The following professionals participated in the preliminary judging of the 2012 (9th annual) Stevie® Awards for Women in Business, the world's premier business awards for women executives, entrepreneurs, and the organizations they run. Their average scores determined the 2012 Finalists, which were announced on October 11. We thank them for their time, insights, and support. (For a complete list of Finalists by category, visit www.StevieAwards.com/Women. 2012 winners will be announced at an awards dinner on November 9 at the Marriott Marquis in New York. Click here to order tickets.)

Husam Mahmoud Abdallah, Sr. Specialist Strategy & Business Excellence, Dubai Airport Free Zone, Dubai, United Arab Emirates             
Laurie Albo, Asset Manager, H & R Retail, Inc., a ChainLinks Company, Baltimore, MD, United States               
Ahmed Alhai, BRM Specialist, ADCO, Dubai, United Arab Emirates           
Kerry Allen, Principal, Santa Barbara Studio, Santa Barbara, CA, United States     
Amal Al-Najjar, Human Resources Manager, Fluor Corporation - Kuwait, Ahmadi, Kuwait               
Kausar Asif, Sr. Manager Marketing Services, Cupola Pakistan Limited, Karachi, Pakistan               
Ani Atanasova, CEO, Pixelhunters, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Maria Bailey, CEO, Blue Suit Mom Media, Pompano Beach, FL, United States               
Charlotte Ball, Program Director, The PUSH Academy, Norwich, United Kingdom               
Mona Baset, Senior VP - Digital Sales & Marketing, Bank of America, Charlotte, NC, United States               
Nevena Batselova, Marketing and strategic planning manager, BNP Paribas, Sofia, Bulgaria               
Heather Bayfield, President, Life Management Advisors, Jacksonville Beach, FL, United States               
Janet Beale, Manager, Platform Investment Implementation, MLC Limited, East Lindfield, NSW, Australia               
Denise Bentele, President & CEO, Common Ground Public Relations, Chesterfield, MO, United States               
Tya Bolton, CEO, Exceptional Business Solutions, LLC, Waldorf, MD, United States               
Erin Bolton, VP Strategic Services, Pivot Communications, Salt Lake City, UT, United States               
Vanessa Borg, Director, Consultancy & Training Acumen Centre Ltd., Gudja, Malta          
Fran Bosecker, Account Director, Vantage Communications, Thiells, NY, United States   
Margo Boster, CEO, ImpaQ Solutions, LLC, Scottsdale, AZ, United States               
Marcia  Brand, President, Creative Marketing Concepts, Inc., Alexandria, VA, United States               
Tina Brooks, VP Marketing, Brooks Pepperfire Foods, Rigaud, Canada    
Crystal Brown-Tatum, CEO/President, Crystal Clear Communications, Shreveport, LA, United States               
Jane Bryant, Director, Spire Communications, Potomac Falls, VA, United States               
Julie Calzone, CEO, Calzone & Associates, Lafayette, LA, United States  
Diana Carrico, Director, Liderplas, Sobreda, Portugal, Portugal    
Denise Clancey, President, Teledirect Partners, Boston, MA, United States               
Pamela  Clark, Founder/Director, New Heights Educational Group, Inc, Defiance, OH, United States               
David Clarke, Managing Partner, BGT Partners, Miami, FL, United States               
Marla Coffin, President & CEO, MARDA Management Inc., Windsor, Canada      
Etta Cohen, Founder, Forward Ladies, Leeds, United Kingdom  
Kimberly Cooley, Communications Director, Henderson Hutcherson & McCullough, Chattanooga, TN, United States               
Irene Corpuz, Senior Analyst, Change Masters International, Abu Dhabi, UAE, United Arab Emirates               
Kate Darcy Hohenthal, Founder, The Birthday Club, Manchester, CT, United States         
Susan Davis, President, Susan Davis International, Washington, DC, United States           
Robyn Davis, Owner, When I Need Help, Columbus, OH, United States  
Danielle Di-Masi, Business Etiquette Expert, Click! Training & Consulting, Sydney, Australia               
Rochelle Ekanayake, Managing Director, MrPierce Studios International Asia (pvt) LTD, Colombo, Sri Lanka               
Lori Ericson, Product Planning and Development, Epicor Software, Denver, CO, United States    
