In the leadup to tomorrow's final entry deadline for the 10th annual Stevie Awards for Women in Business, the world's top honors for women in the workplace, we've been catching up with Stevie Award winners from the past decade.  They've told us about what it meant to them to win their Stevie Awards; how it's affected their lives and their businesses.

Today we catch up with 2008 Stevie winner Nina Simosko, then global chief operating officer of SAP Education, SAP America, Palo Alto, CA.  Simosko won her Stevie as Best Executive – Services Business (more than 2500 employees).

Since winning the Stevie Award in 2008, Simosko has been fortunate enough to land her dream job at Nike. In her role at Nike, she continues to work in a technology function, as head of strategy, planning & operations for Nike Global Technology.  Since fitness is such an important aspect of her life, having the chance to work for such an iconic brand as Nike is what she claims “a truly wonderful experience and amazing career move and opportunity.”

Back in 2008, the Stevie Awards competition was deep for Simosko, as in her category she was surrounded by a plethora of powerful, intelligent and driven women like herself, all of whom were leading their respective efforts at large corporations. She was honored to be part of the Stevie Awards program and to be associated with the award and group, especially considering all the amazing executives that participated across the board, both in years before she received her award as well as years following.  What makes the Stevie Awards for Women in Business distinctive is that it attracts strong, smart and tenacious women spanning many platforms – for profit and non-profit, large and small companies, and more.  The company one keeps when being part of this competition is really motivating and intriguing.

Today, Simosko continually reflects on her Stevie Award win, using it as a tool to help empower younger women, who also are chasing their dreams. She refers to it as a way for her to help them further their careers and prove that anything is possible.

The Stevie Award has been proudly featured on her personal blog (ninasimosko.com) as well as on her LinkedIn profile since she earned it, affording inspiration for others.

“My Stevie Award experience was an amazing one – first, from my initial surprise when I was declared as the winner, to proudly showcasing my Stevie ever since and sharing it with many younger colleagues seeking to enhance their own careers. I hope the Stevie Award and my career serve as examples and role models for these energetic young women who are learning that the sky is the limit for setting out to achieve whatever you set your mind to.  For me, the Stevie win was behind me all the way!”

Enter the 2013 Stevie Awards for Women in Business now at www.StevieAwards.com/Women.   Need a brief extension past tomorrow's deadline?  Request one by writing to help@stevieawards.com.

In the leadup to tomorrow's final entry deadline for the 10th annual Stevie Awards for Women in Business, the world's top honors for women in the workplace, we've been catching up with Stevie Award winners from the past decade.  They've told us about what it meant to them to win their Stevie Awards; how it's affected their lives and their businesses.

Today we catch up with 2005 Stevie winner Marla Letizia, then president of Mobile Billboards of Las Vegas, Las Vegas, NV.  Marla and her company won their Stevie for Most Innovative Company of the Year – Up to 100 Employees.

Marla R. Letizia was one of the first women to earn a Stevie Award for Women in Business. In 2005, the second year of the awards program.  At that time, Letizia was in the throes of getting her novel billboard business off the ground by bringing mobile advertisements to the exciting Las Vegas market.

At that time, her business was in its embryonic stages. Letizia was learning how to navigate her newfound entrepreneurial venture.  She was busy enjoying both building and operating her new enterprise.

The Stevie Award win helped solidify her firm’s position in the marketplace, expanding awareness beyond the Las Vegas market the company was serving, and exposing its successes to others outside the area looking in to find a billboards vendor.

Sometime after winning her Stevie Award, Letizia hit a crisis and while her business survived (and was renamed), she claims to have found the silver lining by learning a great deal about being a successful entrepreneur and running an innovative company.  According to Letizia, “I have the courage of a lion with regard to anything in business.”  There is an a old quote, “that which does not kill us makes us stronger," and while Letizia grew stronger personally and professionally, the confidence of a winning a Stevie stayed alongside her.

