc., Seoul, South Korea
Corporate Communications, Investor Relations & Public Relations: Atul Ahluwalia, President - India, Corporate Voice | Weber Shandwick, New Delhi, India
Creative: Ian Thomas, Executive Creative Director, JWT International, London, United Kingdom
Customer Service & Support: Sue Savage, General Manager, Micro Fidelios Asia Pacific, Belrose, NSW Australia
Human Resources: Sengul Demircan, Head of HR, HSBC Bank Turkey, Istanbul, Turkey
Information Technology: Eng. Natasha Gangaramani, Director of AL Faraa Group of Companies and Head of Information Technology division for all the AL Faraa Group of Companies, United Arab Emirates
Management: Yvonne Howie, CEO, NSW, The CEO Institute, Neutral Bay, NSW Australia
Marketing: Praphan Phornthanavarsit, Chief Operating Officer, Thai Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd., Samutprakarn, Thailand
New Products & Product Management: Rob Vandenberg, President and CEO, Lingotek, Draper, UT USA

Results in the 2011 IBAs will be announced on July 27, and the honorees will be celebrated at a gala in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates on October 11.

What do you think of the chairs of this year's final judging committees?

Integrate.com of Denver, Colorado USA won the Stevie Award for Best New Company of the Year at The 2011 American Business Awards.  Here we look at how this new company achieves its goals.

Integrate claims to be the first advertising marketplace of its kind.  It is making waves in the online marketing industry by offering a technology that combines a wide array of distribution sources with multiple campaign models in order to serve every type of advertiser in their quest for new customers. 

Following are four ways that Integrate.com is living up to its name. 

1. Uniting Distribution Sources

Integrate’s advertising marketplace is a media-buying dashboard. It unites every type of distribution source: websites, mobile publishers, television networks, national and local radio syndicates, billboard sources, online and offline yellow pages, email marketers, newspapers, magazines, and more.

2. Connecting with Media Sources

Advertisers in more than 65 different B2B and B2C verticals can easily create

customized, performance-marketing campaigns.  At the click of a button they connect with hundreds of media sources—a process that historically takes days is reduced to minutes. Put simply, the Integrate platform allows one person to do the job of an entire team, from any place with an Internet connection.

3. Providing Multiple Pay-Per-Performance Models

Integrate caters to many performance-based pricing models where advertisers and merchants pay only for the qualifying leads, customers, or inbound phone calls they receive.  Integrate pay-per-performance models include Cost-per-Lead, Cost-per-Acquisition, Cost-per-Inbound-Call, and Cost-per-Live-Transfer.  Integrate claims to be the first platform to combine all of these options into one system.

4. Matching Campaigns with Fulfillment Sources

Integrate also provides a proprietary matching technology to streamline the media transaction process.  Upon joining the marketplace, advertisers and publishers create custom profiles highlighting important details about their companies and their areas of expertise.  The Integrate technology uses this information to automatically match campaigns with the fulfillment sources most likely to deliver the best results. 

Commitment to Quality

Integrate maintains a commitment to quality from the moment a partner applies to its community and throughout every interaction that takes place on its platform.  All applicants undergo a strict approval process to ensure that only the most reliable partners have a presence.  Stringent quality-control filters are applied throughout the campaign-creation process, implementation, and delivery.  Integrate aim is to introduce ethics and accountability into the performance marketing space.

Bridging the Gap Between Publishers and Advertisers

Integrate is not just an advertising marketplace, but also a community.  It provides a semi-transparent environment that bridges the gap between publishers and advertisers.  Both parties can review one another’s vital business data—including credit and trade reference reports, campaign performance statistics, strengths, and weaknesses­—before deciding to collaborate. Parties communicate with one another through the Integrate Messaging Center. Using Integrate’s mediation tools, advertisers and publishers can directly discuss any quality-and-return issues that may arise. 

Since its launch in February 2010, Integrate has united more than 3500 advertisers and publishers, and provided the technology behind more than 2500 marketing campaigns. It received its first round of funding from Foundry Group in December 2010.

Said Jeremy Bloom, co-founder of Integrate.com: “We are committed to remaining on the forefront of marketing technology­—providing businesses with a cutting-edge solution for their marketing needs.  Winning the Stevie Award for Best New Company proves that what we are offering is appreciated in the industry.”