Jennifer Finke, CEO, Red Jeweled Media, Denver, CO, United States      
Silke Fleischer, CEO, ATIV Software, San Francisco, CA, United States     
Julia Forsyth, Senior Global Marketing Manager, GSMA, Atlanta, GA, United States        
Lisa Frank, Product Manager, NFPA, Quincy, MA, United States
Lorretta Gasper, Owner/Principal, Wind Rose Communications, Atlanta, GA, United States               
Barb Girson, President, My Sales Tactics, New Albany, OH, United States             
Marina Go, Publisher, Private Media, Alexandria, NSW, Australia             
Karen Greco, Director, Business Optimization, Unified, Sewell, NJ, United States               
Sheila Green, Founder and CEO, Green Productivity Solutions, Jacksonville Beach, FL, United States       
Linda Groarke, Digital Project Manager, Morgan Stanley, New York, NY, United States               
Marcia Hall, President & CEO, Marcia Hall & Associates, LLC, Severna Park, MD, United States               
Renda Hawwa, Corporate Communications, IntelligentMDx, Boston, MA, United States               
Qetesha Haynes, Marketing Professional, HQCI, Chicago, IL, United States          
Charity Herb, Online Content Administrator, American Greetings, Cleveland, OH, United States               
Ronford Howell, CEO, Bottle Service, New York, NY, United States          
Idelle Howitt, Managing Director, Howitt & Associates, New York, NY, United States               
Sumaiya Hussain, Asst. Manager, Compensation & Benefits, Dubai Electricity & Water Authority, Dubai, United Arab Emirates   
Clara HY Wang, Founder & President, KAI Communication (China) Co., Ltd., Beijing, China               
Anne Jefferies, GVM Scorecard and Business Reporting, AT&T Global Vendor Management, Biggar, United Kingdom               
Keum Jin Woo, Professor, Department Chair, Division of Design, Kosin University, Busan 606-701, South Korea               
Jane Johnson, Director Content Development, Pivot Communications, Salt Lake City, UT, United States               
Rebecca Jones, Owner, bScene Marketing Solutions, Miami, FL, United States  
Rose Jurczewski, Owner, Funxion Fuzion, Roselle, IL, United States        
Barbara Kasoff, COO, Women Impacting Public Policy, Washington, DC, United States    
Craig Kavicky, Director, Business Development-North America n, FITCH, Inc., Columbus, OH, United States               
Patricia Marie Kelly, Owner, Marie Kelly Unlimited, Algonquin, IL, United States
Shamina Krishna, Curriculum Development, Research & Advanced Training He, Smart Reader® Worldwide Sdn. Bhd., Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia               
Kristen Kuhns, EVP, TierSolution, Brentwood, CA, United States               
Jean Madden, Managing Director, Street Swags Ltd, Upper Brookfield, Australia               
Lynne Marcus, President, Marcus + Company, Albuquerque, NM, United States               
Kristin Marquet, President, Marquet Media, LLC, New York, NY, United States  
Linda Marshall-Smith, Founder & CEO, Soapdom, Inc., Santa Monica, CA, United States               
Carol Marx, Past President, American Agri-Women, Rickreall, OR, United States               
Maria Mattsson, Manager, Guest Services, Royal Caribbean International & Azamara Club Cruises, Miami, FL, United States               
Renie McClay, Founder, Learning consultant, Inspired Learning LLC, Wheeling, IL, United States               
Jeannine McHenry, Art Director/Principle, J. McHenry Design, Marina Del Rey, CA, United States               
Colin  McKillop, CEO, Butcher Enterprises, Windsor, ON, Canada             
Joanne Meredith, Senior Associate Director, Direct Response Marketing, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, United States  
Jon Michail, CEO, Image Group International, South Yarra, Australia        
Varvara Milovanova, Entrepreneur, Tyne and Wear, United Kingdom  
Jane Morgan, Product Line Director, APC by Schneider Electric, Galway, Ireland
Angela Morgan, Founder, Lead Star LLC, Fairfax, VA, United States         
Pat Mussieux, Founder, Wealthy Women Leaders, Ontario, Canada       
Leslie O'Connor, Owner, Search Wizards, Atlanta, GA, United States      
Gabriela Olaru, Lecturer, Yeditepe University, Istanbul, Turkey 
