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The final entry deadline for The 9th Annual American Business Awards^SM is just one week away, and while the competition is on track to attract a record number of entries, several categories and a people’s choice competition present special opportunities for aspiring Stevie® Award winners.

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:

• Marketing Awards: there are more than 40 new categories for marketing campaigns of every type.  Gallagher said that new categories typically are not heavily subscribed in their first year
• Web Site Awards: there are also more than 40 categories for online media
• PR Awards: there are 13 categories for all types of communications campaigns

This year’s ABAs will bring the third 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 also 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.

Entry kits for The 2011 American Business Awards are available at www.stevieawards.com/aba.  The 2011 awards will honor achievements since January 1, 2010.   The final entry deadline is April 27, 2011.  Final results will be announced at ceremonies in New York on June 20, 2011.

More than 150 professionals nationwide will participate in the peer-review judging process this year.

Last year’s winners of Stevie Awards in the ABAS included  Accenture, adidas, Apple Inc., Boost Mobile, Ford Motor Company, Hilton Hotels, Nu Skin Enterprises, the Rubicon Project and The Timberland Company, 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.  

April 27 Final Entry Deadline for Ninth Annual Program

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

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 27 is the final entry deadline this year. Details are available at http://www.stevieawards.com/aba/.

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

• Company/Organization Awards: Christopher Cabrera, Founder & CEO, Xactly Corporation, San Jose, CA

• Corporate Communications, Investor Relations, and Public Relations Awards: Kenneth D. Makovsky, President, Makovsky + Company, New York, NY

• Creative Awards: Suraya Bliss, Senior Director of Digital Strategy and Communication, Walmart, Bentonville, AR

• Customer Service Awards: Art Gairo, Senior VP Operations, Broadview Networks, Rye Brook, NY

• Human Resources Awards: Jim Gillece, Senior Vice President of Human Capital Management, Chief People Officer, Allied Barton Security Services, Conshohocken, PA

• Information Technology Awards: Sheri Thureen, Vice President Enterprise Business Transformation, CSC, Marlton, NJ

• Management Awards: Reggie Aggarwal, Founder & CEO, Cvent, McLean, VA

• Marketing Awards: Ivan Koon, CEO, YouSendIt, Campbell, CA

• New Product Awards & Product Management: Noah T. Rowles, CEO, iolo technologies, LLC, Los Angeles, CA

• Support Awards: Todd Crowder, Director of Customer Care, Vision Solutions Inc., Irvine, CA

Finalists in the 2011 American Business Awards will be determined in preliminary judging to be conducted in April and May by volunteer professionals nationwide.  Final judging, to be conducted by panels to be formed by the newly appointed committee chairs, will take place from late May through early June.  In total more than 150 executives will participate in this year’s judging process.  The 2011 awards will be announced on June 20 at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City and will honor achievements since the beginning of 2010.

“The executives who will chair the final judging committees for The 2011 ABAs are all winners of 2010 Stevie Awards and are leaders within 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 candidates.”

To enter The 2011 American Business Awards, visit: http://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 http://www.stevieawards.com, and follow the Stevie Awards on Twitter @TheStevieAwards.

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Eighth Annual International Business Awards Announces 2011 Call for Entries

The Stevie® Awards today issued the call for entries for the Eighth Annual International Business Awards, the world's premier business awards competition which last year attracted nominations from more than 40 nations.

All individuals and organizations worldwide -- public and private, for-profit and non-profit, large and small -- may submit nominations to the IBAs. The early-bird entry deadline, offering discounted entry fees, is 12 April. The final entry deadline is 11 May. Late entries will be accepted through 8 June, and results will be announced in early July. Entry details are available at www.stevieawards.com/iba.

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. Stevies are conferred upon top-scoring nominations in each category, as chosen by an international judging panel of more than 150 business leaders.

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

For a full list of categories visit: http://www.stevieawards.com/pubs/iba/awards/171_695_3021.cfm.

"The International Business Awards are the preeminent indicator of achievement in the global business community," said Michael Gallagher, president of The Stevie Awards. "Each year we celebrate the achievements of individuals and organizations who are making a positive difference for their customers, their shareholders, their employees, and their communities."

2011 honorees will be celebrated at the 8^th annual awards banquet on Tuesday, 11 October at the Emirates Palace Hotel in Abu Dhabi, hosted under the patronage of H.E. Sheikha Lubna Al Qassimi, Minister for Foreign Trade, United Arab Emirates.