About Jeremy Bloom:

Jeremy Bloom is Co-Founder of Integrate.  Through his vision, Integrate achieved impressive scale from the beginning. Bloom specializes in moving fast and making an impact.  His focus and motivation provide unbeatable inspiration for his team.

Bloom began his career in professional athletics, both as an Olympic Skier and NFL Football player.  In addition to his athletic and business accomplishments, he launched a nonprofit foundation, Jeremy Bloom’s Wish of a Lifetime, which grants wishes to 80, 90 and 100+ year old people across the country. 

About Integrate.com:

Integrate.com offers a unified media-buying dashboard that allows advertisers in B2B and B2C verticals to create custom marketing campaigns. Integrate unites a variety of media sources including Internet, print, radio, TV, and mobile. Its core services range from Cost-per-Lead and Cost-per-Acquisition to Cost-per-Inbound-Call and Live Transfer.  For more information go to www.integrate.com

Integrate is a next-generation multi-channel advertising marketplace that applies new technology to streamline the media-buying and -selling process.  It combines virtually every type of media source—ranging from contextual sites, email, and mobile to billboards, TV, and radio—into a single dashboard, allowing one person to effectively do the job of an entire team.  Integrate’s proprietary IMPACT technology automatically matches ad campaigns with the most relevant sources for fulfillment based on a series of data points including vital business details, campaign criteria, and performance statistics.  Market participants directly communicate and negotiate with one another through the Integrate Messaging Center.   Integrate provides the marketplace with unparalleled data validation and fraud prevention controls to ensure that all parties are mutually protected.  For more information go to www.integrate.com.

 

Janine Popick is the CEO and Founder of VerticalResponse, which has won multiple Stevie Awards, most recently for Support Team of the Year in The 2011 American Business Awards; and Janine Popick was named Best Entrepreneur in a Service Business with up to 100 Employees in the 2010 Stevie Awards for Women in Business.

What are your top three tips for small business owners on email marketing, content creation, and social media?

1. Take the time to organize your first email marketing campaign, and then use the same template for all of your weekly or monthly email campaigns. Creating your first email can be daunting. As we all know, business owners just don’t have the extra time in their day that it takes to do this. But if you keep reusing your template it will take less and less time, and when you are comfortable making changes to it, you can try new things and add to it to get a better response.
2. A lot of people don’t know where to start when it comes to creating content. The answer is to use what you have. Why not feature a customer and whether he/she likes the experience of using your product or service? If you’ve recently won an award or received a great review, that’s another thing you can highlight. You can even have a sale around an upcoming holiday or an create an event for one. The more you think about all you do in your business, the more you’ll realize you’ve got a ton of ideas to write about or share via photos and videos.
3. Social media is a great way to extend the life of your email marketing campaign. Make sure you include “follow us” links so that your email recipients have yet another way of getting your messages. In addition, you’ll want to include links to Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn in your email campaigns so that your recipients will share them with their own followers. Doing this spreads the word fast!
   

What item of news recently caught your eye and why?

The Pope is Tweeting! Gotta love it.

Do you have a favorite app?

My favorite iPhone app is Shazam. I’m always amazed that the app will pretty flawlessly tell you who is singing a song!

If you could choose another profession, what would it be?

I once wanted to be an MTV veejay, but now I’m not even sure whether that profession still exists!

What quality or qualities do you most value in your business associates?

Honesty is the quality I most value in any business associate, whether it is someone inside my company or on the outside. I love it when people tell me they simply “don’t know” rather than faking it. And I love doing business with companies who are honest and open with their customers.

What do you think is the worst bad habit to have at work?

Clipping your nails. Kidding! I think the worst bad habit to have at work is avoiding the big projects that need to be done.  Simply put: procrastination. I do it, we all do it, but getting your arms around it when you detect it’s happening and changing your behavior is always a good thing. And half the time you build up that “big” project in your mind, but when you get into it, it’s not really that big.

As someone at the top of your profession, what keeps you inspired or makes you hit the ground running in the morning?

My people and my customers always inspire me. Our mission is to help small businesses and non-profits grow by providing easy-to-use online marketing tools. So when a customer tells me that something our team produced helped them grow—whether it be a phone call, an email, or a piece of technology—I’m happy all the way around.

About Janine Popick:

Janine Popick, CEO and Founder, started VerticalResponse in 2001, when email marketing was catching on for larger businesses but still out of reach for small businesses. She realized that developing simple-to-use, cost-effective Web-based tools would make email marketing affordable and practical for small businesses—and that has been the company’s mission ever since.

