April 25 Final Entry Deadline for Tenth Annual Program

The Stevie® Awards today named the 10 executives who will chair and form specialized final judging committees for its 10th Annual American Business Awards.

All organizations and individuals 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.  Details are available at http://www.StevieAwards.com/ABA.  The final entry deadline is April 25.

The 10 committee selections are based on the categories that will be judged.  The appointments are as follows:

Company/Organization Awards: Doron Reuveni, CEO & Co-founder of uTest, Southborough, MA

Corporate Communications, Investor Relations, and Public Relations Awards: Alison Graves, WW Influencer Relations, Printing of Hewlett Packard Company, Escondido, CA

Creative Awards: Stafford Kendall, Principal of Covalent Logic, Baton Rouge, LA

Customer Service Awards: Anita Samojednik, VP Customer Operations of TheLadders, New York, NY

Human Resources Awards: John Hovnanian, Senior VP of Human Resources & Chief Talent Officer of Williams Lea, New York, NY

 

Support Awards: Jerry Weinberger, Senior Director, Customer Service and Retention of Webs, Inc., Silver Spring, MD

Information Technology Awards: Elizabeth Redding, President of Tellago, Schaumburg, IL

Management Awards: Therese Tucker, CEO of BlackLine Systems, Los Angeles, CA

Marketing Awards: Charles Kirby Wadsworth, VP of Global Marketing of F5 Networks, Seattle, WA

 New Product Awards & Product Management: Mike Oeth, CEO of OnSIP Business VoIP, New York, NY

“The executives who will chair the final judging committees for the 2012 ABAs are all past Stevie Award winners and are leaders of their industries,” said Michael Gallagher, president of the Stevie Awards. “Having a deep involvement and understanding of their respective industries and changing landscapes, these individuals possess the insight to recognize success factors for this year’s nominees.”

Finalists in The 2012 American Business Awards will be determined in preliminary judging to be conducted through May 6 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 2012 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 18 at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York; and the second, a new event, will be held on September 17 at the Julia Morgan Ballroom in San Francisco, California and will honor Stevie Award winners in all tech-related categories.

For more information on The American Business Awards, visit: www.StevieAwards.com/ABA.

About the Stevie® Awards
Stevie Awards are conferred in four programs: The American Business Awards, The International Business Awards, the Stevie Awards for Women in Business, and the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service.  Honoring organizations of all types and sizes and the people behind them, the Stevies recognize outstanding performances in the workplace worldwide.  Learn more about the Stevie Awards at www.StevieAwards.com/, and follow the Stevie Awards on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and YouTube. 

Sponsors and partners of The 2012 American Business Awards include American Support, Business TalkRadio Network, Callidus Software, Citrix Online, Dynamic Research Corporation, iolo technologies, John Hancock Funds, LifeLock, PetRays, Primus Telecommunications Group, SoftPro, and VerticalResponse.

Widely recognized as the premier business awards program in the U.S.A., The American Business Awards honor organizations and individuals in a wide variety of categories, from management awards and public relations awards to technology awards, human resources awards, new product awards, and more.

“Historically, 20% of the ABA's categories receive 80% of the entries and this year is no different,” said Michael Gallagher, president of the Stevie Awards, organizer of the ABAs.  “Certain categories are extremely popular and have stiff competition, but there are others with fewer entries that we encourage potential entrants to look at.”

Gallagher recommends that organizations consider entering the following categories:

• New Product Awards: there are 46 new product awards categories in this year's ABAs
• Marketing Awards: there are more than 40 categories for marketing campaigns of every type. 
• Web Site Awards: there are also more than 40 categories for online media
• App Awards: there are 18 new categories to recognize smartphone and tablet apps of all kinds
• PR Awards: there are 13 categories for all types of communications campaigns

This year’s ABAs will bring the fourth edition of the People’s Choice Stevie Awards for Favorite New Products, in which the general public will vote for their favorite new products of the year in a variety of categories.  Gallagher recommends that organizations nominate their new products and services in the ABAs, because they’ll have the opportunity to win two awards: a Stevie Award in the peer-reviewed categories, and a people’s choice award in the publicly voted competition.