Erica Olsen, Co-Founder, M3 Planning, Reno, NV, United States               
Kirsten Osolind, Founding CEO, Re:invention, Chicago, IL, United States
Mark O'Toole, Senior vice president, H|B, Newton, MA, United States  
Kaan Ozokmen, Agent Manager, K-Tex Sourcing & Buying Agency, Istanbul, Turkey        
Patricia Pereira, Director of Advertising, The Chemical Company, Jamestown, RI, United States               
Shalini Perera Bandaranayake, Director, Saladura (Pvt) Ltd, Colombo, Sri Lanka  
Heather Petersen, CEO, National Merchants Association, Temecula, CA, United States               
Harish Pillai, COO, Indus health plus pvt ltd, Pune, India 
Penny Pompei, National Executive Director, Women Construction Owners & Executives USA, Alexandria, VA, United States               
Fabi Preslar, President, SPARK Publications, Matthew, NC, United States             
Jesintha Rajaratnam, Managing Partner, Joje India Consultants - Finance and HR, Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates               
Emma Real, Corporate Communications Specialist, AECOM, Chicago, IL, United States   
Erica Rehberg, Regional Administrator, ConAm, Federal Way, WA, United States              
Lena Requist, Chief Operating Officer, Ontraport, Santa Barbara, CA, United States        
Sandra Rinomato, Broker, Sandra Rinomato Realty, Toronto, ON, Canada             
Christina Robinson, Patient Care Representative, Group Health Coop, Seattle, WA, United States               
Liz Rowell, Managing Director, Red Ark, St Leonards, NSW, Australia       
Mary Jo Rulnick, Author, Warner Books, Pittsburgh, PA, United States 
Lesley Salinero, Principal/ ESE Director, MCSD, Marathon, FL, United States 
Parna Sarkar-Basu, Vice President, Marketing Communications, Verivo Software, Waltham, MA, United States               
Amy Scarlino, President & CEO, Catchpole Corporation, Boston, MA, United States               
Katja Schroeder, President, Expedition PR, Brooklyn, NY, United States
Aysegul Seferoglu, External Communications Director, Effect PR/ e.a. Edelman Worldwide, Istanbul, Turkey               
Bae Seog Bong, Director, KCU, Seoul, South Korea          
William Sheridan, President, Cynosure Productions, Ltd., Jupiter, FL, United States               
Gary Shumaker, Senior Consultant, Gary E. Shumaker, Inc., Fairfax, VA, United States   
Susan Smith, AVP Bus. Process Mgmt & Change Delivery, Aviva Canada, Toronto, Canada               
Darci Steranko, COO, Footsteps to Family, Las Vegas, NV, United States               
Kim Stiglitz, Director of Lifecycle Marketing, VerticalResponse Inc., San Francisco, CA, United States               
Rosemary Stockdale, Managing Director, Sterling Marketing Ltd, London, United Kingdom               
Tyrus Sturgis, Business Development & Corporate Strategist, Purry Communications Group, Los Angeles, CA, United States               
Natalija Sudina, Chief Executive, Best4Kid LTD, London, United Kingdom               
Heena Sunil Bulchandani, Specialist-Training & Development, HR training, DEWA, Dubai, United Arab Emirates               
Letty Swank, Founder, Giftwrapperz, Los Gatos, CA, United States         
Veronique Topping, Web Developer, WomanOwnedNewYork.com, Rockville Centre, NY, United States               
Theresa Ulyatt, President, Smarter Systems, Charlotte, NC, United States           
Robin Vaitonis, Senior VP, Tanis Communications, San Jose, CA, United States   
Anne Walker, Founder & CEO, International Dance Supplies Ltd, Newton Abbot, United Kingdom               
K H Wang, Group Executive Director, Smart Reader® Worldwide Sdn. Bhd., Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia               
Antonie Whittier, Founder, Whittier Legal Consulting, Dallas, TX, United States 
Floor Wijburg, CEO, Yes We Care, Rotterdam, Netherlands         
Leah Wilkinson, Partner, Wilkinson Shein Communications, Baltimore, MD, United States               
Melissa Wilson, Owner, Wilson Monnig Creative, St. Peters, MO, United States
Laureen Wishom, President, Masterpiece Solutions, LLC, Houston, TX, United States               
Glenn Wohl, Marketing Manager, AT&T, Bedminster, NJ, United States
Pam Young, President, Unique Innovations Inc., Lancaster, PA, United States  

