We are pleased to share that video clips from the first of two award galas celebrating The 2013 (11th Annual) American Business Awards, the premier business awards program in the USA, are now available to view on YouTube. (The second gala honoring the tech awards categories will be held on Monday, September 16 at the Julia Morgan Ballroom in San Francisco. Click here to order tickets.)

Watch the June 17th American Business Awards presentations here.

450 entrepreneurs, executives, and their guests from around the country attended the first of two 2013 American Business Awards Banquets on Monday, June 17th at the at the Fairmont Chicago Millennium Park Hotel in Chicago, Illinois. Categories celebrated at the June 17th ceremony included PR awards, live event awards, annual report awards, video awards, customer service awards, HR awards, support awards, and selected categories for company/organization awards, management awards and marketing awards.

Our American Business Awards video clips from June 17th showcase business award acceptance speeches made by individuals and organizations from around the country, including:

Charles Werhane of Enterprise Community Investment, Winner of the Gold Stevie® Award for Executive of the Year - Real Estate
Charles graciously accepts the award and thanks his team for allowing him to receive the award.

College Works Painting, Winner of the Gold Stevie® Award for Company of the Year - Materials & Construction
Taylor Duncan's accepts the award on behalf of College Works Painting and thanks his colleagues and partners

Constant Contact, Winner of the Gold Stevie® Award for Human Resources Department of the Year
Christine Osborne gratefully accepts the award and highlights the important of her fellow colleagues.

National Football League, Winner of the Gold Stevie® Award for Corporate Social Responsibility Program of the Year
Gracefully accepting their award, the NFL thanks the ABAs and highlights the benefits of their youth, health, and fitness campaign.

Visionista, Winner of the Gold Stevie® Awardsfor Best Sales Video for Government
Camilla Sullivan's humble speech brought to light the importance of her client's support.

Want to see more from the June 17th  celebration? Watch all acceptance speeches and view photos from the event.

The Stevie® Awards are pleased to announce that the PDF of the official program of the first of two awards banquets for The 2013 American Business Awards is now available for download, at http://www.stevieawards.com/uploads/file/ABA13_Program_June.pdf.

Recognized as the nation’s premier business awards program, the first of two awards banquets for The 2013 American Business Awards will take place on Monday, June 17 at the Fairmont Chicago Millennium Park Hotel. Get tickets for the event here. 

The program will be distributed to and downloaded by more than 15,000 executives over the coming year.

Can't make the awards gala? Download the full program here and listen to a broadcast recording of the June 17 awards presentations on Wednesday, June 19 at 8:00 pm ET. The 5:00 pm ceremony will be taped and broadcast on Thursday, June 20 at 8:00 pm ET. Business Talk Radio will also simulcast the broadcasts on their web site, at www.BusinessTalkRadio.net.  On their web site you'll find a list of the radio stations in the U.S.A. that carry BTR programming.

Kara Goldin, CEO of HINT Inc., in San Francisco, California, USA, was named Female Entrepreneur of the Year for Business Products in the 2012 Stevie® Awards for Women in Business, the world's premier business awards for women executives, entrepreneurs, and the organizations they run. (Entries are now being accepted for the 2020 Stevie Awards for Women in Business. If you haven't yet done so, you can request an entry kit here and it will be emailed to you right away.) Here we look at how a successful businesswoman—and, more important, a mother of four--became a business award- winning pioneer in the beverage industry.

Kara Goldin is an innovator who is changing the habits of the beverage-drinking consumer. Kara started HINT because her family, like so many others across America, needed a healthy, yet flavorful, alternative to sugary sodas and juices.

On receiving her Stevie Award in November 2012, Kara commented: “Winning the award for Best Female Entrepreneur is AWESOME!  All the hard work is finally starting to pay off. The Stevie Awards are a great recognition and I am really honored and grateful!”

Calorie Counting
In 2004, Kara was determined that her family should switch to a healthier lifestyle when she realized how many calories they was consuming from juice, soda, and other beverages. 

Kara laid down the law and banned everything except plain water and milk in her house. That worked for her (at least for a little while), but the other members of her family were not happy.  She realized that she had to find something more interesting than plain water, so she studied the labels of every beverage she could find, but each drink she picked up contained either loads of calories or questionable diet sweeteners.

