The following professionals participated on the nine final judging committees of The 2013 (11th Annual) American Business Awards, the nation’s premier business awards program. Their average scores determined the 2013 Stevie® Award winners. We thank them for their time, insights, and support. (2013 winners will be announced at one of our two awards banquets: June 17th at the Fairmont Chicago Millennium Park Hotel in Chicago or September 16th at the Julia Morgan Ballroom in San Francisco. Click here to order tickets.)

2013 Company/Organization Awards Final Judging Committee
Chair:
Craig Lund, CEO, SecureAuth Corporation, Irvine, CA

Committee:
Jeff Bell, Partner, NCT Ventures, Kirkland, WA
Andrew Berman, VP Sales, BigTinCan, Boston, MA
Kevin S. Chen, President & CEO, Business Methods Corporation, Mt Freedom, NJ 
Fernando Chumentowski, CIO, Quick Bridge Funding, Orange, CA
John Everson, Chief Info Security Officer, Dish Networks, Englewood, CO
Jad Flewelling, VP Information Security, Elliott Health Systems, Manchester, NH   
Ben Gold, President, Quick Bridge Funding, Orange, CA
Eric Halvorson, SVP, National Services Group, Wells Fargo, Treasury Management Client Services, Minneapolis, MN     
William Holmes, Principal, Go-Trust, Lake Forest, CA     
Ed Jackiowak, VP Special Projects, Vordel, Newton, MA   
Toby Labelle, Sr. Vice President, Northland Security, Minneapolis, MN
Bob Markel, Director of IT and Operations, Virgin America, Burlingame, CA
Allen  Miner, CEO, Sunbridge, Sunnyvale, CA   
Kunal  Mittal, Executive Director, Enterprise Technologies, ADM, Sony Pictures, Hawthorne, CA
Don More, Managing Director Security Investment Banking, Signal Hill, New York, NY
Brett  Morgan, Manager Solution Architect, Russell Investments, Seattle, WA  
Johnny Munger, CISO, Trust Company of the West, Los Angeles, CA     
Carmen Parisi, CEO, Chicago Brick Oven, Chicago, IL      
Kevin Powell, Director of Sales, Egnyte, Mountain View, CA      
Bryan  Rigney, VP Operations, MarginPoint, Lake Forest, CA     
Linda  Shepard, CFO, Habitat for Humanity of Orange County, Mission Viejo, CA   
Robert  Thomas, President, MulliganFun, Torrance, CA 
Lee Weiner, Sr. Vice President, Rapid7, Boston, MA     

2013 Creative Awards Category Final Judging Committee
Chair:
Otto Bell, Creative Director, Ogilvy Entertainment, New York, NY

Committee:
Nick Barrios, Creative Director, Digitas, New York, NY   
Bill Davaris, Executive Creative Director, Ogilvy, New York, NY  
Rachel  Deutsch, Creative Director, The Design Channel, Chevy Chase, MD
Justin Havlik, Executive Producer, First Wave, New York, NY     
Sean Kapoor, VP, Global Brand Marketing, Harman International, Stamford, CT 
Craig  Kavicky, Director, Business Development-N. America, Fitch, Columbus, OH 
Kristen Lacy, Associate Creative Director, Slack and Company, Chicago, IL 
Andrew Ladden, Executive Creative Director, Ogilvy, New York, NY       
Rob Leggat, Senior Vice President, Goddard Gunster, Washington, DC
David Leider, CEO, Gas Station TV, Birmingham, MI       
Alex Louie, Creative Director, Wilshire Axon, Los Angeles, CA   
Jeannine McHenry, Art Director, One17 Creative, Marina Del Ray, CA   
Thomas Prevot, Senior Interactive Producer, Y&R, New York, NY  
Kate Reddy, Co-Owner/Co-President, McKinnon-Mulherin Inc., Salt Lake City, UT 

2013 Corporate Communications, Investor Relations and Public Relations Awards Final Judging Committee
Chair:
Michelle Gilbert, Public Relations Manager, Michigan/Indiana/Kentucky Region, Verizon Wireless, Southfield, MI
 
Committee:
Jennifer L. Cherry, SVP & Chief Digital Officer, Marx Layne & Company, Farmington Hills, MI     
Beth  Crivello-Wagner, Director of Marketing Communications, Core Creative , Milwaukee, WI
Misty Cruse, President, Cruse PR, Louisville, KY
Andi Ferguson, Account Supervisor, Wordsworth Communications, Cincinnati, OH  
Bonnie Hackbarth, Senior Counselor, Guthrie/Mayes Public Relations, Louisville, KY      
Mary Ann Henker, President, The Henker Group, Easton, MD 
Courtenay Higgins, Senior Partner, Winning Strategies, Newark, NJ       
Laura Merritt, Public Relations Manager, Verizon Wireless, Hilliard, OH
Andrea Meyer, Public Relations Manager, Verizon Wireless IL/WI Region, Schaumburg, IL 
Ann Murphy, SVP, O'Neill & Associates, Boston, MA    
Lori Riddle Eberenz, Associate Director of Public Relations, Bandy Carroll Hellige, Louisville, KY  
Colleen Rosso, Director of Communications, Hartland Township, Milford, MI    
David Samberg, Public Relations Manager, Verizon Wireless, Basking Ridge, NJ
Michael  Schmarak, Vice President, DKC Public Relations, Marketing & Government Affairs, Northbrook, IL       
Natalie Stavale, Account Supervisor, Marx Layne & Company, Farmington Hills, MI
Robin Vaitonis, SVP, Strategic Communications, Tanis Communications, San Jose, CA   
Chris Vasan, Communications Lead, Cisco Systems, Smart Web Technology Group, Research Triangle Park, NC
Danielle Waller, Associate Account Manager, Guthrie/Mayes Public Relations, Louisville, KY      
Becky Wilson, President, WDS Marketing and PR, Overland Park, KS     
Amanda Wisell, Marketing Manager, PAR Springer-Miller, Stowe, VT   
Julia Zamorska, VP of Corporate Communications, iolo technologies, Los Angeles, CA   

