Susan Davis International of Washington, D.C., USA, won a Stevie Award for Communications Campaign of the Year in the PR awards categories of the 2010 Stevie Awards for Women in Business. Here we look at how the communications firm brought widespread recognition to the Women Airforce Service Pilots of World War II.

Congressional Gold Medal

The unsung heroines of World War II, the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP), were finally honored with the Congressional Gold Medal in a March 10, 2010 ceremony at the United States Capitol. The WASP—1,102 trailblazing civilian female pilots—were the first women to fly military aircraft. They were not granted military status until 1977, and today fewer than 300 survive.

Susan Davis International (SDI) worked on behalf of the Women In Military Service for America Memorial Foundation to tell the long-forgotten story of the WASP, their service, and their honor. The firm gained the WASP widespread international, national, and local media attention with a combined national and grassroots media strategy.

Media Campaign

To increase awareness of the WASP, SDI designed a media campaign to communicate the unique stories of each WASP as well as the broader story of their collective service. To create additional opportunities for the WASP and media to interact, SDI recommended, developed, executed, and managed two events including a Wreath Laying and Remembrance Ceremony and a Military Salute Reception on March 9, 2010.

Personal Stories

SDI researched personal WASP stories to build a comprehensive media
strategy for coverage in advance of, and during, the celebratory activities. SDI’s initial press release announced events the Foundation would host to honor
the WASP. Preview articles were secured in national and regional outlets
including U.S. News & World Report and the Los Angeles Times.

Grass Roots Strategy

In advance of the ceremony in Washington, D.C., SDI developed state-specific press releases for the ten states with the highest number of surviving WASP, which they strategically distributed to print, online, and broadcast media.

Media Interviews

As the sole connecting resource between the WASP and the media, SDI managed and coordinated hundreds of phone and in-person interviews in hometowns and in Washington, D.C. SDI also pitched and secured media interviews for Brigadier General Wilma Vaught, president of the Women in Military Service For America Foundation, and modern day aviator Lt. Col. Nicole Malachowski, who both contributed to the WASP story.

During the celebratory events, SDI worked closely with WASP and their military escorts to fulfill media requests. Immediately following the Congressional Gold Medal Ceremony, SDI worked with NBC and ABC pool cameras to facilitate on-camera interviews requested by affiliates around the country, most of which had been generated through SDI’s hometown outreach.

SDI also matched specific WASP with print journalists. The firm had interested ABC World News in following WASP Bernice “Bea” Haydu on her journey to Washington and connected the ABC pool camera with her for a conclusion to the story.

The Story is Finally Told

SDI’s strategy produced more than 925 print articles, 1,200 online articles, and
68 stories on national radio and television. Local radio and television affiliates aired more than 1,170 stories across the nation. More than half of earned media coverage told the individual stories of the WASP, with 174 of those stories on front pages from Alaska to Maine.

SDI’s efforts produced more than 200 million media impressions, including a CNN live interview in the Capitol Visitors Center the morning of the ceremony. The WASP story was told on PBS News Hour, CBS Evening News, CNN, NBC Nightly News, ABC’s World News Tonight with Diane Sawyer, and NPR.  It also earned front-page coverage in such publications as the Washington Post, Contra Costa Times, South Florida Sun-Sentinel, Anchorage Daily News, and Denver Post.

The WASP story resonated in more than 180 markets across the nation, ensuring Women Airforce Service Pilots of World War II their long-delayed and much-deserved recognition.

About Susan Davis:

Susan A. Davis, Chairman and Founder of Susan Davis International, is an internationally renowned communications strategist. For more than two decades, she has created and managed innovative, award-winning media and public affairs campaigns for domestic and international industry leaders, governments in the U.S. and abroad, non-profits, and NGOs. Ms. Davis is widely known for her expertise in strategic positioning, alliance and relationship building, government relations, and crisis communications. She has provided counsel to government and industry leaders throughout the United States, Europe, and Central America, and continues to counsel key public figures worldwide.

About Susan Davis International

Susan Davis International (SDI) is a full-service, woman owned/operated boutique public affairs/strategic communications firm with a 25-year history of producing award-winning campaigns and events. SDI, with more than 68 agency partners worldwide, services clients including multinationals, the U.S. and foreign governments, federal agencies, non-profit organizations, NGOs, and trade associations.  For more information go to www.susandavis.com.

The Stevie Awards for Women in Business today launched the Call for Entries for its eighth 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 50 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.  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 discounted early-bird entry deadline is July 27 and the final deadline is August 31, 2011.  Entrants save 25% by entering early. Winners of the eighth annual competition will be announced at a gala awards dinner in New York in November.

New categories in 2011 include Non-Profit or Government Organization of the Year, Smartphone or Tablet App of the Year, Video of the Year, and multiple new Marketing Campaign, Communications/PR Campaign, and New Product or Service of the year categories.

Winners of the 2010 Stevie Awards for Women in Business included, among others: Teach for America’s Rebecca Fishman Lipsey (Best Executive), Nu Skin Enterprises’ Melissa Tantoco-Quijano (Best Asian Executive), International Financial Data Services’ Debralee L. Goldberg (Best Canadian Executive), Métier, Ltd.’s Sandra Richardson (Mentor of the Year), and Australia’s WildlyWealthy.com (Best Overall Company of the Year). A complete list of 2010 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. 

A portion of each ticket sold for the November 11 awards dinner will be contributed to Camfed (www.camfed.org), which fights poverty and HIV/AIDS in Africa by educating girls and empowering women to become leaders of change. 

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 Stevie Awards for Women in Business include Infogroup and KeyBank’s Key4Women program.  Localization partner of the 2011 Stevie Awards is SDL.  The November 11 awards presentations will be broadcast by the Business TalkRadio Network.

Who are the outstanding women you think should be nominated in this year's awards?

 

Integrate.com of Denver, Colorado USA won the Stevie Award for Best New Company of the Year at The 2011 American Business Awards.  Here we look at how this new company achieves its goals.