The Aha! Moment
Finally, out of desperation, Kara started slicing fruit into water to provide a little bit of flavor without adding a lot of calories. Surprisingly, this simple solution was a hit with her family. One day, she received a call from a friend whose child had been over at her house several times: “You have to tell me where you got the raspberry water my daughter keeps talking about.”

Kara laughed and explained that it wasn’t actually a product you buy. That 2004 conversation was Kara’s Aha! moment: she realized then that someone should make a simple, unsweetened, fruit-flavored water as a substitute for all the calorie-laden or artificially sweetened beverages on the market.

A Woman’s Intuition
Despite her inexperience in the beverage industry, the tough economic climate, and having to compete with the likes of Coca-Cola and PepsiCo, Kara followed her intuition that this was a product that would sell, and created HINT Water.

In just six years, her perseverance, determination, and innovation brought HINT Water to the shelves of nationwide retailers like Whole Foods, Starbucks, Stop&Shop, The Fresh Market, and many other stores nationwide.

Adding Sparkle
With the success of HINT secured, Kara was ready to take on the soda category.  In January 2012, Kara launched HINT Fizz, a sparkling version of HINT that is available in four flavors. Staying true to Kara’s vision, HINT Fizz offered a refreshing alternative to consumers trying to break the soda habit.

Consumers loved it. HINT Fizz won Better Homes and Gardens Best New Beverage of 2012.

A Simple Mission
With one simple mission of providing a delicious and healthy beverage, Kara has been able to turn HINT into a multi-million dollar company offering a product that consumers trust and enjoy. The biggest lesson she has learned to date is if you make a product that you believe in and stay true to your message, your loyal consumers will become your best advocates and help spread the word.

HINT is a brand that’s been built around an important message: Drink Water, Not Sugar®, and Kara firmly believes in her message.

About Kara Goldin:
Since 2005, Kara Goldin has served as the Founder and CEO of HINT, Inc., maker of the HINT all-natural, no-calorie essence waters. Kara has built HINT's reputation as one of the leading health-driven beverages through its message: “Drink Water, Not Sugar”. This has resonated with the increasingly health-conscious consumer, and has attracted the endorsement of celebrity investor and 9-time Grammy winner John Legend.

Prior to conceptualizing HINT, Goldin built her career as Vice President of Electronic Commerce and Shopping at AOL, helping to turn its online shopping business into a billion-dollar entity in the 1990s.In 2011 Goldin was selected as one of Fortune Magazine’s Most Powerful Women Entrepreneurs. Goldin continues to expand HINT, most recently by introducing HINT Fizz, a carbonated version, in 2012.

About Hint, Inc.:
HINT Inc. is the maker of the no-calorie, unsweetened essence waters HINT and HINT Fizz. Founded in 2005 by mother-of-four Kara Goldin, HINT and HINT Fizz have doubled revenues year over year and become the preferred alternative to sugary beverages. For more information, go to www.drinkhint.com or www.facebook.com/drinkhint.

By overwhelming demand, the final entry deadline for The 2013 (10th Annual) International Business Awards, the world's premier business awards competition, has been extended through 10 July. No additional late penalties or fees will be charged in association with the deadline extension.

All individuals and organizations worldwide -- public and private, for-profit and non-profit, large and small -- may submit nominations to the IBAs. If you haven't already done so, you can request your entry kit here and it will be emailed to you right away.

Stevie® Awards will be conferred at three levels of distinction: Gold, Silver and Bronze.  The Stevie Award trophies, made by the company that makes the Oscar and other major international awards, are among the world’s most coveted prizes. Stevie Award winners will be selected by an international judging panel of more than 200 executives. Results will be announced on 14 August and the 10th annual awards banquet will be held on 14 October at the W. Hotel in Barcelona, Spain. Entry details are available at www.StevieAwards.com/IBA.  

The International Business Awards recognize achievement in every facet of the workplace. Our business award categories include: annual report awards, app awards, company/organization awards, customer service awards, human resources awards, information technology awards, management awards, marketing awards, new product awards, public relations awards, support awards, and website awards, among others. See all corporate awards categories.

Nominations should cite achievements during our eligibility period: January 2012 through 10 July 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. When you're ready to enter, begin here.

