This Friday, March 27 will mark the historic occasion of the presentation of the very first German Stevie Awards, the newest Stevie Awards competition.  The Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Awards to recognize the best in business throughout Germany will be presented during a gala event at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Berlin.

The 2015 German Stevie Awards accepted nominations in a wide variety of categories, including

* Management Awards
* Company of the Year Awards
* PR Awards
* Marketing Awards
* New Product Awards
* Website & App Awards
* HR Awards
* IT Awards
* Customer Service Awards
* Video Awards
and more

All organizations operating in Germany were eligible to submit entries. Nominations of more than 200 organizations were considered for the awards this year.

Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Award winners, selected by more than 50 executives who participated in judging, were announced on February 26.   The Grand Stevie winner, presented to the organization that submitted the best body of nominations to the awards, will be announced at the March 27 banquet in Berlin.

The Stevie Award trophy, made by the company that makes the Oscar and other major international awards, is among the world's most coveted prizes.

Here are the organizations who've already booked their place at this Friday's awards banquet.

affilinet GmbH München Bayern
aok teleservice marketing- und callcenterdienstleistungen der defacto GmbH Erlangen Bayern
Arkadin Frankfurt
AVL Emission Test Systems GmbH Neuss
Blacklane GmbH Berlin
CB-PraxisBeratung, Heidelberg
CCC Berlin
CocaCola GmbH Berlin
COMBITEL GmbH München Bayern
Deutsche Post DHL Bonn NRW Deutschland
E2open AG Karlsruhe Baden-Württemberg
Emanate PR München Bayern
Epicentrum de Colonia Köln
F&H Public Relations GmbH München Bayern
Feingold Technologies GmbH Unterföhring München Bayern
fischerAppelt Hamburg
Hamburger Software GmbH, Hamburg
Hewlett Packard CDS GmbH Bad Homburg Hessen
Integration Matters - Faiz & Siegeln Software GmbH Essen NRW
Inventorum GmbH Berlin
JUNIQE (Kollwitz Internet GmbH) Berlin
Kemper Kommunikation GmbH Frankfurt Hessen
Ketchum Pleon Dusseldorf
Lush Fresh Handmade Cosmetics, Berlin
METRO Cash & Carry Deutschland GmbH Düsseldorf NRW
MID GmbH Nürnberg Bayern
mobilcom-debitel GmbH Erfurt Thüringen
optivo GmbH Berlin
Packsize GmbH Herford NRW
The Phone House Telecom GmbH, Münster
promio.net Gmbh Bonn Nordrhein-Westfalen
RheinBrücke IT Consulting GmbH Köln NRW
Sky Deutschland Unterföhring Bayern
trio-group GmbH Mannheim Baden-Württemberg
uberMetrics Technologies GmbH Berlin Deutschland
Vocalcom GmbH Mannheim Baden Württemberg
Weber Shandwick München Bayern
Zebra Advertisement Dudenhofen Germany
ZIEHL-ABEGG SE Künzelsau Baden-Württemberg

Entries for the 2016 edition of the German Stevie Awards will open this August.  Add your name to the mailing list, and you'll receive the entry kit by email as soon as it's available.

A record-setting crowd of more than 500 executives from around the world will gather at the Bellagio in Las Vegas on Friday, February 27 for the 9th annual Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service, the world's top sales awards, business development awards, contact center awards and customer service awards.  Tickets for the event are still on sale.

The presentations will begin at 5:15 pm with the Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Awards in the business development, new product, and solution provider categories.  After cocktails and dinner, the awards will continue at 7:40 pm with awards in the sales and customer service categories.  The evening will conclude with the presentation of Grand Stevie Award trophies to the 10 organizations that submitted the best body of entries to the 2015 competition.

More than 1,900 entries were submitted for consideration in this year's competition, a 27% increase over 2014.  Entries to the competition have more than doubled over the past three years.