Fairfax, VA – October 11, 2012 – Finalists were announced today in the 9th Annual Stevie® Awards for Women in Business, the international competition recognizing the accomplishments of outstanding women executives, business owners, and the organizations they run.  

The Stevie Awards for Women in Business are produced by the creators of the prestigious American Business Awards and International Business Awards.  The Stevies are widely considered to be the world’s premier business awards.

This year’s Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Award winners will be announced at an awards dinner at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City on Friday, November 9. 

More than 1,200 entries were submitted this year by organizations and individuals around the world for consideration in more than 90 categories including Executive of the Year, Entrepreneur of the Year, Women Helping Women, and Communications Campaign of the Year. 

Among the leading contenders with multiple Finalists are Accenture, Chicago, IL USA; Aegis Media, South Africa; ClientAttraction.com, Stamford, CT, USA; DHL Global Forwarding, Miami, FL, USA; Fresh  Easy Neighborhood Market, El Segundo, CA, USA; Friends of the Global Fund Africa, Lagos, Nigeria; iolo technologies, LLC, Los Angeles, CA, USA; McKinsey Development, Inc., Warrenton, VA, USA; Medicard Finance Inc., Toronto, Canada; MWW, East Rutherford, NJ, USA; Pivot Communications, Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Reading Room, London, United Kingdom; Sentis Pty Ltd, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia; Vaco Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA; VerticalResponse, San Francisco, CA, USA; and Vodafone Istanbul, Turkey.

For a complete list of Finalists by category, visit www.StevieAwards.com/Women.

Finalists were chosen by more than 130 business professionals worldwide during preliminary judging.  Members of five final judging committees will determine the Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Award placements from among the Finalists during final judging.

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.

Today, Friday September 28, is the final entry deadline for the 2012 (9th annual) Stevie® Awards for Women in Business, the world's premier business awards for women executives, entrepreneurs, and the organizations they run. 

To begin your submission process, you should:

1. Request an entry kit. 
The entry kit contains all of the information you'll need to be able to prepare and submit entries to this year's awards. All entries are submitted online. You can begin by registering here.

2. Review the categories.
All female entrepreneurs, executives, and the organizations they run, worldwide, are eligible to be nominated. The Stevie Awards for Women in Business feature more than 80 categories to recognize achievement in many facets of worklife, including:

• Entrepreneur Awards
• Executive Awards
• Management Team Awards
• Company of the Year Awards
• PR Awards
• Marketing Awards
• New Product Awards
• Website & App Awards
• and More

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

Three tips to help you make the most out of your entries include:

1. Determine Who or What You Want to Nominate, and in Which Categories
Decide which individuals, organizations, or work  that you will nominate, then select the most appropriate categories for those entries. 

2. Use the 2011 Stevie-winning Entries as Models
2011 Stevie-winning entries are examples of entries that judges scored highly, and we recommend that you emulate their style, tone, and structure.  Click here to go to the list of 2011 honorees.

3. Prepare Your Entries
Stevie-winning entries are:

a. Well-written.  They are terse and succinct.  Their tone is modest, even when describing the most impressive accomplishments.
b. Focused on a few accomplishments.  Describe in detail just a few accomplishments, instead of listing many accomplishments in brief.
c. Accompanied by supporting information.  Provide links to online news stories, press releases, or other documents that support the claims made in your entries.

The Stevie Awards for Women in Business are judged by many leading women entrepreneurs, executives and luminaries in business.  More than 200 professionals worldwide will participate in the judging process this year.

The 2012 results will be announced at an awards dinner at Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City on November 9.

Need help answering  your last minute questions?  Email us at help@stevieawards.com  or call us at + 1 703-547-8389 and we'll get back to you right away.

Tomorrow, September 28, is final entry deadline for the 2012 (9th annual) Stevie Awards for Women in Business, the world's premier business awards for women executives, entrepreneurs, and the organizations they run.

All entries are submitted online. You can begin by registering here.

All female entrepreneurs, executives, and the organizations they run, worldwide, are eligible to be nominated. The Stevie Awards for Women in Business feature more than 80 categories to recognize achievement in many facets of worklife, including:

• Entrepreneur Awards
• Executive Awards
• Management Team Awards
• Company of the Year Awards
• PR Awards
• Marketing Awards
• New Product Awards
• Website & App Awards
• and More

Winners of the 2011 Stevie Awards for Women in Business included, among others: Charly Leetham of Ask Charly Leetham, Canberra, Australia (Entrepreneur of the Year), Sarah Yansura of Euro RSCG Worldwide PR (Employee of the Year), Melissa Burton of FTF Sweets Ltd, Heysham, United Kingdom (Entrepreneur of the Year in EMEA),America Works of New York, Inc.'s Dr. Lee Bowes (Lifetime Achievement Award), Rockin' Green's Kimberly Webb (Best Entrepreneur), and Jack Morton Worldwide's Tara Back (Best Executive). A complete list of 2011 honorees is available at www.stevieawards.com/women.