2013 Customer Service Awards & Support Awards Final Judging Committee
Chair:
Dawn Stevenson, Manager, Customer Retention, Customer Service & Inside Sales, Stamps.com, Los Angeles, CA

Committee:
Rebekah Clerk, National Customer Service Manager, Empire Today, Northlake, IL
Brian Giannini, VP Business Development, Network Direct, Inc., Phoenix, AZ    
David Gilman, President, Gilman Performance Systems, Inc., Brookfield, CT      
Stephen Henderson, Program Director, Alta Resources, Brea, CA
Billie K. Johnson, VP, Client Results, Incept, Canton, OH   
Lori Owens, VP, Client Relations, PhoneWare, Inc., San Diego, CA
Dave Shapiro, CEO, Dialogue Marketing, Troy, MI
Aaron Taylor, VP, Customer Care, MyLife.com, Westwood, CA
Joanne Wilkie, CEO, JessicaSimpson.com, Los Angeles, CA 
Kelli Williamson, Manager, Loyalty and Engagement, Rymax, Inc., Costa Mesa, CA
Vince Yanez, Customer Care Manager, Stamps.com, Los Angeles, CA  
Chris Zoloth, Director Global Customer Care, IHG, Salt Lake City, UT      

2013 Human Resources Awards Final Judging Committee
Chair:
Dave Craig, Vice President of Human Resources, Fazoli's Italian Restaurants, Lexington, KY

Committee:
Jerry Barbian, President, B & J Search Resources LLC, Brookfield, WI     
Jeff Bilot, VP, National Accounts, Wells Fargo Insurance, Fort Lauderdale, FL     
L Brigg Cochran, President/CEO, Benefit Insurance Marketing, Lexington, KY  
Mary Cuervo, Sr. Director of Comp & Benefits, VITAS Innovative Hospice Care, Miami, FL
Kim Davis, SVP, NFP HR Services, National Financial Partners, Austin, TX 
Samuel Faust, SVP, Willis of TN, Nashville, TN  
Becky Fine, COO, Honolulu Coffee Company , Honolulu, HI       
Vernessa W. Gates, Chief People Officer, BravoBrio Restaurant Group, Columbus, OH
Mary Golaboff, VP, NFP HR Services, National Financial Partners, Austin, TX
Kevin Hegebarth, VP, Marketing & Product Management, HIRE IQ, Atlanta, GA 
Carrie Kohn, VP, National Accounts, Allstate Benefits, Oviedo, FL 
John  Lamb, VP & Group Head, Ebix, Atlanta, GA
John C. Logan, Managing Director, Marsh, Louisville, KY
Krushnaprasad Mahapatra, HR Head, Tata Consultancy Services, Bangalore, India
Lisa D.  Morgan, President, Zenith Performance Group, LLC, Louisville, KY
Rodney Morris, Chief People Officer, Romano's Macaroni Grill, Dallas, TX 
Connie Paris, Vice President, The Elliot Group, Atkinson, NH     
Cabot Pollard Pyle, Director of Charitable Giving, Turner Family Foundations, Nashville, TN
Mary Roseman, Associate Professor & Hospitality Management Program Director, University of Mississippi, University, MS
Lisa Schweickert, VP of Training, Golden Corral Corporation, Raleigh, NC   
Patrick Sterling, Sr. Dir, Risk & People Administration, Texas Roadhouse, Louisville, KY  
 
2013 Information Technology Awards & New Products & Product Management Awards Final Judging Committee
Chair:
Jesse Rothstein, CEO and co-founder, ExtraHop Networks, Seattle, WA

Committee:
Vesselin Bakalov, CTO, SevOne Inc, Wilmington, DE     
Daniel Burkholder, IT Solutions Advisor, Susan G. Komen for the Cure, Frisco, TX  
Tanya Bakalov, COO, SevOne Inc, Wilmington, DE
Jock Breitwieser, Director, Corporate Communications, TriNet, San Jose, CA     
Michael Brown, CTO, comScore, Inc., Reston, VA 
Alexander Castro, VP of Product, Electronic Arts, San Francisco, CA
Andrew Conry-Murray, Editor, Network Computing, Fair Oaks, PA
Julie Cullivan*, Chief Information Officer, FireEye, Inc., Milpitas, CA       
Kyle Forster, Co-Founder/President, Big Switch Networks, San Francisco, CA    
Bill Gossman, CEO, Marble Security, Sunnyvale, CA       
Donna Grare, VP Engineering, PHD Virtual, Morris Plains, NJ     
Connie Guglielmo, Technical Reporter, Forbes Magazine, Los Altos, CA 
Ed Horst, VP, Business Development, Perforce Software, Alameda, CA 
Jim Hutchins, CTO & EVP, T2 Systems, Inc., Indianapolis, IN
Mel Kemp, SVP of Operations, Pegasus Solutions, Inc., Seattle, WA
Mike Kindle, VP, Information, HealthSouth, Birmingham, AL           
Stephen Lavin, Vice President Infrastructure & Operations, Coinstar, Inc., Oakbrook Terrace, IL
Rene Lopez, VP of Platforms & Architecture, TriZetto Corporation, Denver, CO 
Steve McGee, Director, Hosting Operations, Tyler Technologies, Little Elm, TX 
Michael Mikuta, VP of Technology Strategy, Dynamics Research Corporation, Reston, VA
Judilynn Niedercorn, CEO, SysTactics, McClean, VA
Ken Phelan, CTO, Gotham Technology Group, Montvale, NJ     
Manny Rivelo, EVP, SP & Security Solutions, F5 Networks, Seattle, WA
Cindy Schumacher, SVP Infrastructure Services & Security , TriZetto Corporation, Denver, CO    
Milo Sprague, Head of Technology, Silicon Valley Bank, Santa Clara, CA
Leslie Stretch, President & CEO, CallidusCloud, Pleasanton, CA
John Trainor, CIO, Aaron's, Inc., Kennesaw, GA 
Wes Wright, SVP/CIO, Seattle Children's, Seattle, WA  
Markus Zirn, VP, Product Management, SPLUNK, San Francisco, CA      