Integrate claims to be the first advertising marketplace of its kind.  It is making waves in the online marketing industry by offering a technology that combines a wide array of distribution sources with multiple campaign models in order to serve every type of advertiser in their quest for new customers. 

Following are four ways that Integrate.com is living up to its name. 

1. Uniting Distribution Sources

Integrate’s advertising marketplace is a media-buying dashboard. It unites every type of distribution source: websites, mobile publishers, television networks, national and local radio syndicates, billboard sources, online and offline yellow pages, email marketers, newspapers, magazines, and more.

2. Connecting with Media Sources

Advertisers in more than 65 different B2B and B2C verticals can easily create

customized, performance-marketing campaigns.  At the click of a button they connect with hundreds of media sources—a process that historically takes days is reduced to minutes. Put simply, the Integrate platform allows one person to do the job of an entire team, from any place with an Internet connection.

3. Providing Multiple Pay-Per-Performance Models

Integrate caters to many performance-based pricing models where advertisers and merchants pay only for the qualifying leads, customers, or inbound phone calls they receive.  Integrate pay-per-performance models include Cost-per-Lead, Cost-per-Acquisition, Cost-per-Inbound-Call, and Cost-per-Live-Transfer.  Integrate claims to be the first platform to combine all of these options into one system.

4. Matching Campaigns with Fulfillment Sources

Integrate also provides a proprietary matching technology to streamline the media transaction process.  Upon joining the marketplace, advertisers and publishers create custom profiles highlighting important details about their companies and their areas of expertise.  The Integrate technology uses this information to automatically match campaigns with the fulfillment sources most likely to deliver the best results. 

Commitment to Quality

Integrate maintains a commitment to quality from the moment a partner applies to its community and throughout every interaction that takes place on its platform.  All applicants undergo a strict approval process to ensure that only the most reliable partners have a presence.  Stringent quality-control filters are applied throughout the campaign-creation process, implementation, and delivery.  Integrate aim is to introduce ethics and accountability into the performance marketing space.

Bridging the Gap Between Publishers and Advertisers

Integrate is not just an advertising marketplace, but also a community.  It provides a semi-transparent environment that bridges the gap between publishers and advertisers.  Both parties can review one another’s vital business data—including credit and trade reference reports, campaign performance statistics, strengths, and weaknesses­—before deciding to collaborate. Parties communicate with one another through the Integrate Messaging Center. Using Integrate’s mediation tools, advertisers and publishers can directly discuss any quality-and-return issues that may arise. 

Since its launch in February 2010, Integrate has united more than 3500 advertisers and publishers, and provided the technology behind more than 2500 marketing campaigns. It received its first round of funding from Foundry Group in December 2010.

Said Jeremy Bloom, co-founder of Integrate.com: “We are committed to remaining on the forefront of marketing technology­—providing businesses with a cutting-edge solution for their marketing needs.  Winning the Stevie Award for Best New Company proves that what we are offering is appreciated in the industry.”

About Jeremy Bloom:

Jeremy Bloom is Co-Founder of Integrate.  Through his vision, Integrate achieved impressive scale from the beginning. Bloom specializes in moving fast and making an impact.  His focus and motivation provide unbeatable inspiration for his team.

Bloom began his career in professional athletics, both as an Olympic Skier and NFL Football player.  In addition to his athletic and business accomplishments, he launched a nonprofit foundation, Jeremy Bloom’s Wish of a Lifetime, which grants wishes to 80, 90 and 100+ year old people across the country. 

About Integrate.com:

Integrate.com offers a unified media-buying dashboard that allows advertisers in B2B and B2C verticals to create custom marketing campaigns. Integrate unites a variety of media sources including Internet, print, radio, TV, and mobile. Its core services range from Cost-per-Lead and Cost-per-Acquisition to Cost-per-Inbound-Call and Live Transfer.  For more information go to www.integrate.com

Integrate is a next-generation multi-channel advertising marketplace that applies new technology to streamline the media-buying and -selling process.  It combines virtually every type of media source—ranging from contextual sites, email, and mobile to billboards, TV, and radio—into a single dashboard, allowing one person to effectively do the job of an entire team.  Integrate’s proprietary IMPACT technology automatically matches ad campaigns with the most relevant sources for fulfillment based on a series of data points including vital business details, campaign criteria, and performance statistics.  Market participants directly communicate and negotiate with one another through the Integrate Messaging Center.   Integrate provides the marketplace with unparalleled data validation and fraud prevention controls to ensure that all parties are mutually protected.  For more information go to www.integrate.com.

 

Janine Popick is the CEO and Founder of VerticalResponse, which has won multiple Stevie Awards, most recently for Support Team of the Year in The 2011 American Business Awards; and Janine Popick was named Best Entrepreneur in a Service Business with up to 100 Employees in the 2010 Stevie Awards for Women in Business.

What are your top three tips for small business owners on email marketing, content creation, and social media?

1. Take the time to organize your first email marketing campaign, and then use the same template for all of your weekly or monthly email campaigns. Creating your first email can be daunting. As we all know, business owners just don’t have the extra time in their day that it takes to do this. But if you keep reusing your template it will take less and less time, and when you are comfortable making changes to it, you can try new things and add to it to get a better response.
2. A lot of people don’t know where to start when it comes to creating content. The answer is to use what you have. Why not feature a customer and whether he/she likes the experience of using your product or service? If you’ve recently won an award or received a great review, that’s another thing you can highlight. You can even have a sale around an upcoming holiday or an create an event for one. The more you think about all you do in your business, the more you’ll realize you’ve got a ton of ideas to write about or share via photos and videos.
3. Social media is a great way to extend the life of your email marketing campaign. Make sure you include “follow us” links so that your email recipients have yet another way of getting your messages. In addition, you’ll want to include links to Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn in your email campaigns so that your recipients will share them with their own followers. Doing this spreads the word fast!
   

What item of news recently caught your eye and why?

The Pope is Tweeting! Gotta love it.

Do you have a favorite app?