The entry kit for The 2012 American Business Awards is available at www.stevieawards.com/aba.  The 2012 awards will honor achievements since January 1, 2011.   The final entry deadline is April 27, 2011.  Final results will be announced at ceremonies in New York on June 18 and in San Francisco on September 17/

More than 200 professionals nationwide will participate in the peer-review judging process this year.

Last year’s winners of Stevie Awards in the ABAS included  American Express OPEN,  Blackboard, EmpowHER Media, ESPN, Hewlett-Packard, Kwittken & Company, Millennial Media,  Overstock.com, Red Frog Events, and Tesla Motors, among others. 

About The Stevie Awards

Stevie Awards are conferred in four programs: The American Business Awards, The International Business Awards, the Stevie Awards for Women in Business, and the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service.  Honoring organizations of all types and sizes and the people behind them, the Stevies recognize outstanding performances in the workplace worldwide.  Learn more about The Stevie Awards at http://www.stevieawards.com, and follow the Stevie Awards on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and YouTube. 

The final entry deadline for The 2012 (10th Annual) American Business Awards, the premier business awards competition in the U.S.A., is Wednesday, April 25, 2012.    

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 2012 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.

If you have questions regarding the submission process, we have several resources including a step-by-step video on how to submit entries, past winners' entries for your review, and  7 tips on submitting winning entries to help you make the most out of your entries.

2012 Finalists will be announced mid-May and the 10th Annual winners will be announced at one of our two awards banquets. We will hold our traditional banquet on June 18th at the Marriott Marquis in New York City and have a second ceremony in San Francisco on September 17th at the Julia Morgan Ballroom where we will announce our tech awards winners. Click here to see the ABA calendar.

If you have any questions about the 2012 submission process, email us at help@stevieawards.com or call us at + 1 703-547-8389.

The Ninth Annual International Business Awards, the world's premier business awards competition, is now accepting entries. The entry deadline is 16 May; request your entry kit here.) 

All individuals and organizations worldwide -- public and private, for-profit and non-profit, large and small -- may submit nominations to the IBAs. The International Business Awards recognize achievement in every facet of the workplace. Stevie® Awards are conferred upon top-scoring nominations in each category, as chosen by an international judging panel of more than 150 business leaders.

Our business awards categories include:

• Company/Organization Awards
• Customer Service Awards
• Human Resources Awards
• Information Technology Awards
• Management Awards
• Marketing Awards Categories
• New Product Awards
• Public Relations Awards
• Support Awards
• Web Site Awards, Smartphone and Tablet App, and other media awards

See the full list of international business awards categories.

Nominations should cite achievements during our eligibility period: January 2011 through 27 June 2012, 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 IBA deadline is 16 May and late entries will be accepted through the final entry deadline of 27 June with a $35.00 late fee. Finalists will be announced in late July. Entry details are available at www.stevieawards.com/iba.

2012 honorees will be celebrated at the 9th annual awards banquet on Monday, 15 October in Seoul, South Korea. To celebrate the 10th anniversary of the founding of the Stevie Awards movement, we will introduce Silver and Bronze Stevie Awards. This means that all honorees in the IBAs will now be Stevie Award winners (Note: Silver and Bronze Stevie Awards will replace Distinguished Honoree (honorable mention) medals). Read more about the new awards here.

To request an entry kit for The 2011 International Business Awards, visit www.stevieawards.com/iba.

Therese Tucker, CEO and Founder of BlackLine Systems, won the Stevie® Award for Executive of the Year  in The 2011 American Business Awards, the premier business awards program in the U.S.A. Therese will chair the committee for final judging of the management awards categories in The 2012 American Business Awards. (The final entry deadline for the 2012 ABAs is April 25, request your entry kit now.)