The Stevie Awards for Women in Business are judged by many leading women entrepreneurs, executives and luminaries in business.  More than 200 professionals worldwide will participate in the judging process this year.

The 2012 results will be announced at an awards dinner at Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City on November 9.

Need help answering  your last minute questions?  Email us at help@stevieawards.com  or call us at + 1 703-547-8389 and we'll get back to you right away.

The final entry deadline for the 2012 (9th annual) Stevie® Awards for Women in Business is this Friday, September 28, so we thought we would share five reasons why you and your organization should submit entries. (The Stevie Awards for Women in Business are the world's premier business awards for women executives, entrepreneurs, and the organizations they run. If you haven't yet done so, you can request your entry kit here.)

1. Improve employee morale.  
   Applying for The Stevie® Awards is a simple and affordable way to recognize your organization and employees.
2. Company size equality.  
   You don't have to be a big company to win a Stevie!  Small organizations have an equal opportunity to win Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevies.
3. Access to your industry's leaders.  
   Many of the world's top business leaders will review your nominations during the judging process.
4. Impress potential clients.
   Your work will not only be reviewed and honored by peers and competitors, but also by potential clients! 
5. Global recognition and free publicity.   
   Gold Stevie Award winners will have the opportunity to make a 30-second acceptance speech before an audience of 200+ of executives from across the world.

What's your number one reason for applying for the Stevie Awards for Women in Business?

The final entry deadline for the 2012 (9th annual) Stevie® Awards for Women in Business is September 28.

The Stevie Awards for Women in Business are the world's premier business awards for women executives, entrepreneurs, and the organizations they run. To begin your submission process, you should:

1. Request an entry kit. 
The entry kit contains all of the information you'll need to be able to prepare and submit entries to this year's awards.

2. Review the categories.
All female entrepreneurs, executives, and the organizations they run, worldwide, are eligible to be nominated. The Stevie Awards for Women in Business feature over 80 categories including Best Entrepreneur, Best Young Entrepreneur, Best Executive, Mentor or Coach of the Year, Lifetime Achievement Award, Employee of the Year, Best Overall Company of the Year, and Most Innovative Company of the Year, among others.

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

Winners of the 2011 Stevie Awards for Women in Business included, among others: Charly Leetham of Ask Charly Leetham, Canberra, Australia (Entrepreneur of the Year), Sarah Yansura of Euro RSCG Worldwide PR (Employee of the Year), Melissa Burton of FTF Sweets Ltd, Heysham, United Kingdom (Entrepreneur of the Year in EMEA), Ann Kaplan of iFinance Canada (Canadian Entrepreneur of the Year), Lynn Agnello of the Phoenix Suns NBA team (Executive of the Year), The University of Southern Mississippi (Community Relations Campaign of the Year), and Wipro Limited, Bangalore, India (Women Helping Women Award).  A complete list of 2011 honorees is available at www.StevieAwards.com/Women.

The Stevie Awards for Women in Business are judged by many leading women entrepreneurs, executives and luminaries in business.  More than 200 professionals worldwide will participate in the judging process this year.

The 2012 results will be announced at an awards dinner at Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City on November 9.

Need help answering  your submission questions?  Email us at help@stevieawards.com  or call us at + 1 703-547-8389 and we'll get back to you right away.

The final entry deadline for the 2012 (9th annual) Stevie Awards for Women in Business, the world's premier business awards for women executives, entrepreneurs, and the organizations they run is quickly approaching on September 28.

If you haven't  yet done so, you can request your entry kit here. The entry kit contains all of the information you'll need to be able to prepare and submit entries to this year's awards.

All female entrepreneurs, executives, and the organizations they run, worldwide, are eligible to be nominated. The Stevie Awards for Women in Business feature more than 80 categories to recognize achievement in many facets of worklife, including:

• Entrepreneur Awards
• Executive Awards
• Management Team Awards
• Company of the Year Awards
• PR Awards
• Marketing Awards
• New Product Awards
• Website & App Awards
• and More

Winners of the 2011 Stevie Awards for Women in Business included, among others: America Works of New York, Inc.'s Dr. Lee Bowes (Lifetime Achievement Award), Rockin' Green's Kimberly Webb (Best Entrepreneur), Jack Morton Worldwide's Tara Back (Best Executive), Mitchell Personnel Solutions' Trace Mitchell (Best Asian Entrepreneur), and Agloves (Best New Company of the Year). A complete list of 2011 honorees is available at www.stevieawards.com/women.