2013 Management Awards Final Judging Committee
Chair:
Joe Gillette, Chairman & CEO, Stage 2 Networks, New York, NY 

Committee:
Karin Ajmani, President, Marwood Group, New York, NY 
Richard Barton, CIO, American Management Association, New York, NY   
Rob Basso, President, Advantage Payroll Services, Freeport, NY   
David J. Cuthbert, CEO & President, Alteva, Philadelphia, PA    
Brenda Dukart, Executive Account Manager, Managed Business Solutions, Colorado Springs, CO  
Andy Gutman, CFO, Farbman Group, Southfield, MI    
Arnie Herz, Esq, Attorney at Law, Law Office of Arnie Herz, Port Washington, NY  
Stephen A Jannetta, Partner, Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP, Philadelphia, PA
Jay Kim, CFO, Stage 2 Networks, New York, NY      
Joseph Laezza, President, BSIMPLIFIED GROUP LLC, Monroe Township , NJ      
Norton W. Lazarus, Managing Director, OEM Capital Corp, New York, NY  
Mario Lopez-Alcala, Senior Analyst, Morgan Stanley Capital International, New York, NY
Tony Magliocco, COO, Empire Merchants, Astoria, NY    
Jay Mitchell, President, Mereo, LLC, Colorado Springs, CO 
Fabi Preslar, President, SPARK Publications, Matthews, NC       
Andy Pritchard, CEO, ThoughtBurst, Fort Wayne, IN     
Michael Quinn, Partner, Q Advisors LLC, Denver, CO     
Peter Raymond, CEO, Human Condition, Brooklyn, NY 
Lewis Schiff, Chairman and Executive Director, Inc Business Owners Council, New York, NY
Ricky Spike, CPA, Ives Sultan & Spike PLLC, Woodbury, NY
Manuel F. Valencia, Vice President of Strategy, Excelerant, Baton Rouge, LA   

2013 Marketing Awards Final Judging Committee
Chair:
Carmen Yazejian, President, Network9, New York, NY

Committee:
Allyn Bacher, Sole Proprietor, Bacher Design, Brooklyn, NY
Christopher Beesley, Graphic Designer, Christopher Beesley Design, Norwalk, CT
Mark Simon Burk, Creative Director/Content Chief, BRANDnv, New York, NY   
Tanya Candia, CEO, Candia Communications LLC, Los Gatos, CA 
Sandra de Novellis, Sr. Marketing Manager, Telehouse America, New York, NY 
Mary DiMaggio, President, HMA Associates, Inc., Washington, DC 
Julia  Forsyth, Senior Strategy Manager, Marketing , GSMA , Atlanta, GA  
Giles House*, Senior Vice President & Chief Marketing Officer, CallidusCloud, Pleasanton, CA    
Ariel Hyatt, Founder, Cyber PR, Brooklyn, NY   
Jo Ann Jacobsen, VP, Tinkerbelle Design, TinkerBelle, New York, NY     
Kimberly Joyce, Internet Marketing Consultant, ReachLocal, Newnan, GA 
Bob Kersten, Strategy Director, Landor Associates, San Francisco, CA   
Elliot Kreloff, Associate Publisher/Creative Director, Blue Apple Books/ Elliot Kreloff, Inc., New York, NY   
Charlotte Neuville, President, Fashion Chef, New York, NY
Gina Ray, Principal, Ray Public Relations, Mission Viejo, CA
Jennifer  Rose, Principal, Jennifer Rose Design, New York, NY  
Lamonda Williams, Cofounder & Chief Content Officer, Lamar’s Daughter, LLC, New York, NY   
Conrad Winter, Freelance Copywriter, Backpocket Copywriter, Metuchen, NJ 

2013 Website Awards Category Final Judging Committee
Chair:
Josh Kelly, Managing Partner, FINE Design Group, San Francisco, CA

Committee:
Jeremy Beckman, Instructional Designer, Lawroom, Walnut Creek, CA
Christy Belden, VP, Media + Marketing, Leapfrog Interactive, Louisville, KY
Suraya Bliss, Senior Director, Digital Communications, Walmart, Bentonville, AR       
Julien Brandt*, CEO, Organik SEO, Solana Beach, CA
Suraya Bliss, Senior Director, Digital Communications, Walmart, Bentonville, AR
Gina Cuff, Director, Digital Marketing, Pacific Bioscience Laboratories, Inc., Redmond, WA
Christopher Harmon, Principal & CEO, theBATstudio, Oakland, CA
Stafford Kendall, Principal, Covalent Logic, Baton Rouge, LA      
Patrick  King, Founder/CEO, Imagine, Inc., Manassas, VA  
Bill Leake, CEO, Apogee Results, Austin, TX       
David Siskin, Founder & Partner, Boomity, San Francisco, CA    
Robert Balog, Creative Director, Ogilvy, New York, NY  
Lori Teranishi, Partner, IQ PR, Inc., San Francisco, CA    
Danny Altman, CEO, A Hundred Monkeys, Mill Valley, CA
Maribel Castillo, AVP/ Director of Corporate Communications, T.Y. Lin International, San Francisco, CA 
Jeff Leaf, Creative Director, Ogilvy, New York, NY

*Statements and decisions by Judges are not made on behalf of their company and do not reflect any representations or endorsements by their company.

The following professionals participated in preliminary judging of The 2013 American Business Awards, the nation’s premier business awards program, in April-May. Their average scores determined the Finalists.  We thank them for their time, insights, and support.