We asked Therese to share some tips with us on how managers can improve their end of year financial close processes.

What are your top 3 tips for senior managers looking to improve and streamline their account reconciliation and financial close processes?

1. Technology can automate repetitive, boring job functions and give your accounting staff more time to analyze and focus on strategic initiatives. 

2. Get organized: The best of tools won’t clean up a mess for you. 

3. Get executive sponsorship/buy-in early: Make sure that your CFO supports the initiative by understanding that a better process will give him/her confidence in the results. This will help garner the necessary time and resources to make meaningful changes and improvements.

What item of news recently caught your eye and why?
Another plane crash, in Siberia.  Regulations can be onerous, but as a frequent traveler I’m thankful that I mostly take the safety of flying for granted!

Do you have a favorite app?
The Sudoku app on my iPad.

If you could choose another profession, what would it be?
I would be either a yoga teacher or a chef.

What quality or qualities do you most value in your business associates?
Honesty, intelligence, and heart.

As someone at the top of your profession, what keeps you inspired or makes you hit the ground running in the morning?
As the business keeps growing, the job keeps changing.  Being CEO of a company with five people is very different than having 105 employees and almost 500 customers. It stays interesting!

About Therese Tucker, CEO and Founder, BlackLine Systems:
After 25 years at SunGard Treasury Systems where she served as Chief Technology Officer and head of development for SunGuard's Global Trader system, Therese Tucker was ready for a new business venture using emerging technology. Wanting to combine her two talents, technology innovation and finance, Therese started BlackLine in 2001 to address the technology needs of financial organizations. Therese successfully launched BlackLine by developing an automated solution for account reconciliations which tapped into a previously un-served market. In recent years, Therese has led the company’s shift to a SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) business model which has allowed to company to experience revenue growth of more than 50% in 2009, 2010, and 2011. In addition to her automated solution, Therese has developed other software including Tax Answer Scenarios, a tax planning product that has been marketed to over 1,000 tax preparers and CPAs annually since 1998.

About BlackLine Systems:
Founded in 2001, BlackLine Systems was the first to develop and offer a commercially available Balance Sheet Account Reconciliation solution.  BlackLine provides quick-to-implement, scalable, and easy-to-use applications that automate the entire financial close process to help improve financial controls for companies of all sizes.  BlackLine software applications complement existing Enterprise Performance Management (EPM), Governance Risk and Compliance (GRC), and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems. BlackLine offers clients its enterprise-class software in a simple and secure OnDemand/SaaS platform.  With a proven track record and a commitment to customer success, BlackLine seeks to reduce the burden the financial close places on accounting and finance professionals.  For more information, please visit www.blackline.com.

To help celebrate to 10th anniversary of the Stevie® Awards, organizer of the world’s premier business awards, we have introduced a monthly poll series recognizing the organizations, events, people, and products that have shaped our lives over the past decade.

Our April poll asks, Which is the top company of the past 10 years? After careful consideration, we've narrowed the choices to the following six companies. Vote now for your choice, on our poll on our Facebook page:

a) Apple

b) Facebook

c) Google

d) Research in Motion

e) Tata Group

f) Virgin

Results of our poll will be announced at the end of April.

Which company do you think is the top company of the decade? Vote now.

All individuals and organizations worldwide – public and private, for-profit and non-profit, large and small – may submit nominations to The International Business Awards.  The early-bird entry deadline, offering discounted entry fees, is 11 April.  The final entry deadline is 16 May.  Late entries will be accepted through 27 June, and results will be announced in late July.  Entry details are available at www.stevieawards.com/iba. 

New in 2012, Stevie Awards will be conferred at three levels of distinction: gold, silver and bronze.  Previously, only overall category winners have received Gold Stevie Awards. The Stevie Award trophy, made by the company that makes the Oscar and other major international awards, is one of the world’s most coveted prizes. Stevie Award winners will be selected by an international judging panel of more than 200 executives.