In her spare time, Janine is CEB (Chief Executive Blogger) for the award-winning VerticalResponse Marketing Blog for Small Businesses. Prior to founding VerticalResponse, she led direct and Internet marketing programs for some of the biggest brands in technology and entertainment, including NBC Internet; XOOM.com; Claris, a wholly owned subsidiary of Apple Inc.; and Symantec Corporation.

About VerticalResponse:
VerticalResponse Inc. is a leading provider of self-service email marketing, social media, online surveys, and direct-mail services empowering small businesses and nonprofit organizations to easily create, share, and analyze their own marketing campaigns. Users can benefit from a wide variety of features including more than 700 free email marketing templates in a variety of categories; plus the ability to share their content over several social media networks; and tracking on everything from email marketing to social media responses so that they can understand campaign success. VerticalResponse offers customers an integrated Web-based marketing solution that’s intuitive and affordable. VerticalResponse is headquartered in San Francisco, Calif. For additional information, please visit www.verticalresponse.com.

In the midst of an economic environment where there’s no such thing as “business as usual,” The 9^th Annual American Business Awards^SM honored the best and brightest in a stunningly wide array of businesses and disciplines, crowning this year’s Stevie® Award winners at a gala event last night in New York City.

With more than 600 executives in attendance, The 2011 American Business Awards (ABAs) honored an all-inclusive spectrum of American business people and organizations -- from non-profits, emerging start-ups, major public companies and government agencies, to corner-office executives, corporate communicators, support staff and customer service teams.

Download the official program of the 2011 ABAs, featuring complete lists of honorees and judges.

The ABAs also paid tribute to entrepreneur and philanthropist Russell Simmons, best known as the co-founder of Def Jam Recordings, with its Difference Maker award, which made its debut this year.  The honor was presented to Simmons in recognition of his groundbreaking vision and influence on music, fashion, finance, television and film as well as modern philanthropy.

The event took place at the New York Marriott Marquis in Times Square and the emcee for the evening was Fox Business Network anchor Cheryl Casone.

Notable Stevie Award winners in The 2011 American Business Awards include, among others:

­   Executive of the Year: Jeffrey Bezos, Chairman of the Board, President & CEO, Amazon.com, Inc.

­   Best Overall Company of the Year: Apple Inc.

­   Business Turnaround of the Year: Whole Foods Market, Inc.

­   Corporate Social Responsibility Program of the Year: Cisco

­   Customer Service Team of the Year: Dell

­   Support Team of the Year: DHL Express

­   Information Technology Team of the Year: CIGNA Government Services

­   Most Innovative Company of the Year: General Electric

­   Fastest Growing Company of the Year: Groupon

­   Communications or PR Campaign of the Year: Hewlett-Packard

­   New Product or Service of the Year: Research In Motion's BlackBerry PlayBook

Winners in in the People’s Choice Stevie® Awards for Favorite New Products, determined by more than 140,000 public votes, were also awarded at the event to companies including Apple Inc., Motorola, PetRays, Reliv International and Zebra Technologies.

For a complete list of The 2011 American Business Awards honorees visit:  www.stevieawards.com/aba. 

More than 2,800 entries were submitted to The 2011 American Business Awards and more than 200 executives nationwide participated in judging to determine this year’s Stevie Award finalists and winners.

Winners of multiple Stevie Awards include Akavit, American Express, Apple, BGT Partners, Blackboard, CIGNA Government Services, Cisco, CME Group, Dealer.com, EffectiveUI, Hewlett-Packard, High Performance Technologies, Humana, IFDS Canada, Informatica Corporation, The Knowland Group, LifeLock, MediaCom Search, Millennial Media, MOST Brand Development + Advertising, Mountain View Group, MWW Group, Overstock.com, PetRays, Quality Systems, Inc., Reputation.com, Slack and Company, Sprint Prepaid Brands, Tesla Motors, and XPLANE.

A portion of each ticket sold for the gala event will be contributed to Camfed (www.camfed.org), an organization which fights poverty and HIV/AIDS in Africa by educating girls and empowering women to become leaders of change. 

About The Stevie® Awards

The Stevie Awards are conferred in four programs: The American Business Awards, The International Business Awards, the Stevie Awards for Women in Business, and the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service.  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.   