Pam Abrahamsson, Vice President, Stephenson Group, Portland, OR, USA         
Amal  Al-Najjar, HR Manager, Fluor Kuwait, Kuwait       
Stewart Andrews, Owner, Noodlebox Design, Washington, DC, USA      
Zainab Ansari, Director/CEO, Xenith PR (Pvt.) Ltd, Karachi, Pakistan         
Alex Backer, Founder and CEO, Abinventio, Altadena, CA, USA   
Michele Baer, Founder and President, Baer Consulting Inc., New York, NY, USA
Nancy Bass, Lead Visual Artist, eLearning, Bytes of Knowledge, Nashville, TN, USA            
Jeremy Beckman, Instructional Design/Art Director, LawRoom, Walnut Creek, CA, USA 
Christy Belden, VP, Media and Marketing, LeapFrog Interactive, Louisville, KY, USA         
Jeff Bell, Partner, NCT Ventures, Kirkland, WA, USA       
Daniel Bharadwaj, Vice President Quality, Billtrust, Hamilton, NJ, USA    
Jill Blankenship, CEO, Frontline Call Center, Eastsound, WA, USA             
Israel Bonequi, Creative Director, Birds Nest Foundation, Montreal, Canada       
Jennifer Brand, Principal, Brand Solutions Group, Washington, DC, USA
Julien Brandt, CEO, OrganikSEO.com, Solana Beach, CA, USA      
Craig  Brown, Sr. Technology Consultant, STEM Resource Partners, Houston, TX, USA    
Heena Bulchandani, Specialist - Training & Development, Dubai Electricity & Water Authority, Dubai, UAE         
JL Cabrera, IT Program Manager, TRWD, Fort Worth, TX, USA     
Tanya Candia, CEO, Candia Communications, Saratoga, CA, USA
Lynne Cannavan, Global Channels Enablement Manager, IBM Corporation, Dedham, MA, USA 
George Cauttero, Producer, Cauttero & Assoociates, Bronx, NY, USA     
Susan Chait, VP, Creative Director, Lebowitz | Gould | Design, Inc., New York, NY, USA            
Kevin Chen, President/CEO, Business Methods Corporation, Randolph, NJ, USA               
Jason Childers, VP Brand Strategy, OneEighty, Seattle, WA, USA               
Pamela Clark, Founder/Director, New Heights Educational Group, Defiance, OH, USA    
Rebekah Clerk, National Customer Service Manager, Empire Today, Northlake, IL, USA 
Ken Collis, CEO, VIIVIIVII, Toluca Lake, CA, USA 
Travis Connors, Partner, Egan-Managed Capital, Boston, MA, USA           
Erin Craft, Principal, Nimble Bee, Washington, DC, USA 
David Craig, Vice President, Human Resources, Fazoli's Restaurants, Lexington, KY, USA               
Dan Davenport, VP Marketing, Adecco, Coopersburg, PA, USA 
Mary DiMaggio, President, HMA, Washington, DC, USA
Richard Dixon, Advertising Director, Dallas Business Journal, Keller, TX, USA        
Sue Dowd, Senior VP-Financial Services, Miller Zell, Atlanta, GA, USA     
Michael Drake, Instructional Designer, Frog Design, New York, NY, USA
Brenda Dukart, Executive Account Manager, Managed Business Solutions, Colorado Springs, CO, USA   
Whitney Duprey, Sales and Marketing Assistant, IAPP, Portsmouth, NH, USA     
Thomas Evansen, Portfolio Director, JM Family Enterprises, Deerfield Beach, FL, USA     
Corinna Fabre, Assistant Account Executive, Duo Public Relations, Seattle, WA, USA       
Marc Foelsch, Associate Creative Director, Fraser Wallace Advertising, Dulles, VA, USA 
Julia Forsyth, Senior Marketing Manager, GSMA, London, UK    
Steve Gallagher, Teacher, Truman High School, Bronx, NY, USA 
George Georgallides, Managing Partner, Curious Ventures, Los Angeles, CA, USA            
David Gilman, President, Gilman Performance Systems, Brookfield, CT, USA      
Katharine  Goldman, SVP, Executive Creative Director, Jack Morton Worldwide, New York, NY, USA       
Carolyn Goodman, President/Creative Director, Goodman Marketing Partners, San Rafael, CA, USA       
Connie Guglielmo, Technology Reporter, Forbes Magazine, Los Altos, CA, USA  
Eric Halvorson, Senior Vice President, Wells Fargo, Minneapolis, MN, USA           
Christopher Harmon, Principal & CEO, theBATstudio, Oakland, CA, USA 
Batul Hasan, CEO, BSH Consultants, Karachi, Pakistan     
Peggy Heafey, Director - Intermediary Partner Care, Marriott Intl, Inc., Omaha, NE, USA               
Mary Ann Henker, President, The Henker Group, Easton, MD, USA        
Brian Henrichs, Chief Business Development Officer, Actiontec Electronics, Sunnyvale, CA, USA
Johan Hernández, SEO & Web Developer, Swiss Travel Costa Rica, Santa Ana, Costa Rica               
Courtenay Higgins, Senior Partner, Winning Strategies, Newark, NJ, USA              
Brent Howison, President, Remi, Charlotte, NC, USA      
Susan Hudgins, Producer, Fourth Wall Events, New York, NY, USA           
Sumaiya Hussain, Assistant Manager, Compensation & Benefits, Dubai Electricity & Water Authority, Abu Dhabi, UAE    
Joe Jessen, Chief Solutions Officer, Gotham Technology Group, Montvale, NJ, USA        
Stuart John, CEO, SJ Strategy, Santa Monica, CA, USA    
James Johnson, Chairman, The Standish Group International, Inc., Boston, MA, USA      
David Johnston, President, Sales Resource Group Inc., Oakville, Canada               
Kim Jones, CEO, Verite, Inc., Sandy, UT, USA      
Anila Kalleshi, President, Kalleshi Center, Tirana, Albania              
Craig  Kavicky, Director, Business Development-North America, FITCH, Inc., Columbus, OH, USA               
Stafford Kendall, Principal, Covalent Logic, Baton Rouge, LA, USA             
Bob Kersten, Strategy Director, Landor Associates, San Francisco, CA, USA          
Patrick King, Founder/CEO, ImagineDesign, Manassas, VA, USA
Lesley Kirchman, Sr. Director of Corporate Marketing, Actiontec Electronics, Sunnyvale, CA, USA              
Slade Kobran, CMO, Chief Outsiders, New York, NY, USA             
Nitin Kumar, Director, PWC, New York, NY, USA               
Hao Kuo, Marketing Coordinator, Aurico, Arlington Heights, IL, USA        
Micah Laney, Sr. Digital Communications Manager, Walmart Global Associate Communications, Fayetteville, AR, USA    