The 7th Annual International Business Awards were presented in September 2010 in Istanbul, Turkey. Honorees included Accenture, Bank of Montreal, Cisco, Coca-Cola Icecek, Edelman in Indonesia, Nokia Corp., Samsung Electronics, and Thomson Reuters, among others. 2010 results are summarized at http://www.stevieawards.com/pubs/iba/awards/408_2633_20484.cfm.

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

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. 

Sponsors of The 2011 International Business Awards include IIR Exhibitions, the Korea Business Communications Association, Netezza Corporation, and Smart Reader Worldwide.

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March 31 is the final entry deadline for The 2011 (9th annual) American Business Awards, the premier business awards competition in the U.S.A.  Late entries will be accepted through April 27 with payment of a late fee.

If you haven't yet reviewed the 2011 entry kit, you'll find it online here. We also recommend that you watch the video How to Enter The 2011 American Business Awards.

The ABAs have categories to recognize achievement in all facets of the American workplace, from the executive suite to the shop floor.  Types of categories include:

• Overall Company/Organization Awards
• Management Awards
• Corporate Communications & Public Relations Awards
• Customer Service Awards
• Human Resources Awards
• Information Technology Awards
• Marketing Awards
• New Products Awards (and Product Development categories)
• Support Awards
• Web Sites, Blogs, Annual Reports, Videos, Live Events, and other types of media

2011 Finalists will be announced in mid-May, and this year's Stevie® Award winners will be announced at the 9th annual awards banquet at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City on Monday, June 20. Finalists are not required to attend to win.

The ABAs are one of four Stevie Awards competitions.  While the ABAs are open to all organizations operating in the U.S.A., the other three programs are open to entries from all organizations worldwide.  The other competitions are The International Business Awards, the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service, and the Stevie Awards for Women in Business.

If you have questions about The American Business Awards or any of the other Stevie Awards competitions, please contact us:

The Stevie Awards
info@stevieawards.com
+1 703-547-8389

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A Portion of Proceeds From All 2011 Business Award Programs to Benefit Fight Against Poverty and HIV/AIDS in Africa

The Stevie Awards, organizers of the world's premier business awards, today named Camfed, a non-profit organization that aims to fight poverty and HIV/AIDS in Africa, as the sole non-profit beneficiary of its programs this year.

As the beneficiary of the Stevie Awards, Camfed will receive a portion of every ticket sold for each of the four Stevie Awards shows in 2011 including The American Business Awards, The International Business Awards, the Stevie Awards for Women in Business, and the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service. 

Camfed (http://www.camfed.org) is an organization dedicated to fighting poverty and HIV/AIDS in Africa by educating girls and empowering women to become leaders of change in their communities. With more than 90 percent of Camfed's operating budget going directly to programs in Africa, the organization benefits millions of girls in Africa. For example, they have improved the school environment for 1,065,710 children, provided scholarships for 42,184 girls to go to high school, trained 4,068 teacher mentors and helped 769 young women go to college.

"We are honored to have the support of a national organization like The Stevie Awards and the global business community," said Kristin Harrison, Camfed's Strategic Communications Manager. "With additional funding and increased awareness of Camfed, we will be able to put more children in Africa on the path to success and extend our fight against poverty and AIDS."

In addition to the monetary contribution, Camfed will receive $50,000 worth of advertising and editorial coverage on the Stevie Awards web sites and email newsletter. The Stevie Awards (www.stevieawards.com) recognize outstanding performance in the workplace worldwide, and communicate with hundreds of thousands of business professionals each year.

"For our beneficiary this year, we wanted to select an organization with a mission to provide brighter futures for tomorrow's generation of potential leaders," said Michael Gallagher, president of The Stevie Awards. "Camfed's mission to stop the spread of poverty and HIV/AIDS in Africa not only supports education and health, but also facilitates the start of small businesses on a continent that needs them vitally."

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. 

About Camfed
Camfed fights poverty and HIV/AIDS in Africa by educating girls and empowering women to become leaders of change. Our goal: To improve the lives of two million children by 2013. For more information please visit: http://www.camfed.org. 

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Today we conducted a live webinar entitled "How to Enter The American Business Awards," and a video of that recording is now available.

Now in their ninth year, The American Business Awards are the leading business awards program in the U.S.A, with category groups including management awards, marketing awards, PR awards, HR awards, IT awards, web site awards, video awards, and more. The entry deadline is March 31.