The International Business Awards recognize achievement in every facet of the workplace.  Categories include:

For a full list of categories visit the IBA web site.

The 2012 International Business Awards will include the Second Annual 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 in late July and winners will be announced at the Seoul, South Korea awards ceremony on 15 October.

2012 Stevie Award winners will be celebrated at the 9^th annual awards banquet on Monday, 15 October at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Seoul, South Korea.

The 8th Annual International Business Awards were presented in October 2011 in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates.  Honorees included American Express, Bombardier, Inc., Etisalat, Everything Everywhere, Saudi Basic Industries Corporation, Siemens AG, TATA Motors, Tesco Poland, Toyota Motor Corporation, Turk Telekom, and Unilever N.V., among others.  2011 results are summarized at http://www.stevieawards.com/pubs/iba/awards/408_2219_21081.cfm.  

About The Stevie Awards

Stevie Awards are conferred in four programs: The American Business Awards, The International Business Awards, the Stevie Awards for Women in Business, and the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service.  Honoring organizations of all types and sizes and the people behind them, the Stevies recognize outstanding performances in the workplace worldwide.  Learn more about the Stevie Awards at http://www.stevieawards.com/, and follow the Stevie Awards on Twitter @TheStevieAwards. 

Nearly 900 votes were cast to answer March's poll question, What’s the top new product or service of the past 10 years? As part of our 10th anniversary celebration, the Stevie® Awards, organizer of the world’s premier business awards, has introduced a monthly poll series to celebrate the events, people, organizations, and products that shaped our lives over the past decade.

You voted Apple's iPhone as the top new product or service of the past 10 years with 39% of all votes cast.

Other products and services included in the poll were:

BlackBerry - 17%

Crest WhiteStrips - 1%

Crocs - 2%

Guitar Hero - 3%

iPad - 17%

NetFlix - 3%

Skype- 11%

TiVO  - 2%

Toyota Prius Hybrid - 5%

We will introduce April's poll question, Which is the top company of the past decade? next week on the Stevie Awards' Facebook page.

Today is the entry deadline for The 2012 (10th Annual) American Business Awards, the premier business awards program in the U.S.A. If you haven't yet entered this year, the web site will be open all night to accept your entries. Request your entry kit here and you will receive it right away. Can't make today's deadline? Don't worry, we'll continue to accept entries through April 25 with a late fee of $35.00 per entry.

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.

All ABA entries are submitted directly online through your account. You can begin by registering here.

If you have any questions regarding the submission process, we have several helpful resources including a step-by-step video on how to submit entries,  past winners' entries for your review, and  7 tips on submitting winning entries to help you make the most out of your entries.

As always, don't hesitate to contact us with your questions about how to prepare and submit entries. You can reach us at + 1 703-547-8389 or email us at help@stevieawards.com and we'll get back to you right away.

The entry deadline for The 2012 (10th Annual) American Business Awards, the premier business awards program in the U.S.A., is tomorrow, Wednesday, March 28, 2012.

The submission process is easy. To start, 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 2012 ABA categories. The ABAs have several categories that honor organizations, departments, teams, individuals and much more. Our awards categories include:

• App Awards
• Company / Organization Awards
• Customer Service Awards
• HR Awards
• IT Awards
• Management Awards
• Marketing Awards
• New Product Awards
• PR Awards
• Web Site Awards

See all business award categories.

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

If you have any trouble selecting categories or submitting entries, you can contact us at + 1 703-547-8389 or email us at help@stevieawards.com.

Late entries will still be accepted through the final entry deadline of April 25 with a late fee of $35.00 per entry. 2012 Finalists will be announced in early May and 2012 ABA winners will be announced at one of our two awards ceremonies. Our traditional banquet will be held at the Marriott Marquis in New York City on June 18th and our second ceremony where we will honor our tech awards winners will be held in San Francisco at the Julia Morgan Ballroom on September 17th. Click here to see the ABA calendar.