Frank Laudo, Senior VP Creative Director, GES, Grapevine, TX, USA         
Robert Leggat, Senior Vice President, Goddard Global, Brussels, Belgium           
Robin Lenihan, Portfolio Director - JM&A PMO, JM Service Center, LLC, Deerfield Beach, FL, USA             
Peter Levy, President, Corniche Productions, Brooklyn, NY, USA              
Alex Louie, Creative Director, Wilshire Axon, Los Angeles, CA, USA          
Ginger Lynch, Outrageous Marketing Manager, PrintingForLess.com, Livingston, MT, USA           
Darren MacLennan, President, SureShip (a G&G Outfitters Company), Lanham, MD, USA            
Janice Maiman, Senior Vice President, Communications & Media Channels, American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, New York, NY, USA             
Joseph Mangiaracina, Principal/Owner, SurfNet.Inc., Levittown, PA, USA             
Maggie Mayer, Founder, Mayer & Associates, CPA, LLC, Madison, CT, USA          
Anne McCarthy, President and Founder, Westmeath Communications, Castle Rock, CO, USA    
Sharon McGowan-Spinelli, Director, Corporate Communications, Avid, Burlington, MA, USA       
Colin McKillop, Chief Executive Officer, Butcher Enterprises, Windsor, Canada   
Stan Mendoza, President, Mendoza Media, Montclair, NJ, USA
Kathy Menzie, Associate Professor & Chair, Washburn University, Topeka, KS, USA        
Feroz Merchhiya, CTO, California Insurance Guarantee Association, Diamond Bar, CA, USA          
Carlos Minetti, President, Consumer Banking, Discover Financial Services, Riverwoods, IL, USA  
Jay Mitchell, Managing Director, Mereo, LLC, Irving, TX, USA      
Brian Mulvey, Vice President, Investor Growth Capital, New York, NY, USA         
Mark Murphy, Director of Content Management, Reliv International, Chesterfield, MO, USA     
Kirk Musselman, Director, Human Resources, Classified Ventures LLC, Chicago, IL, USA 
Steve Nelson, Partner & CTO, AP42, San Ramon, CA, USA            
Judi Niedercorn, President and CEO, SysTactics, McLean, VA, USA           
Cynthia Nustad, SVP, CIO, HMS, Irving, TX, USA
Bob Older, President, Creative Travel Inc., Wilmington, DE, USA               
Linda Olsan, Director, Operations & Customer, 3iCorp.com, Irvine, CA, USA        
Paul Patton, Senior R&D/Regulatory Manager, Delta Faucet Co., Indianapolis, IN, USA   
Don Pearce, New York, NY, USA             
Rob Peglar, CTO Americas, EMC Isilon, Wildwood, MO, USA        
Mary Pettersen, Director, Corporate Practice, Burson-Marsteller, Chicago, IL, USA          
Fabi Preslar, President, SPARK Publications, Matthews, NC, USA              
Jesintha Rajaratnam, Partner, Joje India Consultants-Finance & HR, Ras Al Khaimah, UAE
Daniel Recanati, CEO, Rhodium, New York, NY, USA        
Zev Remba, Creative Director, Unconformity, Alexandria, VA, USA          
Dennis Reno, Vice President, Customer Portal Experience, Oracle, San Francisco, CA, USA         
Julie Ridenour, Senior QA Specialist, Cigna, West Hartford, CT, USA         
Chris Risheill, Director of Sales, Marketing and Exhibits, Association for Middle Level Education, Westerville, OH, USA     
Randall Romberger, Principal, Advantage Healthcare Solutions, LLC, Greenville, SC, USA               
Viurniel Sanchez, Program Management Coordinator, NextEra Energy, Inc., Miami, FL, USA        
Luz Sanchez, Social Catering Manager, DoubleTree by Hilton Miami Airport Convention Center, Miami, FL, USA 
Scott Sauder, Area Operations Consultant, The UPS Store, Noblesville, IN, USA 
Jodi Sawyer, Director, John Hancock, Boston, MA, USA 
Harry Schechter, CEO/President, Temperature@lert, Boston, MA, USA
Lauren Selikoff, Managing Director, Selikoff+Company, Orange, NJ, USA              
Bill Shelton, Vice President, USHEALTH Advisors, Grapevine, TX, USA     
Lisa Sigler, Marketing Manager, Apptix, Herndon, VA, USA          
Erica Smith, Principal, Social Combustion Promotions, San Francisco, CA, USA     
Michael Spurlin, VP, Operations, Crystal Technologies Group, Inc., West Chester, PA, USA           
Michael Stephenson, Senior Director, Oracle Corp., New York, NY, USA
David Street, Owner, Street Works Studio, Boston, MA, USA    
Joe Thoma, President/CEO, Primary Source Press Inc., Oviedo, FL, USA 
Scott Thomas, CEO, Jake Records, Puyallup, WA, USA    
Lillian Valdes, President, At Your Service Hospitality, Miami, FL, USA             
Manuel Valencia, VP-Strategy, Excelerant, Baton Rouge, LA, USA            
Greg Van Dyke, SVP Marketing, PSAV Presentation Services, Los Angeles, CA, USA         
Lori Van Dyke, Manager Customer Care, Access One Inc, Chicago, IL, USA            
Chris Vasan, Communications Lead, Cisco Systems, Inc., Research Triangle Park, NC, USA             
Rajani Veeramachaneni, President, E Center, Inc., Newtown, PA, USA  
Vinny Verdi, Producer, CUNY-TV, New York, NY, USA    
Mary Verdin, Owner, Verdin Marketing Ink, San Luis Obispo, CA, USA       
Terry Waitzman-Bannister, Vice President, Corporate Development, C2 Solutions Group, Inc., Reston, VA, USA
Brian Ward, SVP Client Engagement, Stylesight, New York, NY, USA       
Jerry Weinberger, Sr. Director, Customer Service and Retention, Webs, Inc., Washington, DC, USA         
Daryl Wieland, Managing Director, Accenture, Arlington, VA, USA            
Sharon Wienbar, Partner, Scale Venture Partners, Foster City, CA, USA 
Kelli  Williamson, Manager, Loyalty and Engagement, Rymax, Inc., Orange County, CA, USA        
Becky Wilson, President, WDS Marketing and PR, Overland Park, KS, USA            
Gregory Wright, Communications Manager, AICPA, New York, NY, USA
Joseph Zitzelberger, Director of Manufacturing Development, PACCAR Inc, Chillicothe, OH, USA              
Chris Zoloth, Director, Global Customer Care, IHG, Salt Lake City, UT, USA            
Linda Zumstein, CEO, IntelliSales Training, Arden, NC, USA          