The press coverage that resulted from her Stevie Award win continues to show up in Google searches and brings instant credibility to her business when potential customers -- both inside and outside of the Las Vegas marketplace – search for businesses boasting her service offering.  The recognition she earned also continues to aid in recruitment as future employees discover the award win online when searching her firm and are very impressed with the remarkable achievement.

“When a solid organization finds you worthy of honoring, graciously smile and say thank you, then enjoy all it has to offer and then find ways to give back!”

It has been an honor to earn this award, and Letizia is constantly seeking ways to give back. The Stevie has helped propel her business to new levels.

Enter the 2013 Stevie Awards for Women in Business now at www.StevieAwards.com/Women.   Need a brief extension past tomorrow's deadline?  Request one by writing to help@stevieawards.com.

We've published a short video about how to enter the 2014 Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service: 

The Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service are the world's top customer service awards, sales awards, and contact center awards. There are even new product awards categories and categories to recognize the achievements of solution providers.

This quick informational video plus an entry kit are all any company needs to know to be able to submit entries.  The Stevie Awards are the world's premier business awards.

There are dozens of categories to recognize the achievement of individuals, entire departments and teams, as well as new products used by customer service and sales professionals, and the achievements of solution providers to these professionals.

The competition is judged each year by several hundred professionals around the world.  The sponsors are providers of products and services to sales, contact center, and customer service professionals.

The early-bird deadline is October 9.  Get your entry kit, and enter today.

September 25 is the final entry deadine for the 10th annual Stevie ® Awards for Women in Business (www.StevieAwards.com/Women), the world's top honors for women entrepreneurs, executives, employees, and the organizations they run.

You may be considering nominating yourself, your boss, your company... and are wondering whether the hassle of preparing an entry, and paying the entry fee, are worth it.

Over the past several weeks we've profiled in this blog a number of Stevies for Women winners over the past decade.  We thought you'd like to hear one more time what they said about what winning their Stevie has meant to them, and to the continued success of their organizations.

What Past Stevie Award Winners Have to Say

Winning a Stevie "shone a bright light on Signature HomeStyles’ mission to make a difference … one home at time. The Stevie Awards helped create more awareness about our company with articles appearing in the Chicago Sun-Times, the Chicago Daily Herald, and other news outlets."
--- Madolyn Johnson, founder and CEO of Signature HomeStyles

"It was a massive honour to be the first Australian woman to win a Stevie Award for Women in Business, and I’ve since gone on to win multiple Stevies.  I think back to the night I won my first Stevie and look at how much my business has expanded since, and feel honored to be recognized internationally for my achievements.”
--- Sandy Forster, founder and CEO of WildlyWealthy.com

“I encourage every woman in business to explore the Stevie Awards program and consider nominating yourself or another worthy advocate for the awards. The Stevie Awards staff and community are incredibly supportive and insightful. Going through the nomination process is fun and generates powerful self-discovery. Take that step – find your voice!”
--- Liz Ryan, founder of Human Workplace

"The town where I lived at the time I received the award -- Davie, Florida --  was so proud of and impressed with my Stevie Award that they named a day after me!  I never could have anticipated that this type of recognition would elicit such a response from my community, and I am grateful that the judges acknowledged the importance of supporting those with autism.  Winning the Lifetime Achievement Stevie Award was one of the high points of my career."
--- Valerie Herskowitz, president of the Florida Association of Speech-Language Pathologists and Audiologists

“Winning the Stevie Award was an enormous achievement for me and my business and continues to prove beneficial to our operations every day. I had no idea of the impact that winning this award would have on our business until I checked my e-mail from my hotel room the next morning and online orders had flooded in from across the USA.  We now have a growing and loyal customer base in America via online and retail outlets.  The Stevie Awards have definitely helped elevate our U.S. presence.”
--- Niamh Barker, founder and managing director of The Travelwrap Company

"Since earning the Stevie Award, my business has grown. As the first Japanese woman to win, I am humbled and honored to have earned this award. It continues to positively impact the success of my business."
--- Atsuko Matsumura

“Outside of being recognized as a best-selling author on Amazon.com, the Stevie Award has been my most recognized accolade.”
--- Dr. Laureen Wishom

If you want the same platform for recognition that these women received through their Stevie Award wins, you need to enter the Stevie Awards for Women in Business.  Do that today at www.StevieAwards.com/Women.