The 2012 results will be announced at an awards dinner at Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City on November 9.

Have last minute questions? Don't hesitate to contact us with your questions about how to participate in the 2012 Stevie Awards for Women in Business.

We invite you to apply to be a preliminary-round judge for the 9th annual Stevie® Awards for Women in Business, the world's premier business awards for women executives, entrepreneurs, and the organizations they run.  Interested?  Apply here.

How does preliminary-round judging work?

• All judging is done online so judges will be able to review nominations on their own time and at their own pace.
• Judges will be assigned categories based on their experience, function, and industry.
• There is no limit to how many (or how few) nominations judges can review.

What are the benefits of being a Stevie Awards judge?

• Judges get an inside look at how other organizations and individuals are achieving success and confronting challenges. 
• All active judges will receive a certificate of appreciation, suitable for framing.
• All judges will have a chance to win two free tickets to the November 2012 awards dinner in New York City.

Need more information?

• Get the application form.
• Learn more about the judging and awards process.
• Meet the 2011 preliminary-round judges.
• Contact us at help@stevieawards.com.

Apply to be a judge and be a part of a worldwide coalition of business heroes.

What's your top reason for applying to be a 2012 Stevie Awards for Women in Business  judge?

Métier, Ltd., of Healdsburg, California, USA, received a Stevie® Award for Community Involvement Program of the Year in the company awards categories of the 2011 Stevie Awards for Women in Business, while founder Sandra Richardson was named Mentor of the Year in 2010. (The final entry deadline for the 2012 Stevie Awards for Women in Business, the world's premier awards for women executives, entrepreneurs, and the organizations they run, is September 28. Request your entry kit today.) Here we look at how she and her company are helping veterans.

As a founding partner of Métier, the PPM Company™, Sandra Richardson has united her foundations in traditional Human Resources management with her innovative desire to build a fresh, effective approach to career development and employee mentoring.

Asked about her award-winning Community Involvement Program, Sandra commented: “The Protectors to Project Managers program is a great example of how we structure our corporate giving programs at Métier.  We want to give to our community, but also produce a return on investment.  This program helps the wounded service member, their families, the military support organizations, our local community, and the project management profession.  It’s a win-win-win for everyone involved.  We are living in a project-centric world, so the skills they obtain are valuable and make a positive impact, whether or not they ultimately decide to change their profession to project management.”

Background
She and business partner Douglas Clark have established a career-development and employee-mentoring program that focuses on a results-driven approach. Métier employees have ongoing coaching sessions with their managers as often as every week, and at least once a month instead of the traditional annual performance review. Employees are encouraged to schedule “skip-level” coaching sessions with directors and executives. In addition, Métier has a third party executive coach for regularly scheduled and ad hoc coaching sessions.

Promoting from Within
Rather than hiring from outside of the organization, Métier prefers to nurture and mentor its employees. The impact on both the employees and the organization has been dramatic. Métier has promoted the majority of its management from within, including every member of Métier’s executive leadership.  This has also translated into results for the organization. Métier has increased its client base by 48% over the past year and achieved the highest SaaS customer retention rate in the industry.

Giving Back to the Community
Métier develops their social responsibility programs to provide the greatest return on investment for each philanthropic dollar invested.  Métier developed their award-winning program, Protectors to Project Managers, in order to give back to America's veterans.  The program offers project management training, Project Management Institute (PMI®) certification, and professional development coaching to Wounded Warriors to prepare them for new careers as certified project managers. 

Project Management Skills In Demand
Project management was named as one of Money Magazine’s “Best Careers in America” in 2010 and was also ranked as #2 in “Hot Skills for 2011” by Computerworld.  According to a 2010 Computerworld report, people with project management skills would “be sought by 43% of Computerworld's survey respondents who plan to make new hires,” and by even more in a poll taken by Monster.com.

A New Career for Veterans
Métier’s Protectors to Project Managers program contributes more than just monetary donations. Instead, the program capitalizes on the company’s deep industry knowledge to give veterans an opportunity to jump-start a new career in project management.