My favorite iPhone app is Shazam. I’m always amazed that the app will pretty flawlessly tell you who is singing a song!

If you could choose another profession, what would it be?

I once wanted to be an MTV veejay, but now I’m not even sure whether that profession still exists!

What quality or qualities do you most value in your business associates?

Honesty is the quality I most value in any business associate, whether it is someone inside my company or on the outside. I love it when people tell me they simply “don’t know” rather than faking it. And I love doing business with companies who are honest and open with their customers.

What do you think is the worst bad habit to have at work?

Clipping your nails. Kidding! I think the worst bad habit to have at work is avoiding the big projects that need to be done.  Simply put: procrastination. I do it, we all do it, but getting your arms around it when you detect it’s happening and changing your behavior is always a good thing. And half the time you build up that “big” project in your mind, but when you get into it, it’s not really that big.

As someone at the top of your profession, what keeps you inspired or makes you hit the ground running in the morning?

My people and my customers always inspire me. Our mission is to help small businesses and non-profits grow by providing easy-to-use online marketing tools. So when a customer tells me that something our team produced helped them grow—whether it be a phone call, an email, or a piece of technology—I’m happy all the way around.

About Janine Popick:

Janine Popick, CEO and Founder, started VerticalResponse in 2001, when email marketing was catching on for larger businesses but still out of reach for small businesses. She realized that developing simple-to-use, cost-effective Web-based tools would make email marketing affordable and practical for small businesses—and that has been the company’s mission ever since.

In her spare time, Janine is CEB (Chief Executive Blogger) for the award-winning VerticalResponse Marketing Blog for Small Businesses. Prior to founding VerticalResponse, she led direct and Internet marketing programs for some of the biggest brands in technology and entertainment, including NBC Internet; XOOM.com; Claris, a wholly owned subsidiary of Apple Inc.; and Symantec Corporation.

About VerticalResponse:
VerticalResponse Inc. is a leading provider of self-service email marketing, social media, online surveys, and direct-mail services empowering small businesses and nonprofit organizations to easily create, share, and analyze their own marketing campaigns. Users can benefit from a wide variety of features including more than 700 free email marketing templates in a variety of categories; plus the ability to share their content over several social media networks; and tracking on everything from email marketing to social media responses so that they can understand campaign success. VerticalResponse offers customers an integrated Web-based marketing solution that’s intuitive and affordable. VerticalResponse is headquartered in San Francisco, Calif. For additional information, please visit www.verticalresponse.com.

In the midst of an economic environment where there’s no such thing as “business as usual,” The 9^th Annual American Business Awards^SM honored the best and brightest in a stunningly wide array of businesses and disciplines, crowning this year’s Stevie® Award winners at a gala event last night in New York City.

With more than 600 executives in attendance, The 2011 American Business Awards (ABAs) honored an all-inclusive spectrum of American business people and organizations -- from non-profits, emerging start-ups, major public companies and government agencies, to corner-office executives, corporate communicators, support staff and customer service teams.

Download the official program of the 2011 ABAs, featuring complete lists of honorees and judges.

The ABAs also paid tribute to entrepreneur and philanthropist Russell Simmons, best known as the co-founder of Def Jam Recordings, with its Difference Maker award, which made its debut this year.  The honor was presented to Simmons in recognition of his groundbreaking vision and influence on music, fashion, finance, television and film as well as modern philanthropy.

The event took place at the New York Marriott Marquis in Times Square and the emcee for the evening was Fox Business Network anchor Cheryl Casone.

Notable Stevie Award winners in The 2011 American Business Awards include, among others:

­   Executive of the Year: Jeffrey Bezos, Chairman of the Board, President & CEO, Amazon.com, Inc.

­   Best Overall Company of the Year: Apple Inc.

­   Business Turnaround of the Year: Whole Foods Market, Inc.

­   Corporate Social Responsibility Program of the Year: Cisco

­   Customer Service Team of the Year: Dell

­   Support Team of the Year: DHL Express

­   Information Technology Team of the Year: CIGNA Government Services

­   Most Innovative Company of the Year: General Electric

­   Fastest Growing Company of the Year: Groupon

­   Communications or PR Campaign of the Year: Hewlett-Packard

­   New Product or Service of the Year: Research In Motion's BlackBerry PlayBook

Winners in in the People’s Choice Stevie® Awards for Favorite New Products, determined by more than 140,000 public votes, were also awarded at the event to companies including Apple Inc., Motorola, PetRays, Reliv International and Zebra Technologies.

For a complete list of The 2011 American Business Awards honorees visit:  www.stevieawards.com/aba. 

More than 2,800 entries were submitted to The 2011 American Business Awards and more than 200 executives nationwide participated in judging to determine this year’s Stevie Award finalists and winners.

Winners of multiple Stevie Awards include Akavit, American Express, Apple, BGT Partners, Blackboard, CIGNA Government Services, Cisco, CME Group, Dealer.com, EffectiveUI, Hewlett-Packard, High Performance Technologies, Humana, IFDS Canada, Informatica Corporation, The Knowland Group, LifeLock, MediaCom Search, Millennial Media, MOST Brand Development + Advertising, Mountain View Group, MWW Group, Overstock.com, PetRays, Quality Systems, Inc., Reputation.com, Slack and Company, Sprint Prepaid Brands, Tesla Motors, and XPLANE.

A portion of each ticket sold for the gala event will be contributed to Camfed (www.camfed.org), an organization which fights poverty and HIV/AIDS in Africa by educating girls and empowering women to become leaders of change. 

About The Stevie® Awards

The 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 and partners of The 2011 American Business Awards include Infogroup, IBM Netezza, American Support, Citrix Online, Epic Media Group, High Performance Technologies Inc., iolo technologies, LifeLock, Merisel/Coloredge, PetRays, SDL, SoftPro, and Vérité, Inc.