So who's coming to the event in Las Vegas on Friday?  Here's the list of organizations that have already confirmed their participation.

(mt) Media Temple Culver City CA
60K Ltd. Sofia Bulgaria
Access One Inc Chicago IL
Acquia Inc. Burlington MA
Active Digital Tonbridge Kent United Kingdom
Adobe Systems San Jose CA
Allianz Global Assistance Richmond VA
Artificial Solutions Stockholm Sweden
Asurion Nashville TN
Avea Iletisim Hizmetleri A.S. Istanbul Turkey
BDNA Mountain View CA
Beeline.com Jacksonville FL
Billhighway Troy MI
Black Knight Financial Services Jacksonville FL
Blacklane GmbH Berlin Germany
Blinds.com Houston TX
Blizzard Entertainment Irvine CA
Bluebeam Software Pasadena CA
Box Inc. Los Altos CA
BTC Bahamas
BuildASign.com  Austin TX
Buildium Boston MA
Carbonite Boston MA
Cars.com Chicago IL
Cisco Systems Inc San Jose CA
Clean Power Finance San Francisco CA
ClearSlide San Francisco CA
Code42 Minneapolis MN
Comcast Cable Philadelphia PA
Common Sense Solutions Shreveport LA
Competence Call Center Vienna Austria
Comview Corporation Huntington Station NY
Constant Contact Waltham MA
Core BTS Carmel IN
Corporate360 Pte Ltd Singapore
CubeSmart Malvern PA
DataCore Software Fort Lauderdale FL
Delta Air Lines Atlanta GA
Delta Defense West Bend WI
DenizBank Istanbul Turkey
DHL EXPRESS ARGENTINA Buenos Aires Argentina
DHL Express Mexico
DHL EXPRESS NZ LTD Auckland New Zealand
DHL Express U.S. Plantation FL
DHL Global Forwarding Miami FL
Digital Risk  Maitland FL
Donlen Corporation Northbrook IL
EFG Companies Irving TX
EMKAY Inc Itasca IL
eMoney Advisor  LLC  Conshohocken  PA
eMoney Advisor LLC Conshohocken PA
fastjet  Gatwick  United Kingdom
FedEx TechConnect Memphis TN
Findasense Madrid Spain
FLOW Jamaica Kingston Jamaica
Fujairah Police General Head Quarters Al Fujairah United Arab Emirates
Gaggle Bloomington IL
GoDaddy.com Scottsdale AZ
GraduationSource Port Chester NY
GuideWell Connect  Jacksonville FL
Halyard Health Irvine CA
HomeAway Inc. Austin TX
HomeServe USA Norwalk CT
HotelTonight San Francisco CA
IBM Corporation Armonk NY
Imparta Inc Austin TX
IMVU Inc. Mountain View CA
Infinite Conferencing Springfield NJ
Informatica Corporation Redwood City CA
INTERTECH A.S. Istanbul Turkey
Invenio Solutions Austin TX
ISN Dallas TX
j2 Global Inc. Ottawa ON Canada
Janek Performance Group Las Vegas NV
Kohl's Department Stores - Credit Division Menomonee Falls WI
Lennox Industries Inc. Richardson TX
LivingSocial Inc. Washington DC
Lucernex Technologies Plano TX
Magnolia HVAC Riverside CA
MaintenanceNet  Inc.
MarketBridge Bethesda MD
Marriott Intermediary Partner Care Omaha NE
Marriott International Inc. Bethesda MD
Marriott Vacation Club International Orlando FL
MassMutual Life Insurance Company Springfield MA
Mastercard Miami FL
Measat Broadcast Network Systems Sdn Bhd Kuala Lumpur Malaysia
MedCost LLC Winston-Salem NC
Mercury Payment Systems Durango CO
MetTel New York NY
Microsoft Corporation  Redmond  WA
Ministry of Interior Sharjah Police HQ Sharjah United Arab Emirates
Mozy by EMC Pleasant Grove UT
Network Alliance Reston VA
Nuance Communications Burlington MA
Nudge American Fork UT
NYCM Insurance Edmeston NY
Oi  Rio de Janeiro  Brazil
OmniUpdate Camarillo CA
OnTarget Partners Frisco TX
OptumRx Irvine CA
Paycor Cincinnati OH
PCCW Teleservices  Dublin OH
Photodex Austin TX
Picore International Calabasas CA
Police Attache  Washington DC
PrimePay West Chester PA
Pronq-by HP Sunnyvale CA
PSCU St. Petersburg FL
Rackspace San Antonio TX
Revana Tempe AZ
Revenue Storm Schaumburg IL
Richardson Philadelphia PA
Rocket Matter Boca Raton FL
Salesforce  San Francisco, CA
SalesStaff LLC  Houston TX
Service Express Grand Rapids MI
Sharegate Montreal QC Canada
ShopKeep New York NY
Sofica Group JSC Sofia Bulgaria
Sparkcentral San Francisco CA
Statewide Intake Austin TX
SugarCRM Cupertino CA
Sundance Vacations  Wilkes-Barre  PA
Swiss Reinsurance Company Zurich Switzerland
Telerx Horsham PA
Telogis Aliso Viejo California
Texas.gov Austin TX
The Coca-Cola Company Iberia + Findasense Madrid Spain
The Efficiency Sales Professional Institute San Francisco CA
Time Warner Cable New York NY
Trupanion Seattle WA
Turner Industries Group LLC Baton Rouge LA
TweetMyJobs Burbank CA
United Credit Consultants Burnsville MN
United States Equestrian Federation Lexington KY
UnitedHealthcare Minnetonka MN
UPMC Health Plan Pittsburgh PA
USANA Health Sciences Salt Lake City UT
USHEALTH Advisors L.L.C. Grapevine TX
ValueSelling Associates Rancho Santa Fe CA
WCCT Global Cypress CA
Webs  Reston VA
Wells Fargo San Francisco CA
Wheels Inc. Des Plaines IL
WP Engine Austin TX
Wyndham Vacation Ownership Orlando FL
XDBS Corporation Hawthorne CA
Ytel Foothill Ranch CA
Zions First National Bank Salt Lake City UT