Métier's investment in project management training not only assists the veterans, but also helps the U.S. economy to be more efficient by adding a larger number of certified project managers to the workforce.   

Making Meaningful Connections
Métier employees—dubbed Métians by the company—get to see the tangible impact of their work in this program. 

Jason Graham, senior consultant for Métier, was the leading instructor of the 2012 Protectors to Project Managers class. Through Métier’s philanthropic program, Jason has been able to share his knowledge of project management while making meaningful connections with America’s veterans along the way.

Jason had the opportunity to work with an outstanding group of veterans.  However, there was one veteran in particular who broke new ground for the program under Jason’s instruction.  This particular veteran became so comfortable with the material that he learned during the 10-week class that he requested to skip the Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM) exam and go straight for his Project Management Professional (PMP) certification.  With Jason as his project management teacher and coach, this individual successfully obtained his PMP certification in record-breaking time. 

Extending the Program
Métier already has plans to extend the program to other military branches next year, including to Navy and Marine Service Members.

About Sandra Richardson:
Sandra Richardson is one of Métier’s founders and the Chief Marketing Officer responsible for the marketing and business development teams. Her leadership has contributed to the rapid growth of Métier. Under Richardson’s purview, Métier has earned a five-time position on the Inc. list of fastest-growing privately-held companies in the country and has been named an industry leader by third party analysts. 

Richardson has received many accolades, including being profiled as a ‘Top Techie to Watch’; nominated for the Entrepreneurial Excellence Award for Working Woman magazine; and receiving the Entrepreneur Leadership Award from Women in Technology (WIT).

About Métier, Ltd.
Métier, The PPM Company offers cutting edge project portfolio management (PPM) solutions.  Ranked as a PPM leader by third party industry analysts, Métier's software and services can mature any organization, regardless of size.  Métier is the thought leader in the PPM industry and holds an extensive portfolio of industry-enhancing patents.  In addition to numerous awards for innovative corporate culture, Inc. Magazine has consistently ranked Métier as one of the fastest-growing companies in the U.S.  For more information about how your organization can workforward®, please visit www.metier.com or call 1.877.965.9501. 

Entry Deadline Is August 29, 2012; All Female Entrepreneurs, Executives and Employees Worldwide Are Eligible to Be Nominated 

The Stevie® Awards for Women in Business today issued the Call for Entries for its ninth annual competition.  Entry kits and complete details on the competition are available at www.StevieAwards.com/Women.

The Stevie Awards for Women in Business feature over 80 categories including Entrepreneur of the Year, Executive of the Year, Mentor or Coach of the Year, Employee of the Year, Best Overall Company of the Year, PR Campaign of the Year, Website of the Year, and New Product or Service of the Year, among others.  The awards are produced by the creators of the prestigious American Business Awards and International Business Awards. 

All female entrepreneurs, executives, and the organizations they run, worldwide, are eligible to be nominated.   The 2012 awards will recognize achievements since the beginning of July 2011.

The entry deadline is August 29.  Late entries will be accepted through September 28 with payment of a late fee.  Winners of the ninth annual competition will be announced at a gala awards dinner in New York on November 9.  

New this year, Stevie Awards will be conferred in three levels of distinction: Gold, Silver and Bronze.  To date, only overall category winners have been recognized as Stevie winners.

Winners of the 2011 Stevie Awards for Women in Business included, among others: Charly Leetham of Ask Charly Leetham, Canberra, Australia (Entrepreneur of the Year), Sarah Yansura of Euro RSCG Worldwide PR (Employee of the Year), Melissa Burton of FTF Sweets Ltd, Heysham, United Kingdom (Entrepreneur of the Year in EMEA), Ann Kaplan of iFinance Canada (Canadian Entrepreneur of the Year), Lynn Agnello of the Phoenix Suns NBA team (Executive of the Year), The University of Southern Mississippi (Community Relations Campaign of the Year), and Wipro Limited, Bangalore, India (Women Helping Women Award).  A complete list of 2011 honorees is available at www.StevieAwards.com/Women.

The Stevie Awards for Women in Business are judged by many leading women entrepreneurs, executives and luminaries in business.  More than 200 professionals worldwide will participate in the judging process this year.

“2012 marks the tenth anniversary of the start of the Stevie Awards movement, and we’re looking forward to finishing the year with our honors for women of achievement worldwide,” said Michael Gallagher, Stevie Awards founder and president.

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.