The Stevie® Awards held one of its awards galas for its 11th annual American Business Awards competition last night, and announced the winners of its first-ever Grand Stevie Award trophies.

LifeLock received the Grand Stevie for organization of the year, for earning the most award points in The 2013 American Business Awards. Other top ABA Grand Stevie winners include Makovsky for interactive services agency of the year, Slack and Company for marketing agency of the year, and MWW for public relations agency of the year.

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. The organizations with the most points won, with a Gold Stevie Award win counting for three points, a Silver Stevie win for two points, and a Bronze Stevie win for 1.5 points.

Besides LifeLock, Makovsky, MWW and Slack and Company, Grand Stevies were also awarded to the ten other organizations with the most points in the 2013 competition. They are:

10th place: EMKAY Inc.
9th place: Actiontec Electronics
8th place: VerticalResponse
7th place: CallidusCloud
6th place: USANA Health Sciences
5th place: Cisco Systems, Inc.
4th place: Accenture
3rd place: AT&T Inc.
2nd place: DRC    
1st place: Quality Systems, Inc.    

Last night’s gala, focused on new product awards, website awards, and other tech awards, was the second of two American Business Awards ceremonies this year. The first ceremony took place in Chicago on June 17 and honored winners in disciplines such as customer service, human resources, corporate communications, live events, publications, and selected categories for company/organization, management and marketing.

The American Business Awards honor 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, product developers, marketers and web development teams.

More than 250 executives attended last night’s awards banquet at San Francisco’s Julia Morgan Ballroom. Stevie Awards were conferred in three levels of distinction: Gold, Silver and Bronze.

For a complete list of all 2013 American Business Awards’ Stevie Award winners visit http://www.StevieAwards.com/ABA.

More than 3,200 entries were submitted to The 2012 American Business Awards and more than 320 executives nationwide participated in judging to determine this year’s Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Award winners.

Entries for The 2014 American Business Awards will be accepted starting in October.

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. A fifth program, the Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards, will debut later this month. 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 Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and YouTube.

Sponsors and partners of The 2013 American Business Awards include the Business TalkRadio Network, Callidus Software, Citrix Online, Dynamic Research Corporation, Experian Consumer Services, John Hancock Funds, LifeLock, PetRays, and SoftPro.

The 11th Annual American Business Awards announced Stevie® Award winners last night at its event focused on outstanding new products and services and on achievements in technology industries.

Last night’s gala was the second of two American Business Awards ceremonies this year. The first ceremony took place in Chicago on June 17 and honored winners in disciplines such as customer service, human resources, corporate communications, live events, publications, and selected categories for company/organization, management and marketing. Winners in all new product and technology-related categories were announced at the event in San Francisco last night.

The American Business Awards honor 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, product developers, marketers and web development teams.

More than 250 executives attended last night’s awards banquet at San Francisco’s Julia Morgan Ballroom. Stevie Awards were conferred in three levels of distinction: Gold, Silver and Bronze.

Also announced last night were the first-ever Grand Stevie Award winners. The Grand Stevies were awarded to the organizations who received the most awards overall – Gold, Silver or Bronze – in the ABAs this year. LifeLock was presented with the Grand Stevie for Organization of the Year. The winners of the other Grand Stevie Awards will be named in a followup press release today.

AT&T, Inc., Dropbox and Marvell were the top winners of Gold Stevie Awards last night with three each. Winners of two Gold Stevies include Actiontec Electronics, Brainshark, Inc., DRC, ExtraHop Networks, LexisNexis, Web Advanced, Wilshire Axon, and ZehnerGroup.