Throughout this week we've been acknowledging the more than 200 professionals who participated in judging of The 2011 (9th Annual) American Business Awards.  And the last group we'd like to acknowledge, but by no means the least, is the Board of Distinguished Judges & Advisors for the Media Section of the ABAs.

We formed this judging board several years ago to acknowledge the fact that the number of entries to the ABAs' categories for all form of media - web sites, blogs, video, live events, annual reports, etc. - was growing so quickly.

The following professionals participated on that judging board this year.  They participated in final judging of the media categories, and their work will be reflected in this year's Stevie Award winners who will be announced in New York on Monday evening, June 20.

Thanks so much to all of them!

John Avila, Senior VP, Executive Design Director, Edelman Design, Chicago, IL
Thomas R. Beeby, Principal, Executive Creative Director, Beeby Clark + Meyler, Irvington, NY
Christy Belden, Vice President, Media +, LeapFrog Interactive, Louisville, KY
Patrick Bonomo, Managing Partner, Director of Search & Digital Operations, MediaCom Search, New York, NY
Alison Cahill, Marketing Director, E*TRADE, New York, NY
Ming Chan, CEO, The1stMovement, Pasadena, CA
Lisa Chapman, Senior Manager, Brand Marketing, Blue Shield of California, San Francisco, CA
David Clarke, Managing Partner, BGT Partners, Miami, FL
David Crawford, Senior VP-Managing Group Creative Director, GSD&M Idea City, Austin, TX
Kevin Daly, CEO, Creek Systems Inc., Aliso Viejo, CA
Rob Davis, CEO & Founder, Akavit, Denver, CO
Stephen Donaldson, Principal, Radiant Brands, Atlantic City, NJ
Chad Eikhoff, Owner, Trick 3D, Atlanta, GA
Matt Finizio, Creative Director, Slack and Company, Chicago, IL
Max Fresen, Executive Creative Director, Isobar North America, Inc., Watertown, MA
Katherine Goldman, Senior VP, Executive Creative Director, Jack Morton Worldwide, New York, NY
Steven Hacker, President, International Association of Exhibitions and Events, Dallas, TX
Tina Hansen, Supervising Marketing Analyst, Port Authority of New York & New Jersey, New York, NY
Christopher Harmon, Principal & CEO, theBATstudio, Oakland, CA
Nancy Hasselback, President & CEO, Diversified Business Communications, Portland, ME
Scott Holmes, President-Interactive, WONGDOODY, Crandall, Wiener, Seattle, WA
Douglas Kelly, Executive VP-Design Director, Imagination Publishing, Chicago, IL
Frank Laudo, VP, Chief Creative Officer, GES, Las Vegas, NV
Peyton Lindley, Executive Director of User Experience Design and Technology, EffectiveUI, Denver, CO
Michael Magnani, President, Nvision, New York, NY
Dawn McDermott, Marketing Associate Director, Sun Life Financial, Wellesley Hills, MA
Jeannine McHenry, Senior Graphic Designer, Creative Channel Services, Los Angeles, CA
Joe Mele, Manager for Media & Marketing, Razorfish West, Seattle, WA
Dana Mellecker, Director, Public Relations, iCrossing, New York, NY
Patrick Milling Smith, Partner, Smuggler, New York, NY
Rajendran Nair, Marketing Director, Callidus Software, Pleasanton, CA
Gillian Rawcliffe, Business Development Manager, Verite, Inc., Sandy, UT
David M. Rich, Senior VP-Client Services Worldwide, George P. Johnson Co., Detroit, MI
Katie Rogers, Executive Vice President, DirectAnswer, Inc., Oxon Hill, MD
Ann Roskey, VP, Marketing & Audience Development, Accela Communications, Southborough, MA
Greg Schell, Director, Marketing, Brand, Advertising & Sponsorships, BMO Capital Markets, New York, NY
Molly E. Spatara, Global Director, Internet Marketing, Accenture, Chicago, IL
Scott Takeda, Director-Producer-Actor, Takeda Entertainment, Inc., Denver, CO
Tinne Teugels, Account Director, Metia, New York, NY
Michael Weil, Vice President, Hall-Erickson, Inc., Westmont, IL
Michael Weiss, CEO, imagistic Media Studios, Westlake Village, CA

Here's the list of the 214 organizations who have thus far reserved their tickets for this coming Monday's 9th Annual American Business Awards in New York.  Do you plan to join them?