Sponsors and partners of The 2011 American Business Awards include Infogroup, IBM Netezza, American Support, Citrix Online, Epic Media Group, High Performance Technologies Inc., iolo technologies, LifeLock, Merisel/Coloredge, PetRays, SDL, SoftPro, and Vérité, Inc.

Throughout this week we've been acknowledging the more than 200 professionals who participated in judging of The 2011 (9th Annual) American Business Awards.  And the last group we'd like to acknowledge, but by no means the least, is the Board of Distinguished Judges & Advisors for the Media Section of the ABAs.

We formed this judging board several years ago to acknowledge the fact that the number of entries to the ABAs' categories for all form of media - web sites, blogs, video, live events, annual reports, etc. - was growing so quickly.

The following professionals participated on that judging board this year.  They participated in final judging of the media categories, and their work will be reflected in this year's Stevie Award winners who will be announced in New York on Monday evening, June 20.

Thanks so much to all of them!

John Avila, Senior VP, Executive Design Director, Edelman Design, Chicago, IL
Thomas R. Beeby, Principal, Executive Creative Director, Beeby Clark + Meyler, Irvington, NY
Christy Belden, Vice President, Media +, LeapFrog Interactive, Louisville, KY
Patrick Bonomo, Managing Partner, Director of Search & Digital Operations, MediaCom Search, New York, NY
Alison Cahill, Marketing Director, E*TRADE, New York, NY
Ming Chan, CEO, The1stMovement, Pasadena, CA
Lisa Chapman, Senior Manager, Brand Marketing, Blue Shield of California, San Francisco, CA
David Clarke, Managing Partner, BGT Partners, Miami, FL
David Crawford, Senior VP-Managing Group Creative Director, GSD&M Idea City, Austin, TX
Kevin Daly, CEO, Creek Systems Inc., Aliso Viejo, CA
Rob Davis, CEO & Founder, Akavit, Denver, CO
Stephen Donaldson, Principal, Radiant Brands, Atlantic City, NJ
Chad Eikhoff, Owner, Trick 3D, Atlanta, GA
Matt Finizio, Creative Director, Slack and Company, Chicago, IL
Max Fresen, Executive Creative Director, Isobar North America, Inc., Watertown, MA
Katherine Goldman, Senior VP, Executive Creative Director, Jack Morton Worldwide, New York, NY
Steven Hacker, President, International Association of Exhibitions and Events, Dallas, TX
Tina Hansen, Supervising Marketing Analyst, Port Authority of New York & New Jersey, New York, NY
Christopher Harmon, Principal & CEO, theBATstudio, Oakland, CA
Nancy Hasselback, President & CEO, Diversified Business Communications, Portland, ME
Scott Holmes, President-Interactive, WONGDOODY, Crandall, Wiener, Seattle, WA
Douglas Kelly, Executive VP-Design Director, Imagination Publishing, Chicago, IL
Frank Laudo, VP, Chief Creative Officer, GES, Las Vegas, NV
Peyton Lindley, Executive Director of User Experience Design and Technology, EffectiveUI, Denver, CO
Michael Magnani, President, Nvision, New York, NY
Dawn McDermott, Marketing Associate Director, Sun Life Financial, Wellesley Hills, MA
Jeannine McHenry, Senior Graphic Designer, Creative Channel Services, Los Angeles, CA
Joe Mele, Manager for Media & Marketing, Razorfish West, Seattle, WA
Dana Mellecker, Director, Public Relations, iCrossing, New York, NY
Patrick Milling Smith, Partner, Smuggler, New York, NY
Rajendran Nair, Marketing Director, Callidus Software, Pleasanton, CA
Gillian Rawcliffe, Business Development Manager, Verite, Inc., Sandy, UT
David M. Rich, Senior VP-Client Services Worldwide, George P. Johnson Co., Detroit, MI
Katie Rogers, Executive Vice President, DirectAnswer, Inc., Oxon Hill, MD
Ann Roskey, VP, Marketing & Audience Development, Accela Communications, Southborough, MA
Greg Schell, Director, Marketing, Brand, Advertising & Sponsorships, BMO Capital Markets, New York, NY
Molly E. Spatara, Global Director, Internet Marketing, Accenture, Chicago, IL
Scott Takeda, Director-Producer-Actor, Takeda Entertainment, Inc., Denver, CO
Tinne Teugels, Account Director, Metia, New York, NY
Michael Weil, Vice President, Hall-Erickson, Inc., Westmont, IL
Michael Weiss, CEO, imagistic Media Studios, Westlake Village, CA

Here's the list of the 214 organizations who have thus far reserved their tickets for this coming Monday's 9th Annual American Business Awards in New York.  Do you plan to join them?