Coveted Stevie® Awards to Be Presented at Ceremonies in Chicago and San Francisco 

New York, NY – May 9, 2013– Finalists were announced today in The 11^th Annual American Business Awards. Organizations as diverse as the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Domino’s Pizza, Heineken USA, Microsoft, the National Football League, Procter & Gamble, Sony, and Wynn Las Vegas are among those recognized.  Lists of Finalists by category have been published at www.StevieAwards.com/ABA. 

The American Business Awards are the nation’s premier business awards program. All organizations and individuals in the U.S.A. are eligible to submit nominations.

This year’s Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie® Award winners will be announced at two award banquets.  The first will take place on June 17 at the Fairmont Millennium Park Hotel in Chicago, Illinois; and the second, with awards in the new product and technology-related categories, will be held on September 16 at the Julia Morgan Ballroom in San Francisco, California. More than 800 executives are expected to attend the events.  The ceremonies will be broadcast nationwide by the Business TalkRadio Network.    

Among the organizations with the most number of Finalists are Accenture, Actiontec Electronics, AT&T, Cisco Systems, EMKAY, Inc., Makovsky, Marriott Vacations Worldwide, Marvell Semiconductor, MWW, The Navicor Group, Quality Systems, Slack and Company, Travelzoo, USANA Health Sciences, Vemma Nutrition Company, and VerticalResponse.

A record number of nominations were submitted this year with more than 3,200 from organizations of all sizes and from virtually every industry.  The ABAs include a wide variety of categories including management awards, new product awards, marketing awards, public relations awards, human resources awards, information technology awards, web site awards, and more.

Finalists were chosen by more than 140 business professionals nationwide during preliminary judging in April and May.  Members of nine specialized final judging committees will determine Gold, Silver, and Bronze Stevie Award placements from among Finalists in judging that will begin next week.  More than 250 executives will participate in the judging process this year.

Voting will open in early July for the People’s Choice Stevie Awards for Favorite New Products, a component of The American Business Awards that invites the general public to vote for their favorite new products of the year in a number of categories including Favorite New Smartphone, Favorite New Tablet, Favorite New Consumer Product, and Favorite New Smartphone or Tablet App. 

For press credentials for the June 17 and September 16 award banquets or for more information, contact liz@thestevies.com.

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 year.  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 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.

Joe Gillette, CEO and Chairman of Stage 2 Networks in New York, NY, will Chair the Committee for Final Judging of the management awards categories in The 2013 American Business Awards, the top business awards competition in the USA. (Entries for the 2013 ABAs are still being accepted; request your entry kit here. Finalists will be announced on May 8.)

With his background in telecommunications, we asked Joe about where he thinks the industry is heading.

What new developments in communications do you think will most impact businesses in the next few years?

1. I think the continuing trend is towards mobility: businesses will increasingly seek cloud-based solutions that allow employee mobility, corporate control over information systems, and better disaster recovery preparedness.
   
   
2. Continued growth in bandwidth solutions (fiber, copper, and coax) will result in more desktop video.  Service providers who can successfully unify the user experience across these technologies will win the day.

What item of news recently caught your eye and why?
North Korea’s test missile launch and the U.S. response with public demonstrations of military might.  I am deeply concerned that a 30-year old leader about whom we know so little is creating such a potentially volatile situation.

What is your favorite business app?
I am pretty old school and still love my Blackberry for its ability to permit me to send and receive emails from anywhere.  I also love my iPad as it has largely eliminated the need to carry a laptop. And I love to use LinkedIn for researching people on the Internet.

What career advice would you give to young people starting out in business?
Learn as much about an industry as you can: Look for what’s changing, or what is lacking in terms of customer satisfaction, and gain a clear vision of how to improve that industry.   Understand what kind of business leader you want to become.  Be mindful of your own strengths and weaknesses, then partner with—or hire—someone who can make up for the weaknesses.

As someone at the top of your profession, what keeps you inspired or makes you hit the ground running in the morning?
I’ll be the first to admit I really need my coffee in the morning—but my inspiration comes simply from the joy of meeting the challenge of building a successful company and all the ways in which lives are positively impacted as a result.