ABS Associates, Inc. Rolling Meadows, IL            
Accenture, Chicago, IL                       
Acorda Therapeutics, New York, NY             
Acquity Group, LLC Chicago, IL
ActionCOACH  Las Vegas  NV
adBrite  San Francisco  CA                
AECOM Technology Corporation  New York  NY    
Aegis Electronic Group Inc.  Gilbert AZ
Affinnova, Waltham, MA
Agiliance  Inc.
Allen Interactions Inc., Mendota Heights, MN       
AlliedBarton Security Services
Alloy Software  Nutley  NJ
AmberMcGown.com
American Express Business Travel  New York  NY      
American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, New York, NY                    
American Support           
Americas' SAP Users' Group  Chicago  IL            
Anjali Kataria                          
Approva Corporation  Herndon  VA                 
Assurant Solutions, Atlanta, GA               
A-T Solutions Inc., Vienna, VA                 
Atlantic Shores Retirement Community Virginia Beach VA                                              
AutoMD.com  Carson  CA
AXA Distributors, LLC            
Backup My Info!, New York, NY              
Beam Global Spirits & Wine, Deerfield, IL           
Berkshire Associates Inc.  Columbia  MD             
BGT Partners  Miami  FL
BlackLine Systems                       
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina, Durham, NC                                          
BOXLIGHT, Belfair, Washington              
Braces By Burris  Jonesboro  AR                 
BrainStorm Inc.  American Fork  UT              
Brendan O'Connell               
Bridge Publications, Inc., Los Angeles, CA             
BrightRoll  San Francisco  CA
Broadview Networks                    
Buckeye Partners  L.P.                 
Business TalkRadio Network                 
Cabell Huntington Hospital  Huntington  WV        
CACI International, Inc.               
Cambium Learning Technologies  Natick  MA          
Capital Access Network, Scarsdale, NY
Cartus Corporation  Danbury  CT
Catapult Technology  Bethesda  MD
CIGNA Corporation
CIGNA Government Services  LLC
CitiusTech Inc.
Citizens Financial Group  Providence  RI            
CME Group  Chicago  IL                    
Constant Contact
Content Master                            
Coveo                       
Coverall Health-Based Cleaning System  Boca Raton  FL                    
Creative Lodging Solutions, Lexington, KY                 
Credit Alliance Group  Dallas  TX
CrownPeak, Los Angeles, CA
Dawson + Murray + Teague Communications  Houston  TX                                          
Dealer.com
Definition 6  Atlanta  GA
Dell  Inc.  Round Rock  TX
DeVry University
DHL Express  Tempe  AZ
Dimension Data
Donlen, Northbrook, IL
DYMO Endicia                      
DYMO/Mimio Inside Sales & Sales Operations       
E Center, Inc.                    
eClinicalWorks
EffectiveUI, Denver, CO
eHarmony
Electric Insurance Company
Eloqua  Vienna  VA
EMKAY Inc.  Itasca  IL
Empire Today  Northlake  IL
Empire Today  Northlake  IL
EmpowHER Media  Scottsdale  AZ
Entergy Corporation  New Orleans  LA
Epic Media Group
Epicor Software Corporation  Irvine  CA
ExactTarget  Indianapolis  IN
EXIT Realty Corp. USA  Woburn MA
F5 Networks  Seattle  WA                 
Fisher Communications, Inc., Seattle, WA            
Flextronics International  Milpitas  CA                 
Fox Business Network                   
Gas Station TV                    
GPS Capital Markets  Salt Lake City  UT              
Grasshopper Group  Needham  MA
Groupon, Inc. Chicago, IL
Harris Corporation, Melbourne, FL
High Performance Technologies Inc.
Hilton Hotels & Resorts, McLean, VA
Homewood Suites by Hilton  Memphis  TN
Hubspan  Inc  Seattle  WA
Humana, Inc., Louisville, KY
IBM Netezza
iCrossing, Scottsdale, AZ
IFDS Canada, Toronto, Canada
Incredimeal.com
Infogroup
Information Builders  New York  NY
INSZOOM.COM INC.  San Ramon  CA
Integrate.com  Denver  CO
InterContinental Hotels Group, Atlanta, GA       
Internap Network Services  Atlanta  GA
International Checkout Inc  Van Nuys  CA               
Investor Growth Capital              
iolo technologies                                   
IQMS, Paso Robles, CA               
Isagenix International, LLC. Chandler, AZ              
ISOdx                          
John Hancock Funds  Boston  MA                    
Kelly Services
KPMG LLP, Montvale, NJ
Kwittken & Company             
L-com Connectivity Products, North Andover, MA       
Legacy, Washington, DC              
LifeLock                             
LiveOps  Santa Clara  CA
LivePerson  New York  NY
LPS SoftPro
MailerMailer  Rockville  MD                       
Makovsky + Company, New York, NY
Marriott Intermediary Partner Care  Omaha  NE           
MASERGY Communications  Inc.  Plano  TX
MBX Systems  Wauconda  IL
McKinley Marketing Partners  Inc.  Alexandria  VA        
McKinney Rogers  New York  NY
MediaCom Search  New York  NY
MediaMind  New York  New York
Merisel
Microsoft  Redmond  WA
MicroTech, Vienna, VA            
Millennial Media  Baltimore  MD
Modern Technology Solutions, Inc., Alexandria, VA    
MonaVie, South Jordan, UT               
Mondial Assistance USA  Richmond  VA
Moreover Technologies  Reston  VA
MOST Brand Development + Advertising
Motorola
MWW Group  East Rutherford  NJ
NIIT Technologies, Inc., Atlanta, GA
nlyte Software  Menlo Park  CA
Noetix Corp.  Redmond  WA
Nutricap Labs  Farmingdale  NY
Overstock.com, Salt Lake City, UT
Overture Networks  Morrisville  NC
Pegasystems Inc.  Cambridge  MA
PeopleMetrics
Percussion Software, Woburn, MA               
PetRays Veterinary Telemedicine Consultants, The Woodlands, TX                         
PHH Arval                      
PlanSource  Orlando  FL                   
Prescription Solutions/UnitedHealth Group  Irvine  CA                     
Procter & Gamble  Cincinnati  OH
QAD
Quality Systems  Inc.  Irvine  CA                 
Reliv International  Inc.  Chesterfield  MO                   
Rethink Autism  Inc.  New York  NY
RF|Binder  New York  NY
Richardson                                        
Rio Tinto
RiseSmart  Inc.  San Jose  CA
Rising Medical Solutions, Chicago, IL
Rovi Corporation, Santa Clara, CA
Rush Communications
Saba, Redwood Shores, CA
SAP Marketing, New York, NY
SCRA  Charleston  SC                             
SDL
Signature HealthCARE  Louisville  KY
SoftPro                                 
Spend Radar  Chicago  IL
Staff Management, Chicago, IL
SteelHouse  Los Angeles  CA                      
Summit Medical Group  Berkeley Heights  NJ          
Sun Life Financial Inc., Wellesley Hills, MA               
SunGard                                
SuperMedia                               
SurePayroll  Glenview  IL                         
SYSPRO
Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare  Inc.          
TelecityGroup, New York, NY
Tellago  Inc.  Schaumburg  IL
Temperature@lert
The Knowland Group  Lewes  DE
The Lincoln Electric Company  Cleveland  OH              
The Receivables Exchange  New Orleans  LA               
thebigword  New York City  NY                              
Thinking Phone Networks
TIBCO Software Inc. Palo Alto  CA                             
Travelex Global Business Payments, Washington DC          
USANA Health Sciences Inc. West Valley  UT              
uTest, Southborough, MA
Valassis
ValueClick  Inc.  Westlake Village  CA             
Vemma Nutrition Company, Scottsdale, AZ        
Venda  Inc.  New York  NY
Vérité, Inc.                  
VerticalResponse  San Francisco  CA                    
Viverae  Dallas  TX
Voices Heard Media
Weather Trends International                         
Webs, Inc, Silver Spring, MD
Webtrends  Portland  OR                              
WMS Gaming
WowWe Inc.  The Woodlands  TX                       
Xcelus  LLC  Provo  UT                             
Zayo Group, Louisville, CO
Zeno Group  New York  NY      