Notable Gold Stevie Award Winners announced last night include:

­    New Product or Service of the Year - Consumer Services: Bitcasa’s Infinite Drive
­    Best Hospitality & Leisure Website: Carbone Smolan Agency for the Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group website
­    Information Technology Team of the Year: The Cisco IT Elastic Infrastructure Services Team
­    New Product or Service of the Year - Hardware - Peripheral: Hewlett-Packard’s HP Officejet Pro X576dw
­    Best Marketing App: John Hancock Funds iDiversify
­    Executive of the Year - Computer Software - Up to 500 Employees: Phil Fernandez, president and CEO of Marketo
­    Most Innovative Tech Company of the Year - Up to 100 Employees: ExtraHop Networks
­    Tech Innovation of the Year: AT&T’s Application Resource Optimizer (ARO)

For a complete list of The 2013 American Business Awards winners announced last night visit http://www.StevieAwards.com/ABA.

Winners of the People’s Choice Stevie Awards for Favorite New Products, which were determined by more than 20,000 votes in July and August, were announced in August and presented their crystal People’s Choice Stevie Awards last night.

More than 3,200 entries were submitted to The 2012 American Business Awards and more than 320 executives nationwide participated in judging to determine this year’s Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Award winners.

Entries for The 2014 American Business Awards will be accepted starting in October.

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. A fifth program, the Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards, will debut later this month. 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 Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and YouTube.

Sponsors and partners of The 2013 American Business Awards include the Business TalkRadio Network, Callidus Software, Citrix Online, Dynamic Research Corporation, Experian Consumer Services, John Hancock Funds, LifeLock, PetRays, and SoftPro.

2013 marks the 10th anniversary of the Stevie Awards for Women in Business, the world's top honors for female entrepreneurs, executives, employees, and the organizations they run.

As we approach the September 25 final entry deadline for the 2013 competition we'll look back at some of the women who have won Stevie Awards over the past decade.  We'll catch up with them on their current activities, and learn what their Stevie win meant to them and their careers.

Today's Q&A is with 2004 Stevie winner Madolyn Johnson.  Johnson won the Stevie Award for Women Helping Women in the 2004 Stevie Awards for Women in Business. Now the founder and CEO of Signature HomeStyles (formerly The HomeMaker's Idea Company), Johnson has seen the company grow over the past 10 years.

As one of the first winners in the Stevie Awards for Women in Business, and subsequently also in The American Business Awards, what has winning a Stevie Award meant to you?

It shone a bright light on Signature HomeStyles’ mission to make a difference … one home at time. The Stevie Awards helped create more awareness about our company with articles appearing in the Chicago Sun-Times, the Chicago Daily Herald, and other news outlets.   

As a successful business owner, what advice do you have for women starting their own businesses?

Do it now! If you wait, it might be too late. You must be passionate about what you do. Believe in yourself and keep at it no matter the challenges or obstacles put in your way.

Signature HomeStyles must be something of a bellweather for the economy in the United States and Canada.  What do you see shaping businesses in the next three years?

Perseverance! I started my company in 1971 when the country was in a recession. You’re going to hit a few bumpy patches, but if you follow your mission and passion, make smart business decisions, and persevere, you can weather any storm.

Do you have a favorite business app?

Yes, SHS Everywhere! We introduced this app to our team of Signature HomeStyles representatives a year ago. This app allows them to do their Signature HomeStyles business on the go. They can access important news and product-training videos, and show their customers our catalogs everywhere they go! 

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

The stories of success I hear from our Signature HomeStyles representatives. Whether it is someone who is a more confident person because she presents our products at Signature HomeStyles Shows, or has gotten rid of credit card debt thanks to her Signature HomeStyles business—that’s all the motivation I need to keep going! I love helping women who can then help other women start their own Signature HomeStyles businesses, too.

The final entry deadline for the 2013 edition of the Stevie Awards for Women in Business is September 25.  Complete entry detail are available at www.StevieAwards.com/Women.