The 2013 International Business Awards will include the People’s Choice Stevie Awards for Favorite Companies, in which the general public worldwide will vote for their favorite companies. Each company honored with a Gold, Silver or Bronze Stevie Award in The International Business Awards’ company of the year categories will automatically be included in people’s choice voting.  Voting will open on 15 August.

Because the 2013 awards banquet will take place on 14 October in Barcelona, Spain, all organizations in Spain may submitted an unlimited number of entries to the IBAs free of charge this year. Organizations in Spain should submit the promotion code "Barcelona" where indicated in the online entry process to have their entry fees waived.

More than 350 entrepreneurs, executives, and their guests from around the world attended the 2012 IBA gala celebrated on Monday, October 15th, at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Seoul, South Korea. 2012 Stevie winners included A.P. Moller Maersk AS, Accenture, Coca Cola Turkey, Delta Air Lines, Inc., Etisalat Group, HSBC, Hyundai Motor Company , Infosys, Lenovo Group, Qualcomm Incorporated, Samsung Electronics, TATA Power, and Unilever, among others.  2012 results are summarized at http://www.stevieawards.com/pubs/iba/awards/408_2219_21728.cfm. 

Don't hesitate to contact us with your questions about how to choose categories, prepare and submit entries to The 2013 International Business Awards.

Wednesday, 12 June, is the final entry deadline for The 2013 (10th Annual) International Business Awards, the world's premier business awards competition. If you haven't already done so, you can request your entry kit here and it will be emailed to you right away.

The International Business Awards recognize achievement in every facet of the workplace. All individuals and organizations worldwide -- public and private, for-profit and non-profit, large and small -- may submit nominations to the IBAs. Categories include:

• Management Awards
• Company of the Year Awards
• Customer Service Awards
• Human Resources Awards
• Information Technology Awards
• Marketing Awards
• New Product Awards
• Public Relations Awards
• Web Site Awards, Smartphone and Tablet App, and other media awards

See the full list of international business awards categories.

Stevie® Awards are conferred upon top-scoring nominations in each category, as chosen by an international judging panel of more than 200 business leaders. Nominations should cite achievements during our eligibility period: January 2012 through 12 June 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.

Because the 2013 awards banquet will take place on 14 October in Barcelona, Spain, all organizations in Spain may submitted an unlimited number of entries to the IBAs free of charge this year. Organizations in Spain should submit the promotion code "Barcelona" where indicated in the online entry process to have their entry fees waived.

The 9th Annual International Business Awards were presented in October 2012 in Seoul, South Korea.  Stevie winners included A.P. Moller Maersk AS, Accenture, Coca Cola Turkey, Delta Air Lines, Inc., Etisalat Group, HSBC, Hyundai Motor Company , Infosys, Lenovo Group, Qualcomm Incorporated, Samsung Electronics, TATA Power, and Unilever, among others.  2012 results are summarized at http://www.stevieawards.com/pubs/iba/awards/408_2219_21728.cfm.  

Have last minute questions regarding the 2013 IBAs? Don't hesitate to contact us or call us at + 1 703-547-8389.

The final entry deadline for The 2013 (10th Annual) International Business Awards, the world's premier business awards competition, is 12 June. If you haven't already done so, you can request your entry kit here and it will be emailed to you right away.

The International Business Awards recognize achievement in every facet of the workplace. All individuals and organizations worldwide -- public and private, for-profit and non-profit, large and small -- may submit nominations to the IBAs. Our business award categories include: annual report awards, app awards, company/organization awards, customer service awards, human resources awards, information technology awards, management awards, marketing awards, new product awards, public relations awards, support awards, and website awards, among others. See all corporate awards categories.

Nominations should cite achievements during our eligibility period: January 2012 through 12 June 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. Results will be announced on 14 August.

Stevie® Awards will be conferred at three levels of distinction: Gold, Silver and Bronze.  New for 2013, several Grand Stevie Awards will be conferred as best-of-competition prizes. The Stevie Award trophies, made by the company that makes the Oscar and other major international awards, are among the world’s most coveted prizes. Stevie Award winners will be selected by an international judging panel of more than 200 executives.

Because the 2013 awards banquet will take place on 14 October in Barcelona, Spain, all organizations in Spain may submitted an unlimited number of entries to the IBAs free of charge this year. Organizations in Spain should submit the promotion code "Barcelona" where indicated in the online entry process to have their entry fees waived.