The hour-long video covers

• What the ABAs are, and their history
• The schedule for the 2011 ABAs
• How to review and select categories
• How to prepare and submit entries
• How the judging process works
• Best practices
• What’s new & different in 2011

If you plan to enter The 2011 American Business Awards we recommend highly that you first get and review the online entry kit, but this video offers a lot of helpful detail about the process of the awards program.

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As the U.S. economy rebounds, employees and executives are working harder than ever before. In order to shine a spotlight on the organizations, individuals and teams that strive for excellence in the workplace each day, the Stevie® Awards today officially issued the call for entries for its Ninth Annual American Business Awards.  (I say "officially" because entries have been coming in since October.)

The American Business Awards are the only all-encompassing awards program that honors outstanding performances in the American workplace. All organizations operating in the U.S. are eligible to submit nominations -- public and private, for-profit and non-profit, large and small. The entry deadline is March 31 and late entries will be accepted through April 27 with a late fee. The 2011 awards will honor work since the beginning of 2010, and the awards will be announced on June 20 at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City. Entry details are available at http://www.stevieawards.com/aba/.

Nominations are accepted in various category groups including management awards, public relations awards, marketing awards, new product awards, HR awards, IT awards, web site awards, and more. New categories in 2011 include Executive of the Year - Health Products & Services and Best New Product or Service of the Year - Health Products & Services, and more than 40 new Marketing Campaign of the Year categories.

"The American Business Awards offer individuals and organizations the recognition they deserve for achievements in the workplace," said Michael Gallagher, president of the Stevie Awards. "Each year our judges recognize organizations large and small, from the world's most famous companies to mom-and-pop startups, and I think 2011 is going to offer many stories of remarkable and inspiring achievement."

The 2011 American Business Awards will include the third edition of the People's Choice Stevie Awards for Favorite New Products(SM), in which the general public can vote for their favorite new products and services of the year. Each new product or service nominated in The American Business Awards will automatically be included in people's choice voting. Voting opens in May and winners of the People's Choice Stevie Awards for Favorite New Products will be honored at the June awards dinner in New York.

The Eighth Annual American Business Awards were presented last June to a diverse group of organizations including Accenture, adidas, Apple Inc., Boost Mobile, Ford Motor Company, Hilton Hotels, Nu Skin Enterprises, the Rubicon Project and The Timberland Company among others. For a list of winners and finalists of the 2010 awards visit: http://www.stevieawards.com/pubs/awards/403_2183_20410.cfm.  

To request an entry kit for The 2011 American Business Awards, visit http://www.stevieawards.com/aba/.

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The Stevie Awards have three webinars planned for the next 60 days, and they're all about the options available to you for applying for - and winning - 2011 Stevie Awards in one or more of our four Stevie Awards programs.  Registration is free.  Each will last approximately 45 minutes, followed by 10 minutes of Q&A.

February 8: 1:00 pm ET Webinar, How to Enter The American Business Awards. 
In this webinar we'll provide you with an overview of the ABAs - the premier business awards show in the U.S.A., honoring achievement in every facet of the workplace - including everything you need to know to have the best chance of impressing the judges.  The ABAs feature many opportunities to win PR awards, marketing awards, management awards, customer service awards, HR awards, and more, and we'll cover it all in this webinar.

March 1, 15:00 GMT/10:00 AM ET Webinar, Creative Media Awards in the 2011 Stevies
Winning a Stevie Award has become one of the top honors for organizations and professionals around the world.  There are many opportunities for creative professionals in advertising, digital media, video production, event production, and other creative industries to be recognized in the Stevies.  But how can you and your organization participate?

In this webinar we'll provide you with an overview of the creative media awards opportunities in the four Stevie Awards programs in 2011, which include The International Business Awards, The American Business Awards, the Stevie Awards for Women in Business, and the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service.  We'll discuss available categories, and how to review and select categories, how the judging process works, and how to prepare and submit entries.  You'll come away with a good understanding about how to compete for - and win - 2011 Stevies for web awards, advertising awards, video awards, event awards, annual report awards, and more.

March 8, 15:00 GMT/10:00 AM ET Webinar, How to Enter The International Business Awards 
In this webinar we'll discuss:

* The history of The International Business Awards, which are open to all organizations worldwide
* 2011 awards schedule
* What's new and different for the 2011 IBAs
* How the judging process works
* How to review and select categories
* How to write and submit entries

We'll review some best (and worst) practices, to help ensure that you submit the best entries possible.

