The final entry deadline for The 10th Annual American Business Awards^SMis April 25, 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:

• 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 Stevie® Awards, organizer of the world’s premier business awards, today announced the preliminary schedule of events for America Means Business, a landmark three-day event about entrepreneurship, taking place in New York City on June 13, 14, and 15.

Headquartered at the Metropolitan Pavilion at 125 West 18th Street, with events taking place there and at other locations throughout New York City, America Means Business will feature informative panel discussions, “How I Did It” case studies, an exposition of products and services that can help aspiring entrepreneurs and small business owners, and many other events about how to start and grow a business.  Highlights from the current schedule include:

• How to Get Started and Which Business is Right for You, presented by SCORE
• Social Media and Email Marketing: How to Leverage the Power, presented by small business marketing experts of  VerticalResponse
• How to Be a Pro at Hiring, presented by Joanna Shows of ActionCOACH, the world’s top business coaching firm
• How to Be a Master of Time Management, presented by Tony Signorelli, president and author of New Rules of Self Employment
• Sales Fundamentals for the New Economy, presented by Julie Thomas, president of ValueSelling Associates
• Is Network Marketing Right for You?, presented by Barbara McCollough and Deanna Clarance, the entrepreneurs behind the Appreneur Lab
• 1-to-1 Counseling Lounge providing immediate small business feedback by SCORE’s small business professionals

For a full calendar of events scheduled thus far, visit: www.AmericaMeansBusiness-NYC.com/calendar.

“Since announcing America Means Business in February, we have received a huge response from entrepreneurs and business experts around the country seeking to participate through speaking, sponsoring, exhibiting, and attending,” said Michael Gallagher, president and founder of the Stevie Awards. “We are very pleased to announce our preliminary schedule, and are looking forward to adding even more events to the program that will benefit and inspire future and current entrepreneurs.”

America Means Business still has openings for those interested in speaking or staging an event related to entrepreneurship and business management. There is no cost to participate and proposals are being accepted online until June 13. Attendee registration for America Means Business is free through May 25, and just $10 thereafter.  Details on creating an event and registration are available at www.AmericaMeansBusiness-NYC.com. 

About America Means Business
America Means Business is a landmark event about entrepreneurship - about how to start, grow and manage your own business. To take place in New York City on June 13 - 15, 2012, America Means Business will be packed with educational, networking and social events that will show you how to bring your dream to life.  For more information visit www.AmericaMeansBusiness-NYC.com.

About the Stevie Awards
Stevie Awards are conferred in four programs: The American Business Awards, The International Business Awards, the Stevie Awards for Women in Business, and the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service.  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 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.

The Stevie® Awards, organizer of the world’s premier business awards, announced several scheduling details for America Means Business,  its landmark new event about how to start, grow, and manage a business. To take place in New York City on June 13 - 15, 2012, America Means Business will be packed with educational, networking, and social events that will show entrepreneurs how to bring their dreams to life.

America Means Business is being crowdsourced, meaning that dozens of organizations across the nation are contributing to its programming. Anyone who wants to hold an event related to entrepreneurship and business creation is invited to become an Event Partner. While most events will be held at our headquarters, Metropolitan Pavilion, 125 W. 18th Street, New York, NY, our Event Partners can choose to hold their event anywhere in New York City. America Means Business will promote events from all partners equally, regardless of location.

America Means Business events will cover topics including:

• Getting Started
• Finance
• Hiring
• Management
• Technology
• Web/Interactive
• Marketing
• Public Relations
• Sales
• Customer Service
• Product Development

There is no fee to participate, and our structure allows all of our partners to maintain creative control while being a part of the overall event. Watch this recording of our March 13 webinar to learn how your organization can participate.

The Stevie Awards has published several new events to the AMB calendar of events including inspirational keynotes, basic startup education by SCORE, networking opportunities, an exposition, and many other events about how to start and grow a business and everything in between. Click here to view the America Means Business calendar.

We will continue to add to and update the AMB calendar of events so we suggest periodically checking to learn about new opportunities for entrepreneurs at America Means Business.

Registration for America Means Business is free through May 25, and just $10 thereafter. Registration details are available at http://www.AmericaMeansBusiness-NYC.com.

America Means Business is presented by the Stevie Awards, the organizer of the annual American Business Awards. America Means Business will culminate with the presentation of the 10th annual ABAs on June 18.

Get updates from America Means Business. Connect with us on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter to get up to the minute news about the program.

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.

The Stevie® Awards is pleased to announce that videos clips of the 6th annual Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service, the world’s leading sales awards, customer service awards, and contact center awards program are now available to view on YouTube.

Watch the 2012 Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service awards presentations here.

More than 350 professionals attended the business awards banquet which took place on Monday, February 27th at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada. Our 2012 sales award & customer service award video clips showcase business award acceptance speeches made by individuals and organizations from around the world, including:

Rob Jeppsen of Zions Bank, Winner of the Gold Stevie Award for Sales Director of the Year
Rob's speech started the night off by recognizing the team effort behind all individual awards.

MarketBridge, Winner of the Gold Stevie Award for Sales Training or Coaching Program of the Year
MarketBridge's enthusiastic team accepts the Gold Stevie Award and expresses their gratitude for their strong partnerships.

Joey Romaine of Groupon, Winner of the Gold Stevie Award for Young Customer Service Professional of the Year
Honored for his efforts as a young professional, Joey Romaine keeps the awards show lively and the audience entertained.

Vodafone Turkey, Winner of the Gold Stevie Award for Sales Department of the Year, Telecommunications
Traveling from Istanbul, Turkey, Vodafone Turkey's humble speech brought to light the importance business awards have globally.

International Checkout Inc., Winner of the Gold Stevie Award for Telesales Team of the Year
Jackson Strobel, VP of Sales & Operations at International Checkout, and his "lean machine" sales team show the audience that size doesn't matter.

The 6th annual corporate awards banquet was the first to showcase our three levels of distinction: gold, silver and bronze as part of our 10th anniversary celebration. Previously, only overall category winners have received Gold Stevie Awards.

Want more sales and customer service awards celebration? Watch all acceptance speeches, listen to the live recording and view photos from the event.

We've created a video called "How to Participate in America Means Business." You can watch it here.

The video is a recording of our March 13 webinar of the same name. America Means Business is a new event by the Stevie Awards about how to start and create a business. It will take place in New York June 13-15, and there are opportunities for your organization to speak, exhibit, and sponsor.

We're particularly looking for speakers on topics such as:

• Getting started in business, and all that that entails
• How to raise money to start a business
• How and when to hire staff
• Management issues related to business start-ups and growth
• Technology issues that should concern entrepreneurs
• How to use social media and other web media to grow a business and a brand
• The importance of branding and marketing and how to develop a marketing plan
• Why public relations and publicity should be on a start-up’s priority list
• How to develop a sales plan and supercharge a sales effort
• How and why startups should excel in customer service
• How to develop and follow a product development and management plan

Watch the video to learn how to participate.