More than 350 entrepreneurs, executives, and their guests from around the world attended the 2012 IBA gala celebrated on Monday, October 15th, at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Seoul, South Korea. 2012 Stevie winners included A.P. Moller Maersk AS, Accenture, Coca Cola Turkey, Delta Air Lines, Inc., Etisalat Group, HSBC, Hyundai Motor Company , Infosys, Lenovo Group, Qualcomm Incorporated, Samsung Electronics, TATA Power, and Unilever, among others.  2012 results are summarized at http://www.stevieawards.com/pubs/iba/awards/408_2219_21728.cfm.  

Have questions regarding the 2013 IBAs? Don't hesitate to contact us or call us at + 1 703-547-8389.

Today, Tuesday, 4 June, is the final extended entry deadline for the 21st annual IPRA Golden World Awards, the top international public relations awards competition.

Entries will be accepted through 11:59PM EST. To begin the submission process, you should request an entry kit here and you will receive it right away. No additional late penalties or fees will be charged in association with the deadline extension.

The IPRA Golden World Awards for Excellence offer world-wide recognition and acclaim to world-class public relations programmes. The 2013 competition, conducted by the International Public Relations Association, is open to local, regional, national or international public relations programmes carried out or completed in 2012/2013.

The number of categories in the GWA has doubled this year, as now there are separate categories for Agency and for Inhouse entries. Entrants may submit any number of nominations to any number of categories, which include: Community Relations, Corporate Communications, Crisis Management, Digital Media Relations, Event Management, Internal Communications, Launch of a New Product, PR on a Shoestring, Publications, Social Media for PR, and Technology, among others. For a full list of categories, visit the GWA website at www.gwa.ipra.org.

Entries submitted to the Golden World Awards competition will be judged by an international panel of senior practitioners. In considering entries, the judges may grant one, several or no awards in each category.

To submit your entries, review the entry kit and website for complete instructions on how to choose your categories and prepare your entries. When you are ready to submit your entries, begin here.

The 2013 GWA are managed on behalf of IPRA by the Stevie® Awards, which organizes the world’s premier business awards programs including The International Business Awards and The American Business Awards.  Questions about IPRA’s Golden World Awards may be directed to help@thestevies.com.

Have last minute questions? Don't hesitate to contact us with your questions about how to participate in the 2013 edition of IPRA's Golden World Awards for Excellence.

Sponsorship Demonstrates BOSS Magazine's Continuing Commitment to Entrepreneurs and Management Executives 

Tokyo, Japan, 3 June, 2013: BOSS Magazine of Japan announced today that it will be the official media sponsor of the Stevie® Awards in Japan.

Founded in 1988, BOSS Magazine focuses on corporate activities, behavior and culture through research and interviews with entrepreneurs, politicians and management executives. With a monthly circulation of 37,000 readers, this business journal is committed to their editorial policy, "management is people."

The Stevie Awards organize the world’s leading business awards programmes, including The International Business Awards, the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service, and the forthcoming Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards. The magazine will be the media sponsor for all international Stevie Awards programs, but will primarily focus on the Stevie Awards' newest program, the Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards.

The latest Stevie Awards program will be open exclusively to organizations operating in the 22 nations that comprise the Asia-Pacific region. Entries will be accepted beginning 1 July with an entry deadline of 15 September. Organizations and executives operating in the Asia-Pacific region are invited to submit entries to a number of categories ranging from Manufacturing Company of the Year and Services Company of the Year to New Consumer Product of the Year and Technology Executive of the Year. Complete details on the competition are available at http://blog.stevieawards.com/asia-pacific-stevie-awards-mailing-list.

"We are very excited to be working with the Stevie Awards and share business award opportunities," said Norio Seki, BOSS Publisher. "Together, our partnership will recognize the best companies and executives in Japan."

Michael Gallagher, founder and president of the Stevie Awards, said: “BOSS Magazine's longstanding commitment to supporting the interests of entrepreneurs and executives makes them the ideal sponsor for our international programs. Their sponsorship will help us raise the profile of the award and increase access to deserving nominees.”

About BOSS Magazine
BOSS Magazine, founded in 1988, delivers monthly content on corporate culture to 37,000 readers. With an editorial policy of "management is people," the business journal strives to promote corporate activity through research and interviews with industry leaders. In the past 25 years, BOSS magazine has interviewed more than 3,000 management executives, politicians, and entrepreneurs. To learn more about BOSS Magazine, visit http://keieijuku.net/index.html.