About Madolyn Johnson
Madolyn Johnson is the founder and CEO of Signature HomeStyles.  She celebrates more than four decades at the helm of this one-stop home organizing and decorating resource, which has also become a catalyst for thousands of successful female entrepreneurs. Madolyn Johnson is frequently recognized as one of the top woman business owners in the nation.

About Signature HomeStyles
Signature HomeStyles offers an exclusive line of hundreds of versatile and beautiful organizing and decorating essentials including baskets, linens, pottery, wall decor, and holiday decorations. The products are available throughout the U.S. and Canada exclusively through thousands of trusted sales representatives who have built successful businesses.

Next Monday, September 16 we'll stage the second of two 2013 American Business Awards banquets.  The setting will be the gorgeous Julia Morgan Ballroom in San Francisco's historic Merchants Exchange Building.  The occasion will be the announcement of the Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie® Award winners in the new product awards, website awards, app awards, IT awards, and other technology-related categories in the ABAs, the U.S.A.'s top honors for achievement in the workplace.

We'll also announce the first-ever winners of Grand Stevie Awards, which will go to the winners of the Best of the ABA Awards.

The event will sell out - only 30 tickets remain.  Get your tickets for next Monday's American Business Awards event before they sell out - login to your entry-submission account now!

The 11th annual ABAs attracted more than 3,200 entries from organizations across the U.S.A.  Close to 300 executives nationwide participated in the judging process.  The first part of the 2013 ABA awards presentations took place in Chicago in June.

So who's coming to next Monday's shindig?  Here's the list of confirmed attendees thus far.

Actiontec Electronics Sunnyvale CA
Acxiom Little Rock AR
Adaptive Planning Mountain View CA
Aggregate Knowledge San Mateo CA
Agiliance Sunnyvale CA
Allen Interactions, Inc.  Mendota Heights MN
ARI Mount Laurel NJ
Arkadin Atlanta GA
Articulate New York NY
Assurant  Inc.  New York NY
Avion Pharmaceuticals  Alpharetta GA
Bitcasa  Mountain View CA
Bloomfire Austin TX
BOXLIGHT Belfair WA
Brainshark Inc. Waltham MA
bytes of knowledge Nashville TN
California Insurance Guarantee Association Glendale CA
Cbeyond Atlanta GA
CD2 Learning Overland Park KS
Cigna Hartford CT
Cisco San Jose CA
Citrix Goleta CA
Citrix GoToAssist Santa Barbara CA
CloudAccess Los Angeles CA
Code 42 Software  Minneapolis  MN
Constant Contact  Waltham  MA
Coveo  Quebec Canada
Coverhound  San Francisco CA
Creative Enterprise Solutions LLC  Scottsdale  AZ
Crocs Inc. Niwot CO
Cvent Inc. McLean VA
Decision Lens Arlington VA
Definition 6 San Francisco CA
DRC Reston VA
Dubai Electricity & Water Authority United Arab Emirates
Dynisco Instruments  Plastics Division  Franklin  MA
EffectiveUI  Denver  CO
EMD Millipore  Billerica  MA
EMKAY Inc. Itasca IL
Enterasys Networks Salem NH
Experian Consumer Services   Costa Mesa CA
ExtraHop Networks Seattle WA
Fieldglass  Chicago  IL
FINE Design Group San Francisco CA
Graco Inc. Minneapolis MN
Hewlett-Packard  Palo Alto CA
Internap  Atlanta  GA
IQNavigator Centennial CO
JobApp Plus Denver CO
LawRoom Walnut Creek CA
LifeLock  Tempe AZ
LifeSize Communications Austin TX
Makovsky New York NY
MarketLive Inc.  Petaluma CA
Marvell Semiconductor, Inc. Santa Clara CA
MicroStrategy Inc. Tysons Corner VA
Morrison & Foerster LLP  New York  NY
NetScout Systems, Inc.  Westford, MA
Newlight Technologies LLC Irvine CA
NexTraq, Atlanta, GA
Omnitracs San Diego CA
OnFulfillment  Newark  CA
OpenQ Charlottesville VA
Orbis Technologis, Inc.  Annapolis MD
Overture Networks  Morrisville  NC
PAR Springer-Miller Stowe VT
Paycor  Cincinnati  OH
PerspecSys McLean VA
Pontoon Jacksonville FL
QLess  Inc.  Altadena  CA
Quality Systems, Inc. Irvine CA
Reliv International  St. Louis  MO
RIVS.com  Chicago IL
Roth Staffing Companies  L.P.  Orange  CA
Saba Software Redwood Shores CA
SCRA Charleston SC
SecureAuth Corporation Irvine CA
Siemens Medical Solutions USA Inc. Malvern PA
Silicon Image Sunnyvale CA
Sita Corp  Franklin Township NJ
Siteworx LLC Reston VA
SoftPro Raleigh NC
SolidFire  Inc.  Boulder  CO
Stage 2 Networks New York NY
Stoneware, Inc. Carmel IN
Strategic Mobility Group Schaumburg IL
Syntellia San Francisco CA
SYSPRO Costa Mesa CA
Tangent Medical  Ann Arbor  MI
Tanis Communications  Inc.  San Jose  CA
TechLeads Online  Redwood City  CA
Telstra Global New York NY
Teradata Corporation  Dayton OH
The International Association of Privacy Professionals Portsmouth NH
Trace One  Boston  MA
Travelport GDS  Atlanta  GA
Travelzoo  New York  NY
TRWD Fort Worth TX
UBM DeusM  New York  NY
Ultra Logistics/UltraShipTMS  Fair Lawn  NJ
UnitedHealthcare  Minnetonka MN
uTest Inc. Southborough MA
VerticalResponse San Francisco CA
ViridiSTOR  Tustin  CA
We Card Program Arlington VA
Webs a subsidiary of Vistaprint Lexington MA
Wheels Inc.  Des Plaines  IL
Workday  Pleasanton CA