ABS Associates, Inc. Rolling Meadows, IL            
Accenture, Chicago, IL                       
Acorda Therapeutics, New York, NY             
Acquity Group, LLC Chicago, IL
ActionCOACH  Las Vegas  NV
adBrite  San Francisco  CA                
AECOM Technology Corporation  New York  NY    
Aegis Electronic Group Inc.  Gilbert AZ
Affinnova, Waltham, MA
Agiliance  Inc.
Allen Interactions Inc., Mendota Heights, MN       
AlliedBarton Security Services
Alloy Software  Nutley  NJ
AmberMcGown.com
American Express Business Travel  New York  NY      
American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, New York, NY                    
American Support           
Americas' SAP Users' Group  Chicago  IL            
Anjali Kataria                          
Approva Corporation  Herndon  VA                 
Assurant Solutions, Atlanta, GA               
A-T Solutions Inc., Vienna, VA                 
Atlantic Shores Retirement Community Virginia Beach VA                                              
AutoMD.com  Carson  CA
AXA Distributors, LLC            
Backup My Info!, New York, NY              
Beam Global Spirits & Wine, Deerfield, IL           
Berkshire Associates Inc.  Columbia  MD             
BGT Partners  Miami  FL
BlackLine Systems                       
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina, Durham, NC                                          
BOXLIGHT, Belfair, Washington              
Braces By Burris  Jonesboro  AR                 
BrainStorm Inc.  American Fork  UT              
Brendan O'Connell               
Bridge Publications, Inc., Los Angeles, CA             
BrightRoll  San Francisco  CA
Broadview Networks                    
Buckeye Partners  L.P.                 
Business TalkRadio Network                 
Cabell Huntington Hospital  Huntington  WV        
CACI International, Inc.               
Cambium Learning Technologies  Natick  MA          
Capital Access Network, Scarsdale, NY
Cartus Corporation  Danbury  CT
Catapult Technology  Bethesda  MD
CIGNA Corporation
CIGNA Government Services  LLC
CitiusTech Inc.
Citizens Financial Group  Providence  RI            
CME Group  Chicago  IL                    
Constant Contact
Content Master                            
Coveo                       
Coverall Health-Based Cleaning System  Boca Raton  FL                    
Creative Lodging Solutions, Lexington, KY                 
Credit Alliance Group  Dallas  TX
CrownPeak, Los Angeles, CA
Dawson + Murray + Teague Communications  Houston  TX                                          
Dealer.com
Definition 6  Atlanta  GA
Dell  Inc.  Round Rock  TX
DeVry University
DHL Express  Tempe  AZ
Dimension Data
Donlen, Northbrook, IL
DYMO Endicia                      
DYMO/Mimio Inside Sales & Sales Operations       
E Center, Inc.                    
eClinicalWorks
EffectiveUI, Denver, CO
eHarmony
Electric Insurance Company
Eloqua  Vienna  VA
EMKAY Inc.  Itasca  IL
Empire Today  Northlake  IL
Empire Today  Northlake  IL
EmpowHER Media  Scottsdale  AZ
Entergy Corporation  New Orleans  LA
Epic Media Group
Epicor Software Corporation  Irvine  CA
ExactTarget  Indianapolis  IN
EXIT Realty Corp. USA  Woburn MA
F5 Networks  Seattle  WA                 
Fisher Communications, Inc., Seattle, WA            
Flextronics International  Milpitas  CA                 
Fox Business Network                   
Gas Station TV                    
GPS Capital Markets  Salt Lake City  UT              
Grasshopper Group  Needham  MA
Groupon, Inc. Chicago, IL
Harris Corporation, Melbourne, FL
High Performance Technologies Inc.
Hilton Hotels & Resorts, McLean, VA
Homewood Suites by Hilton  Memphis  TN
Hubspan  Inc  Seattle  WA
Humana, Inc., Louisville, KY
IBM Netezza
iCrossing, Scottsdale, AZ
IFDS Canada, Toronto, Canada
Incredimeal.com
Infogroup
Information Builders  New York  NY
INSZOOM.COM INC.  San Ramon  CA
Integrate.com  Denver  CO
InterContinental Hotels Group, Atlanta, GA       