The other day we published the names of the 80 professionals who participated in the preliminary judging round of The 2011 American Business Awards. The preliminary round determined this year's Finalists. Here now are the rockstars who participated on the 10 final judging committees of the 9th annual ABAs. Their average scores determined this year's Stevie Award winners who will be announced at the ABA's awards banquet next Monday, June 20 in New York. Thank you so much to all them of them for their participation!

2011 Company/Organization Awards Final Judging Committee
Chair: Christopher W. Cabrera, Founder, President & CEO, Xactly Corporation, San Jose, CA
Phil Fernandez, President and CEO, Marketo, Inc, San Mateo, CA
Eric Groves, Senior VP, Strategy, Corporate Development & Innovation, Constant Contact, Waltham, MA
Mike Maciag, CEO, Electric Cloud, Sunnyvale, CA
Nick Mehta, CEO, LiveOffice, Torrance, CA
Umberto Milletti, CEO, InsideView, San Francisco, CA
Cary Rosenzweig, President & CEO, IMVU, Inc., Palo Alto, CA
Treb Ryan, CEO, Opsource, Inc., Santa Clara, CA

2011 Corporate Communications, Investor Relations and Public Relations Awards Final Judging Committee
Chair: Kenneth D. Makovsky, President, Makovsky + Company, New York, NY
Kristen Bihary, VP, Communications, Aleris International, Inc., Beachwood, OH
Robert DeFillippo, Chief Communications Officer-Global Communications, Prudential Financial, Inc., Newark, NJ
Mike Fernandez, Corporate VP, Corporate Affairs, Cargill, Inc., Wayzata, MN
William Hughes, Senior VP, Corporate Communications, CA, Inc., New York, NY
Richard L. Nelson, VP, Corporate Communications, ACCO Brands Corporation, Lincolnshire, IL
Carol Schumacher, VP, Investor Relations, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., Bentonville, AR
Richard Woods, Senior VP, Corporate Affairs, Capital One Services, Inc., McLean, VA

2011 Creative Awards Category Final Judging Committee
Chair: Suraya Bliss, Senior Director of Digital Strategy and Communication, Walmart, Bentonville, AR
Anne Beléc, VP & CMO, Navistar, Inc., Warrenville, IL
Jeff Bell, Partner, NCT Ventures, Westerville, OH
Kim Burke, Senior Director, Brand & Member Community Marketing, Sam's Club, Bentonville, AR
Colleen DeCourcy, CEO & Founder, Socialistic, New York, NY
Lura Lee, CEO, L2 Ideas, Del Mar, CA
Robert B. Leggat, Senior Advisor, Goddard Claussen Global, Washington, DC
David Leider, CEO, Gas Station TV, Birmingham, MI
Laura E. Maniccia, Principal, Interactive Marketing Solutions, South Lyon, MI
Andrew Mansinne, President, Aveniu Brands, Baltimore, MD
Elise Mitchell, President/CEO, Mitchell Communications Group, Fayetteville, AR
Brendan O'Connell, Contemporary Artist, West Cornwall, CT

2011 Customer Service Awards Final Judging Committee
Chair: Art Gairo, Senior VP-Operations, Broadview Networks, Rye Brook, NY
Maureen Davis, VP Global Service Assurance, Verizon, Basking Ridge, NJ
Kelley DeSantis, Executive Director, J.P. Morgan Asset Management, Newark, DE
Kate Feather, Executive VP, PeopleMetrics, Inc., Philadelphia, PA
Joseph Mangiaracina, Principal/Owner, SurfNet Inc., Levittown, PA
Stas Pietrucha, VP, Product Management - E-commerce & Loyalty, Wyndham Hotel Group, Randolph, NJ
Vivek Sawhney, CIO, YAI, New York, NY
Michael Spurlin, VP Operations, Crystal Technologies Group, Inc., West Chester, PA

2011 Human Resources Awards Final Judging Committee
Chair: Jim Gillece, Senior VP of Human Capital Management, Chief People Officer, AlliedBarton Security Services, Conshohocken, PA
Tom Capizzi, Executive VP, Global HR CHRO, DJO Global, Vista, CA
Carole Dalton Slover, Vice President, Human Resources, Yell Adworks, King of Prussia, PA
Nancy Grycewicz, Director of Human Resources, CJs Tire and Automotive, Phoenixville, PA
Robert Madonna, Principal and Executive VP Sales & Marketing, McCoy Enterprises, West Chester, PA
Mark Spool, President, Management Development Solutions, West Chester, PA
Doug Trainor, Principal, Leadership Vanguard, Pearl River, NY

2011 Information Technology Awards Category Final Judging Committee
Chair: Sheri Thureen, VP, Enterprise Business Transformation, CSC, Marlton, NJ
Simone Acha, CEO, iLuMina Solutions Inc., Alexandria, VA
David W. Coker, Senior VP Technology Services & Solutions, MicroTech, Vienna, VA
Soren Hastrup, CEO, Telesto Group LLC, Princeton, NJ
Darren L. MacLennan, President, Sureship (a G&G Outfitters Company), Lanham, MD
Samvit Raina, Senior VP, Patni Americas Inc., Fremont, CA
David L. Sentman, Jr., Senior VP - Change Management, Bank of America, Newark, DE
Jack L. Stem, Senior VP, Maritime and Defense Agencies, CACI International, Ashburn, VA
Rajani Veeramachaneni, President, E Center, Inc., Newtown, PA