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.

Tomorrow, Tuesday, 4 June, is the final extended entry deadline for the 21st annual IPRA Golden World Awards, the top international public relations awards competition.

If you haven't already done so, you can request an entry kit here and you will receive it right away. No additional late penalties or fees will be charged in association with the deadline extension.

The IPRA Golden World Awards for Excellence offer world-wide recognition and acclaim to world-class public relations programmes. The 2013 competition, conducted by the International Public Relations Association, is open to local, regional, national or international public relations programmes carried out or completed in 2012/2013.

The number of categories in the GWA has doubled this year, as now there are separate categories for Agency and for Inhouse entries. Entrants may submit any number of nominations to any number of categories, which include:

• Community Relations
  For community relations campaigns not conducted by government / local authorities.
• Corporate Communications
  For excellence in enhancing a company’s overall reputation through corporate communications.
• Crisis Management
  Example of excellent communications management during a crisis.
• Digital Media Relations
  For the successful use of digital media relations in a PR campaign.
• Event Management
  For the planning and delivery of a successful event with a public relations dimension.
• Internal Communications
  For a creative internal communications campaign that engaged and informed personnel.
• Launch of a New Product
  For well-planned PR activities around the launch of a product.
• PR on a Shoestring 
  For an imaginative PR campaign done on a small budget.
• Publications
  For PR publications such as newsletters or magazines that showed excellence and imagination in communicating with stakeholders. This can be in a print or electronic format.
• Social Media for PR
  For excellence in the use of social media as a public relations tool.
• Technology
  For the effective use of public relations in the technology sector, including business-to-business and consumer campaigns.

For a full list of categories, visit the GWA website at www.ipra.org/gwa.

Entries submitted to the Golden World Awards competition will be judged by an international panel of senior practitioners. In considering entries, the judges may grant one, several or no awards in each category.

To submit your entries, review the entry kit and website for complete instructions on how to choose your categories and prepare your entries. When you are ready to submit your entries, begin here.

The 2013 GWA are managed on behalf of IPRA by the Stevie® Awards, which organizes the world’s premier business awards programs including The International Business Awards and The American Business Awards.  Questions about IPRA’s Golden World Awards may be directed to GWA@thestevies.com.

Have last minute questions? Don't hesitate to contact us with your questions about how to participate in the 2013 edition of IPRA's Golden World Awards for Excellence.

12 June is the final entry deadline for The 2013 (10th Annual) International Business Awards, the world's premier business awards competition. If you haven't already done so, you can request your entry kit here and it will be emailed to you right away.

The International Business Awards recognize achievement in every facet of the workplace. All individuals and organizations worldwide -- public and private, for-profit and non-profit, large and small -- may submit nominations to the IBAs. Categories include:

• Management Awards
• Company of the Year Awards
• Customer Service Awards
• Human Resources Awards
• Information Technology Awards
• Marketing Awards
• New Product Awards
• Public Relations Awards
• Web Site Awards, Smartphone and Tablet App, and other media awards

See the full list of international business awards categories.

Stevie® Awards are conferred upon top-scoring nominations in each category, as chosen by an international judging panel of more than 200 business leaders. Nominations should cite achievements during our eligibility period: January 2012 through 12 June 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.

Because the 2013 awards banquet will take place on 14 October in Barcelona, Spain, all organizations in Spain may submitted an unlimited number of entries to the IBAs free of charge this year. Organizations in Spain should submit the promotion code "Barcelona" where indicated in the online entry process to have their entry fees waived.

More than 350 entrepreneurs, executives, and their guests from around the world attended the 2012 IBA gala celebrated on Monday, October 15th, at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Seoul, South Korea. 2012 Stevie winners included A.P. Moller Maersk AS, Accenture, Coca Cola Turkey, Delta Air Lines, Inc., Etisalat Group, HSBC, Hyundai Motor Company , Infosys, Lenovo Group, Qualcomm Incorporated, Samsung Electronics, TATA Power, and Unilever, among others.  2012 results are summarized at http://www.stevieawards.com/pubs/iba/awards/408_2219_21728.cfm.  

Have questions regarding the 2013 IBAs? Don't hesitate to contact us with your questions or call us at + 1 703-547-8389.