It's too late to submit nominations to the 2015 Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service, but it's the right time to plan for the 2016 competition.  Join the mailing list and you'll be emailed the 2016 entry kit as soon as it's available in July.

What do you do if you really want to pursue Stevie® Awards recognition for your organization and your colleagues, but you haven't a dollar or a euro or a pound or a won or any other form of currency in your budget for entry fees?

This category spotlight is about the categories in two Stevie Awards competitions, The 2015 (13th Annual) American Business Awards and The 2015 (12th Annual) International Business Awards, that you can enter without having to pay entry fees. These are the largest and most diverse business awards competitions in the world, together attracting more than 6,800 entries in 2014.

The ABAs are open to all organizations operating in the U.S.A. The IBAs are open to all organizations worldwide. The 2015 editions of both competitions will recognize achievements since January 1, 2014. Both offer a wide variety of categories to choose from. Most categories require payment of an entry fee (the Stevie Awards are funded primarily through entry fees), but there are a handful of categories in both competitions that anyone may enter, free of charge. See below for the entry deadlines for the ABAs and IBAs .

Startup of the Year

Both competitions feature several new Startup of the Year categories that may be entered free of charge. Companies that began operations since the beginning of 2013 may be nominated, as long as the nomination describes the company's achievements since the beginning of 2014. There are four variations of  this category in both competitions: for startups in business products industries, business services industries, consumer products industries, and consumer services industries. Submissions to these categories require an essay of up to 650 words, describing the company's achievements since the beginning of 2014, and a bullet-list summary of up to 10 of the company's primary achievements in that time. You have the option to attach any number of supporting materials (work samples, videos, images, press clippings, etc.) to the entry.