2011 Company/Organization Awards Final Judging Committee
Chair: Reggie Aggarwal, Founder & CEO, Cvent, McLean, VA
Jonathon Aberman, Managing Director, Amplifier Ventures, McLean, VA
Mirza Baig, CEO, Legal Advantage LLC, Bethesda, MD
Tony Florence, Managing Director, New Enterprise Associates (NEA), Chevy Chase, MD
Amir Hudda, Entrepreneur (previously Chairman of the Board for Brickstream, CEO of Apptix, and CEO of Entevo)
Anjali Kataria, Entrepreneur, Washington, DC
Brian Mulvey, Vice President of Technology, Investor Growth Capital, New York, NY
John Rothenberger, CEO, SE Solutions, Reston, VA
Vijay Suri, President & CEO, InferX Corporation, Sterling, VA
Patrick Sweeney, CEO, ODIN, Ashburn, VA

2011 Marketing Awards Final Judging Committee
Chair: Ivan Koon, CEO, YouSendIt, Inc., Campbell, CA 
Ryan Azus, VP, Worldwide Sales, RingCentral, San Jose, CA
Keri Brooke, VP, Marketing, Host Analytics, Redwood City, CA
Ranjith Kumaran, Founder, PunchTab, Inc., San Jose, CA
Erin (Mack) McKelvey, Senior VP Marketing, Millennial Media, Baltimore, MD
Eugene Lee, CEO, Socialtext, Palo Alto CA
Anthony Nemelka, CEO, Teleplace, Inc., Redwood City, CA
Lynn Vojvodich, CMO, Terracotta & CEO, Take3, Mill Valley, CA

2011 New Products & Product Management Awards Final Judging Committee
Chair: Noah T. Rowles, CEO, iolo technologies, LLC, Los Angeles, CA
M. Brian Cotter, VP Business Development - Technical Solutions Group, Quatrro BPO Solutions Pvt Ltd, Glendale, CA
Jim Fowler, Founder, Jigsaw, San Mateo, CA
Melody Haller, President & Founder, Antenna Group Inc., San Francisco, CA
Bob Graves, President, Green Technology, Pasadena, CA
Peter Justen, CEO, My Biz Home Page, Inc., Middleburg, VA
Joel Makower, Chairman & Executive Editor, GreenBiz Group Inc., Oakland, CA
Marc Parrish, VP Marketing, Barnes & Noble, New York, NY
David Steinberg, CEO, SnappCloud, Washington, DC

2011 Support Awards Category Final Judging Committee
Chair: Todd Crowder, Senior Director of Services, Scale Computing, Indianapolis, IN
Mark R. LeClair, Senior Vice President, Volt Consulting Group, New York, NY
Steve Marfisi, Product Manager, Flex Services, Vision Solutions, Inc., Indianapolis, IN
Scott Sauder, Area Operations Director, The UPS Store, Nobelsville, IN
Lynn Shourds, President & CTO, HEROware, Inc., San Clemente, CA

What do you think of this year's final judging committees?

We're so excited that The 9th Annual American Business Awards gala is just a week and a half a way.  Have you gotten your tickets yet for the June 20 event in New York? 

The following organizations have already confirmed their attendance.  If you're a nominee and would like to join them, login to your account at www.stevieawards.com/aba.  If you're not a nominee but would like to be part of one of the business world's top events, contact us for ticket details.

ABS Associates, Inc. Rolling Meadows, IL           

Accenture, Chicago, IL                      

Acorda Therapeutics, New York, NY            

adBrite  San Francisco  CA               

AECOM Technology Corporation  New York  NY   

Aegis Electronic Group Inc.  Gilbert AZ

Affinnova, Waltham, MA

Agiliance  Inc.

Allen Interactions Inc., Mendota Heights, MN

AlliedBarton Security Services

AmberMcGown.com

American Express Business Travel  New York  NY   

American Support

Americas' SAP Users' Group  Chicago  IL

Approva Corporation  Herndon  VA

Assurant Solutions, Atlanta, GA

A-T Solutions Inc., Vienna, VA

AXA Distributors, LLC

Berkshire Associates Inc.  Columbia  MD

BlackLine Systems                      

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina, Durham, NC                                         

BOXLIGHT, Belfair, Washington             

Braces By Burris  Jonesboro  AR                

BrainStorm Inc.  American Fork  UT             

Brendan O'Connell

Broadview Networks

Buckeye Partners  L.P.

Business TalkRadio Network

Cabell Huntington Hospital  Huntington  WV       

CACI International, Inc.

Cambium Learning Technologies  Natick  MA         

Capital Access Network, Scarsdale, NY

Cartus Corporation  Danbury  CT

Catapult Technology  Bethesda  MD

CIGNA Corporation

CitiusTech Inc.

Citizens Financial Group  Providence  RI           

CME Group  Chicago  IL                   

Content Master                           

Coverall Health-Based Cleaning System  Boca Raton  FL                   

Creative Lodging Solutions, Lexington, KY   

Definition 6, Atlanta, GA    

Dell  Inc.  Round Rock  TX

DeVry University

DHL Express  Tempe  AZ

DYMO Endicia

DYMO/Mimio Inside Sales & Sales Operations      

E Center, Inc.

eHarmony

Electric Insurance Company

Eloqua  Vienna  VA

EMKAY Inc.  Itasca  IL

Empire Today  Northlake  IL

EmpowHER Media  Scottsdale  AZ

Epic Media Group

Epicor Software Corporation  Irvine  CA

EXIT Realty Corp. USA  Woburn MA

F5 Networks  Seattle  WA

Flextronics International  Milpitas  CA

Fox Business Network

Gas Station TV

GPS Capital Markets  Salt Lake City  UT           

Groupon, Inc. Chicago, IL

Harris Corporation, Melbourne, FL

High Performance Technologies Inc.