About Joe Gillette:
Joe Gillette has twenty-five years of experience in the telecommunications industry and is a recognized industry pioneer and visionary leader. Following seven years as a top performer in sales and sales management at Executone Information Systems, Joe founded his first company, Gillette Global Network, in 1995. GGN quickly became one of New York’s most successful competitive local exchange carriers. (CLEC)

In December 2000, Joe merged GGN with Eureka Broadband to create Eureka Networks and ran the combined entity for four years; shortly thereafter, Eureka was sold to Broadview Networks for $100 million. Joe founded Stage 2 Networks in late 2004 and launched operations in early 2005. Since then, Stage 2 Networks has emerged as a leading provider of hosted voice, unified communications, and network services in the New York Metro area and other leading US cities.

About Stage 2 Networks:
Stage 2 Networks provides customized, scalable voice and data communications solutions to businesses throughout the U.S. and abroad. Founded in 2004 by Joe Gillette, it is a fast-growing leader in hosted business phone systems, Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), and premium Internet services. Its cutting-edge network provides built-in redundancy, security, and disaster recovery.

Today, April 24, is the final entry deadline for The 2013 American Business Awards, the top business awards competition in the U.S.A.

If you haven't yet done so, you can request your entry kit here and it will be emailed to you right away. When you're ready to submit your entries, you can begin here; the website will be open all night to receive your entries.

All individuals and organizations in the U.S.A. are eligible to submit nominations – public and private, for-profit and non-profit, large and small. The ABAs feature categories to recognize achievement in every facet of worklife, including:

• App awards,
• Company / organization awards,
• Customer service awards,
• HR awards,
• IT awards,
• Management awards,
• Marketing awards,
• New product awards,
• PR awards, and
• Website awards.

See the full list of business award categories.

2013 ABA nominations should cite achievements during the eligibility period: January 2012 through April 24, 2013, the last day that late entries will be accepted. There is no eligibility timeframe for web site entries - it does not matter when the web sites were first published.

The 2013 ABAs will also feature the 5th edition of the People's Choice Stevie® Awards for Favorite New Products, a nationwide vote in which the general public will get to choose one favorite product in more than 30 categories. All Finalists in the new product awards categories of The 2013 American Business Awards will automatically be included in the People's Choice Stevie Awards for Favorite New Products, a public vote that will commence in July. Finalists in the Best New Product or Service categories will have an opportunity to win two awards: a Stevie® Award, as voted by peers, and a crystal People's Choice Stevie Award, as voted by customers.

Finalists in The 2013 American Business Awards will be determined in preliminary judging to be conducted through early May by volunteer professionals nationwide. Final judging, to be conducted by panels that will be formed by the newly appointed committee chairs, will take place from late May through early June. In total, more than 200 executives across the U.S.A. will participate in the judging process to determine the 2013 Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Award winners.

ABA Stevie Award winners will be announced at two award banquets: the first will take place on June 17 at the Fairmont Hotel in Chicago, Illinois; and the second will be held on September 16 at the Julia Morgan Ballroom in San Francisco, California and will honor Stevie Award winners in all tech-related categories. Details are available at www.StevieAwards.com/ABA.

If you have any questions about the 2013 ABAs or how to enter, please email us at help@stevieawards.com or call us at + 1 703-547-8389.

Next Wednesday, April 24, is the final entry deadline for The 2013 American Business Awards, the top business awards competition in the U.S.A.

If you haven't yet done so, you can request your entry kit here and it will be emailed to you right away.

All individuals and organizations in the U.S.A. are eligible to submit nominations – public and private, for-profit and non-profit, large and small. The American Business Awards honor organizations and individuals in a wide variety of categories, types of business awards categories include: app awards, company / organization awards, customer service awards, HR awards, IT awards, management awards, marketing awards, new product awards, PR awards, and website awards. See the full list of business awards categories.

The 2013 ABAs will also feature the 5th edition of the People's Choice Stevie® Awards for Favorite New Products, a nationwide vote in which the general public will get to choose one favorite product in more than 30 categories. All Finalists in the new product awards categories of The 2013 American Business Awards will automatically be included in the People's Choice Stevie Awards for Favorite New Products, a public vote that will commence in July. Finalists in the Best New Product or Service categories will have an opportunity to win two awards: a Stevie® Award, as voted by peers, and a crystal People's Choice Stevie Award, as voted by customers.

2013 ABA nominations should cite achievements during our eligibility period: January 2012 through April 24, 2013, the last day that late entries will be accepted. There is no eligibility timeframe for web site entries - it does not matter when the web sites were first published. Finalists will be announced on May 8, 2013.

ABA Stevie Award winners will be announced at two award banquets: the first will take place on June 17 at the Fairmont Hotel in Chicago, Illinois; and the second will be held on September 16 at the Julia Morgan Ballroom in San Francisco, California and will honor Stevie Award winners in all tech-related categories. All entry details are available online, at www.StevieAwards.com/ABA. 

Have last minute questions? Please email us at help@stevieawards.com or call us at + 1 703-547-8389.

The Stevie® Awards today announced the nine executives who will chair and form specialized final judging committees for its 11th Annual American Business Awards, the top business awards competition in the USA.

All organizations operating in the U.S.A. - public and private, large and small, for-profit and non-profit - are eligible to submit nominations to The American Business Awards. April 24 is the last day that late entries will be accepted with payment of a late fee per entry. (If you haven't yet done so, you can request your entry kit here and it will be emailed to you right away.)