Internap Network Services  Atlanta  GA
International Checkout Inc  Van Nuys  CA               
Investor Growth Capital              
iolo technologies                                   
IQMS, Paso Robles, CA               
Isagenix International, LLC. Chandler, AZ              
ISOdx                          
John Hancock Funds  Boston  MA                    
Kelly Services
KPMG LLP, Montvale, NJ
Kwittken & Company             
L-com Connectivity Products, North Andover, MA       
Legacy, Washington, DC              
LifeLock                             
LiveOps  Santa Clara  CA
LivePerson  New York  NY
LPS SoftPro
MailerMailer  Rockville  MD                       
Makovsky + Company, New York, NY
Marriott Intermediary Partner Care  Omaha  NE           
MASERGY Communications  Inc.  Plano  TX
MBX Systems  Wauconda  IL
McKinley Marketing Partners  Inc.  Alexandria  VA        
McKinney Rogers  New York  NY
MediaCom Search  New York  NY
MediaMind  New York  New York
Merisel
Microsoft  Redmond  WA
MicroTech, Vienna, VA            
Millennial Media  Baltimore  MD
Modern Technology Solutions, Inc., Alexandria, VA    
MonaVie, South Jordan, UT               
Mondial Assistance USA  Richmond  VA
Moreover Technologies  Reston  VA
MOST Brand Development + Advertising
Motorola
MWW Group  East Rutherford  NJ
NIIT Technologies, Inc., Atlanta, GA
nlyte Software  Menlo Park  CA
Noetix Corp.  Redmond  WA
Nutricap Labs  Farmingdale  NY
Overstock.com, Salt Lake City, UT
Overture Networks  Morrisville  NC
Pegasystems Inc.  Cambridge  MA
PeopleMetrics
Percussion Software, Woburn, MA               
PetRays Veterinary Telemedicine Consultants, The Woodlands, TX                         
PHH Arval                      
PlanSource  Orlando  FL                   
Prescription Solutions/UnitedHealth Group  Irvine  CA                     
Procter & Gamble  Cincinnati  OH
QAD
Quality Systems  Inc.  Irvine  CA                 
Reliv International  Inc.  Chesterfield  MO                   
Rethink Autism  Inc.  New York  NY
RF|Binder  New York  NY
Richardson                                        
Rio Tinto
RiseSmart  Inc.  San Jose  CA
Rising Medical Solutions, Chicago, IL
Rovi Corporation, Santa Clara, CA
Rush Communications
Saba, Redwood Shores, CA
SAP Marketing, New York, NY
SCRA  Charleston  SC                             
SDL
Signature HealthCARE  Louisville  KY
SoftPro                                 
Spend Radar  Chicago  IL
Staff Management, Chicago, IL
SteelHouse  Los Angeles  CA                      
Summit Medical Group  Berkeley Heights  NJ          
Sun Life Financial Inc., Wellesley Hills, MA               
SunGard                                
SuperMedia                               
SurePayroll  Glenview  IL                         
SYSPRO
Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare  Inc.          
TelecityGroup, New York, NY
Tellago  Inc.  Schaumburg  IL
Temperature@lert
The Knowland Group  Lewes  DE
The Lincoln Electric Company  Cleveland  OH              
The Receivables Exchange  New Orleans  LA               
thebigword  New York City  NY                              
Thinking Phone Networks
TIBCO Software Inc. Palo Alto  CA                             
Travelex Global Business Payments, Washington DC          
USANA Health Sciences Inc. West Valley  UT              
uTest, Southborough, MA
Valassis
ValueClick  Inc.  Westlake Village  CA             
Vemma Nutrition Company, Scottsdale, AZ        
Venda  Inc.  New York  NY
Vérité, Inc.                  
VerticalResponse  San Francisco  CA                    
Viverae  Dallas  TX
Voices Heard Media
Weather Trends International                         
Webs, Inc, Silver Spring, MD
Webtrends  Portland  OR                              
WMS Gaming
WowWe Inc.  The Woodlands  TX                       
Xcelus  LLC  Provo  UT                             
Zayo Group, Louisville, CO
Zeno Group  New York  NY