Hilton Hotels & Resorts, McLean, VA

Homewood Suites by Hilton  Memphis  TN

Hubspan  Inc  Seattle  WA

Humana, Inc., Louisville, KY

IBM Netezza

Incredimeal.com

Infogroup

Information Builders  New York  NY

INSZOOM.COM INC.  San Ramon  CA

Integrate.com  Denver  CO

InterContinental Hotels Group, Atlanta, GA      

International Checkout Inc  Van Nuys  CA              

Investor Growth Capital             

iolo technologies                                  

John Hancock Funds  Boston  MA                  

KPMG LLP, Montvale, NJ

L-com Connectivity Products, North Andover, MA  

Leadership Vanguard 

Legacy, Washington, DC

LifeLock                            

MailerMailer  Rockville  MD                      

Makovsky + Company, New York, NY

Marriott Intermediary Partner Care  Omaha  NE          

MASERGY Communications  Inc.  Plano  TX

MBX Systems  Wauconda  IL

McKinley Marketing Partners  Inc.  Alexandria  VA     

Merisel

Microsoft  Redmond  WA

MicroTech, Vienna, VA

Modern Technology Solutions, Inc., Alexandria, VA

MonaVie, South Jordan, UT

Mondial Assistance USA  Richmond  VA

Moreover Technologies  Reston  VA

MOST Brand Development + Advertising

NIIT Technologies, Inc., Atlanta, GA

Noetix Corp.  Redmond  WA

Nutricap Labs  Farmingdale  NY

Overture Networks  Morrisville  NC

PeopleMetrics

Percussion Software, Woburn, MA

PetRays

PHH Arval

PlanSource  Orlando  FL

Prescription Solutions/UnitedHealth Group  Irvine  CA        

Quality Systems  Inc.  Irvine  CA

Reliv International  Inc.  Chesterfield  MO            

Richardson                                       

Rovi Corporation, Santa Clara, CA

Rush Communications

SCRA  Charleston  SC                            

SDL

SoftPro                                

SteelHouse  Los Angeles  CA                     

Summit Medical Group  Berkeley Heights  NJ         

Sungard

SurePayroll  Glenview  IL

Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare  Inc.         

TelecityGroup, New York, NY

The Knowland Group  Lewes  DE

The Lincoln Electric Company  Cleveland  OH             

The Receivables Exchange  New Orleans  LA              

thebigword  New York City  NY                     

TIBCO Software Inc. Palo Alto  CA                        

Travelex Global Business Payments, Washington DC   

USANA Health Sciences  Inc . West Valley  UT             

uTest, Southborough, MA

ValueClick  Inc.  Westlake Village  CA     

Vérité, Inc.      

VerticalResponse  San Francisco  CA                   

Voices Heard Media                         

Weather Trends International                        

Webs, Inc, Silver Spring, MD

Webtrends  Portland  OR                             

WowWe Inc.  The Woodlands  TX                      

Xcelus  LLC  Provo  UT                            

Zayo Group, Louisville, CO

Zeno Group  New York  NY     

Robert Vandenberg is CEO of Lingotek in Draper, Utah, USA and will chair the final judging committee for the New Product Awards & Product Management categories of The 2011 International Business Awards.

Which innovations do you think will most improve businesses in the next few years?

I’m a huge believer in social media and how it is enabling a more transparent relationship between business and consumer.  The successful companies of the next few years will be those that use social media to engage with their customers, not those that resist it.

At the same time, increasing globalization will require all of us to be more aware and engaged with people of different countries, languages, and cultures. Companies will need to be able to understand those markets and communicate with them in order to grow.

What item of news recently caught your eye and why?

The phenomenal success of LinkedIn’s IPO underscores the value of permanent, transparent interconnections in professional relationships. Each of us now has the ability and tools to control our own professional brand.

If you could choose another profession, what would it be?

As someone who spends too much time on planes I would pick something that involved being outdoors. Being a ski bum in the winter and a sailing bum in the summer sounds ideal right now!

What quality or qualities do you most value in your business associates?

My top four are: curiosity, work ethic, maturity, and the ability to be proactive.

What do you think is the worst bad habit to have at work?

Negativity: Everyone’s a critic, but in the workplace you shouldn’t just complain, you should make the effort to offer a solution.

As someone at the top of your profession, what keeps you inspired or makes you hit the ground running in the morning?
I have the good fortune to engage every day with interesting people who develop creative products and solutions for real-world problems. I’m not a techie, but I learn about customers’ issues as they seek to expand into global markets, and I can discuss these with my technology experts.  It’s a great feeling when we are able to provide those customers with effective solutions.

About Rob Vandenberg

As CEO of Lingotek, Rob Vandenberg is driving the vision as the company looks to change the future of translation. He has never shied away from asking the tough questions that have led to greater understanding, insight, and a more progressive development of new products and services.

Prior to being named president of Lingotek in 2008, Vandenberg served as the company's vice president of sales and marketing, where he provided guidance and inspiration. Before joining Lingotek, Vandenberg served at the helm of several successful ventures. He cofounded and served as the CEO of LocalVoice.com, which was acquired by HarrisConnect in 2005. Afterwards, he was named as the vice president of sales and marketing for HarrisConnect. Prior to that venture, he started as one of the first 20 U.S. employees at INTERSHOP Communications. As a top-performing sales executive with national account responsibilities he helped build the company’s worldwide business: the INTERSHOP initial public offering was one of the most successful enterprise software company IPOs in US history (a $10 billion market cap).

Vandenberg holds a bachelor's degree in political economics from UC Berkeley. 

About Lingotek

Lingotek | The Translation Network gives enterprise business customers new ways to engage their global communities by providing trusted, rapid translations to grow business in a cost effective way. Its exclusive web-based Collaborative Translation Platform™ represents the next step in the evolution of translation through technology and community involvement. Today global organizations, intelligence agencies, and government entities use the platform, saving time and resources on projects ranging from a few pages to several volumes. Lingotek also offers professional translation services for companies. The company is based in Draper, Utah and is funded by Canopy Ventures, In-Q-Tel, and Flywheel Ventures.