All three webinars will be recorded and latest posted on the Stevie Awards Channel on YouTube, but you should plan to sit in on the live webinars so that you have a chance to get your questions answered about how your organization can participate - and win.

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It's that time of year when most companies are firming up their PR and marketing budgets and plans for 2011.  Many organizations are budgeting and planning to enter any number of business awards competitions in the new year, because they know that awards are cost-effective tools for a variety of purposes, with brand building and employee relations chief among them.

But here are the three reasons why you and your organization won't win a single award in 2011 - plus the #1 reason it won't matter a whit even if you do.

1. You Don't Enter
On occasion when I suggest to someone that they should nominate their organization in one of the Stevie Awards competitions, their response is: We don't believe in nominating ourselves for awards.  We plan to do such great work that awards will just be given to us.

Really? I want to reply. Which award are you hoping will make a beeline to your door?  A Nobel Prize? A MacArthur Genius Award?  Get real. 

Hope is not a strategy. If you don't believe that winning awards can help to burnish your organization's reputation, provide a low-cost reward to your employees for their good work, and provide one more incentive to your executives and workers to excel, I could persuade you otherwise, but at least that's your opinion.  But if you do believe that winning awards can offer these benefits, why on earth wouldn't you plan to pursue them?

Sure, it can take hours to prepare entries, and entry fees for a few awards programs can run to several thousand dollars, but the work and the cost are minor compared to the benefits of winning - and leveraging - a prestigious award.

2. You Aren't Smart About Picking Your Competitions
While we think our Stevie Awards competitions are the best there are, we acknowledge there are many awards programs worthy of your attention around the world for corporate awards, PR awards, marketing awards, IT awards, web awards, HR awards, and so on.  Picking those that are right for you and your organization is important.  And picking the categories within those competitions is also key.

When someone calls the Stevie Awards to enquire about whether their organization might be a fit for one of our competitions, we ask them two questions: one, what do you want to be recognized for?  And two, is it important to you in which category you might be honored?  Their answer to the first question is important, because that will tell us which competition, and which category(s), will be a fit for them.  The answer to the second question is also pivotal, because that will tell us whether we should recommend only the most popular (i.e. "prestigious") categories or can recommend secondary categories to them as well.

3. You Don't Tell Your Story Well
It's my experience that most organizations aren't very good at formally summarizing and articulating their achievements in an engaging way.  Storytelling is a vital part of corporate - and career - success.

When someone says to me, I'm not sure we're ready to enter the Stevie Awards, I don't know that we've achieved enough yet, I ask them to give me their elevator speech, their one-minute summary of what they do and what they've achieved.  Without fail their elevator speech is captivating.  It seems that most people have honed their ability to put into a few words the essence of their capabilities and achievements.  But few people can translate that pride and excitement into a longer document that's well written, well structured, and supported with examples, work samples, and the like. 

Until the day when we can transmit our thoughts to one another via telepathy, the written word will continue to be the way to communicate data-intensive information.  So if you can't write well, you don't stand much chance of winning many if any awards.  If you don't write well, hire or contract with someone who does to write your awards entries for you.

Even if you do enter the right categories in the right competitions, and prepare and write your entries extremely well, and win a raft of prestigious awards, they won't mean a thing if you don't translate those wins into meaningful tools, by

* Publicizing your wins to the media and stakeholders
* Congratulating and celebrating your employees for their recognition
* Using the resources provided by awards organizers, such as winners' logos, to create a long-term association between your products and your brand and their mark of excellence. 

The Stevie Awards are pleased to announce that we have partnered with Meltwater News to bring you live, updated feeds of press clippings about the Stevie Awards and business awards in general.

There are separate scrolling feeds for each of our four awards programs:

The American Business Awards feed is here, where you'll find clippings about the premier business awards program in the U.S.A., with news about the program's marketing awards, PR awards, web awards, human resources awards, IT awards, and more.

The International Business Awards feed is here, and it contains worldwide coverage of the IBAs and their management awards, corporate awards, new product awards, and more.

The Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service feed is here, offering up-to-the-moment coverage of its sales awards and customer service awards.

The Stevie Awards for Women in Business feed is here, full of recent clippings about this year's honorees.