The ABAs also feature a separate category for Tech Startup of the Year that may be entered free of charge. The entry requirements for this category are the same.

Energy Industry Innovation of the Year

This is another new free category for 2015, common to both the ABAs and the IBAs. This category recognizes singular innovations in energy-related technology, production, conservation, storage or delivery, by an organization or an individual, since January 1, 2014. See our recent blogpost about this category.

The Startup of the Year and Energy Industry Innovation of the Year categories are part of the Company/Organization categories in the ABAs and IBAs.

• The Company/Organization categories in the ABAs are listed here.
• Those Company/Organization categories in the IBAs are listed here.

Categories for Non-Executive Individuals

The ABAs have more free categories than the IBAs do. The American Business Awards also feature several free categories in which non-executive professionals in the U.S.A. may be nominated. (By non-executive we mean anyone under a Vice President level.) These categories include Marketer of the Year, Communications Professional of the Year, Product Developer of the Year, Technical Professionals of the Year, and Support Staffer of the Year. Submissions to these categories require an essay of up to 650 words, describing the nominee's achievements since the beginning of 2014, and a bullet-list summary of up to 10 of the nominee's primary achievements. You have the option to attach any number of supporting materials (work samples, videos, images, press clippings, etc.) to the entry.

The entry deadline for The American Business Awards is March 25. Late entries will be accepted through April 22 with payment of a late fee. Complete information about the ABAs is available at www.StevieAward.com/ABA.

The early-bird entry deadline for The International Business Awards is April 15. The final deadline is May 13, but late entries will be accepted through June 10 with payment of a late fee. Learn more at www.StevieAwards.com/IBA.

So who are you going to nominate in The American Business Awards and/or The International Business Awards?

Biz TV will broadcast a special television program about the 11th annual Stevie Awards for Women in Business on Friday, January 30 at 10:00 ET, with a repeat broadcast on Sunday, February 1 at 6:00 pm ET.

The Stevie Awards for Women in Business are the world's top honors for female entrepreneurs, executives, employees, and the organizations they run. The 11th annual awards were presented during a dinner in New York on November 14, 2014. More than 400 nominees and their guests from around the world attended.

Read Biz TV's blog post about the broadcast here.

Biz TV is associated with Biz Talk Radio, which broadcast the November proceedings live across the U.S.A.

We saw a preview of the program the other days and it's outstanding! The program features all of the on-stage Grand and Gold Stevie Award presentations, selected interviews with Stevie Award winners, and some original videos produced by 2014 Stevie winners.

Biz TV promises to broadcast the program several more times in the first quarter of this year after the first two airings. We'll publicize those dates when we have them.

Learn more about the women in business awards at www.StevieAwards.com/Women.  The 2015 competition will open for entries in May.

We have struck a very limited number of 2014 Gold Medals that are now available for purchase in the Stevie Awards Store to all 2014 Gold Stevie Award winners. 

We have had only 50 Gold Stevie medals struck and once they are gone they will be gone for good.  The price of each Gold Stevie medal is $50 + shipping & handling.

Only Gold Stevie Award winners in the following 2014 Stevie Awards programs are eligible to purchase this limited edition item:

• The American Business Awards
• The Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards
• The International Business Awards
• The Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service
• The Stevie Awards for Women in Business

Medals are 3 inches x 0.25 inches. Each medal features the Stevie® Awards image and the year of conferral. Each medal comes in a presentation gift box, with a transparent viewing window on top.

Order your 2014 Gold Stevie Award medals today.

In addition, we are offering discounted pricing this month on 2014 Silver and Bronze Stevie Award medals.  Typically available for $50 each + shipping & handling, this month 2014 Silver and Bronze Stevie Award winners can purchase additional medals in the Stevie Awards Store for just $25 each + shipping & handling.

Questions about these items?  Email us at help+awards@stevieawards.com.