The nine committee selections are based on the categories that will be judged.  The appointments are as follows:

Company Awards / Organization Awards: Craig Lund, CEO, SecureAuth Corporation, Irvine, California

Corporate Communications, Investor Relations, & Public Relations Awards: Michelle Gilbert, Public Relations Manager, Michigan/Indiana/Kentucky Region, Verizon Wireless, Southfield, Michigan

Customer Service Awards & Support Awards: Dawn Stevenson, Manager, Customer Retention, Customer Service & Inside Sales, Stamps.com, Los Angeles, California

Human Resources Awards: Dave Craig, Vice President of Human Resources, Fazoli's Italian Restaurants, Lexington, Kentucky

Marketing Awards: Carmen Yazejian, President, Network9, New York, New York

Management Awards: Joe Gillette, Owner/CEO, Stage 2 Networks, New York, New York

Media Awards / Creative Awards: Otto Bell, Creative Director, Ogilvy Entertainment, New York, New York

New Product Awards & Product Management Awards and Information Technology Awards: Jesse Rothstein, CEO and co-founder, ExtraHop Networks, Seattle, Washington

Website Awards: Josh Kelly, Managing Partner, FINE Design Group, San Francisco, California

Finalists in The 2013 American Business Awards will be determined in preliminary judging to be conducted through early May by volunteer professionals nationwide. Final judging, to be conducted by panels that will be formed by the newly appointed committee chairs, will take place from late May through early June. In total, more than 200 executives across the U.S.A. will participate in the judging process to determine the 2013 Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Award winners.

ABA Stevie Award winners will be announced at two award banquets: the first will take place on June 17 at the Fairmont Hotel in Chicago, Illinois; and the second will be held on September 16 at the Julia Morgan Ballroom in San Francisco, California and will honor Stevie Award winners in all tech-related categories.

Details are available at www.StevieAwards.com/ABA.

The entry deadline for The 2013 American Business Awards, the top business awards competition in the U.S.A., is next Wednesday, March 27. (If you can't make the March 27 entry deadline, April 24 is the last day that late entries will be accepted with payment of a late fee per entry.)

To begin your submission process, you should:

1. Request an entry kit. 
The entry kit will have all of the information you need regarding entry preparation and submission.

2. Review the 2013 ABA categories.
The American Business Awards honors all facets of workplace, our award categories include: app awards, company / organization awards, customer service awards, HR awards, IT awards, management awards, marketing awards, new product awards, PR awards, and website awards. See all of our business award categories.

3. Submit your entries.
Select your categories, write your submissions according to the instructions, and submit your entries.

All individuals and organizations in the U.S.A. are eligible to submit nominations – public and private, for-profit and non-profit, large and small. 2013 ABA nominations should cite achievements during our eligibility period: January 2012 through April 24, 2013, the last day that late entries will be accepted. There is no eligibility timeframe for web site entries - it does not matter when the web sites were first published. 

Finalists will be announced on May 8, 2013. All entry details are available online, at www.StevieAwards.com/ABA.

If you have any questions about the 2013 submission process, email us at help@stevieawards.com or call us at + 1 703-547-8389.

Next Wednesday, March 27, is the entry deadline for The 2013 American Business Awards, the top business awards competition in the U.S.A.

Don't worry if you can't make the March 27 entry deadline, April 24 is the last day that late entries will be accepted with payment of a late fee per entry. If you haven't yet done so, you can request your entry kit here and it will be emailed to you right away.

All individuals and organizations in the U.S.A. are eligible to submit nominations – public and private, for-profit and non-profit, large and small. The American Business Awards honor organizations and individuals in a wide variety of categories, types of business awards categories include: app awards, company / organization awards, customer service awards, HR awards, IT awards, management awards, marketing awards, new product awards, PR awards, and website awards. See the full list of business awards categories.

The 2013 ABAs will also feature the 5th edition of the People's Choice Stevie® Awards for Favorite New Products, a nationwide vote in which the general public will get to choose one favorite product in more than 30 categories. All Finalists in the new product awards categories of The 2013 American Business Awards will automatically be included in the People's Choice Stevie Awards for Favorite New Products, a public vote that will commence in July. Finalists in the Best New Product or Service categories will have an opportunity to win two awards: a Stevie® Award, as voted by peers, and a crystal People's Choice Stevie Award, as voted by customers.

2013 ABA nominations should cite achievements during our eligibility period: January 2012 through April 24, 2013, the last day that late entries will be accepted. There is no eligibility timeframe for web site entries - it does not matter when the web sites were first published. Finalists will be announced on May 8, 2013. All entry details are available online, at www.StevieAwards.com/ABA. 

If you have any questions about the 2013 ABAs, please email us at help@stevieawards.com or call us at + 1 703-547-8389.

The entry deadline for The 2013 American Business Awards, the top business awards competition in the U.S.A., is quickly approaching on Wednesday, March 27. If you haven't yet done so, you can request your entry kit here and it will be emailed to you right away.

All individuals and organizations in the U.S.A. are eligible to submit nominations – public and private, for-profit and non-profit, large and small. The ABAs feature categories to recognize achievement in every facet of worklife, including:

• App awards,
• Company / organization awards,
• Customer service awards,
• HR awards,
• IT awards,
• Management awards,
• Marketing awards,
• New product awards,
• PR awards, and
• Website awards.

See the full list of business award categories.

2013 ABA nominations should cite achievements during the eligibility period: January 2012 through April 24, 2013, the last day that late entries will be accepted. There is no eligibility timeframe for web site entries - it does not matter when the web sites were first published.

If you can't make the March 27 entry deadline, April 24 is the last day that late entries will be accepted with payment of a late fee. Finalists will be announced on May 8, 2013. All entry details are available online, at www.StevieAwards.com/ABA. 

To help you make the most out of your entries, we suggest reviewing our past winners' entries for guidance. 2012 ABA Gold winners include Bloomberg Law (Best New Product or Service - Business-to-Business Services), Carlisle & Gallagher Consulting Group (Communications Department of the Year), Fazoli's Italian Restaurants (Human Resources Department of the Year), Ford Motor Company (Company of the Year - Automotive & Transport Equipment), HubSpot (Website of the Year - Computer Software), iolo technologies (Marketing Department of the Year), Northwestern Mutual (Best House Organ/Publication - Print), SquareTrade (Customer Service Department of the Year - Financial Services), and Vemma Nutrition Company (Best App of the Year - Lifestyle), among others. You can see the complete list of 2012 Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie® Award winners here.

If you have any questions regarding The 2013 American Business Awards, don't hesitate to contact us.