On Monday, September 16, the Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Award placements in The 2013 American Business Awards' new product awards and tech-related categories will be announced during ceremonies at the Julia Morgan Ballroom in San Francisco.

Now you can download a PDF of the program that will be distributed to attendees that evening. Get it here.

The program is a complete chronicle of the awards, with a list of all of the judges in all of the categories and all of the Finalists who on the 16th will be named Gold, Silver or Bronze Stevie winners.

The program lists all 2013 ABA Finalists in the following category groups:

* New product awards
* Website awards
* App awards
* IT awards
* Management, company, and marketing awards in tech-related industries

The program illustrates that The American Business Awards - and Stevie Awards programs in general - have more judges than any other business awards program in the world.  All of the judges are professionals with real-world business and management experience.  The program also demonstrates that The American Business Awards, now in their 11th year, receive more, and a greater variety, of entries than any other business awards program.

Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie winners in all other ABA categories were announced in Chicago on June 17.

Look for the announcement here on Tuesday, September 17 of the Gold, Silver and Bronze winners.

And look for the call for entries for the 2014 ABAs in early October!  Join the mailing list now so that you receive the entry kit as soon as it's available.

We've decided today to extend voting for the People's Choice Stevie Awards for Favorite Companies through September 18.  Vote now for your favorite companies at http://peopleschoice.stevieawards.com.

The People's Choice Stevie Awards for Favorite Companies is a feature of The International Business Awards in which the general public worldwide can vote for their favorite companies in 17 industry categories. Voting was originally scheduled to conclude on September 13

The International Business Awards (www.StevieAwards.com/IBA) are the world's premier business awards competition, honoring achievement in every facet of the workplace.  This year's (10th annual) IBAs attracted more than 3,300 entries from organizations in more than 50 nations.

Winners of the crystal People's Choice Stevie Awards will be presented to winners at the 10th annual International Business Awards gala at the W Hotel in Barcelona, Spain on October 14.  Winners of Grand, Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Awards in the IBA's many peer-reviewed categories will also be presented that evening.  Nearly 300 executives around the world conducted the peer-review judging this year.

Remember to vote for your favorites in the people's choice voting!