Dale E. Gerstenslager is General Manager, Public Relations & Communications for Doosan Heavy Industries Vietnam Co., Ltd.  He has been a judge for the Stevie Awards for Women in Business for the past two years, and plans to to assist with the Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards judging early in the new year.

Entries are now being accepted for the 2015 edition of the Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards, which are open to all organizations operating in the 22 nations of the Asia-Pacific region.
(REVIEW THE ASIA-PACIFIC STEVIE AWARDS ENTRY KIT HERE.)

We talked with Dale about his company, working in Vietnam, and judging the Stevie® Awards. He told us he’d learned some useful things from his judging experience: “First and foremost I’d have to say that as a judge for the Stevie Awards for Women in Business I’ve learned a great deal. It has been an opportunity to see some amazing Public Relations and Communication campaigns.  The entries spanned the globe and covered a wide spectrum of categories.  Many times I found myself taking notes and thinking: What a great idea.”

A Virtual Think-Tank

Dale is now looking forward to reviewing the Corporate Communications Awards, Investor Relations Awards, and Public Relations Awards categories of the Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards.
“The Stevie Awards create a virtual think-tank that provides fertile ground where creativity can blossom and grow,” commented Dale.  “Rarely in life do true ‘epiphanies’ occur; so anytime people share ideas, doors in the mind begin to open and possibilities expand, with one idea leading to the next.  That’s how programs like the Stevie Awards help business leaders find new opportunities to increase market share and expand their business.”

An Unbeatable Package

We asked Dale why The Doosan Group, an international company headquartered in South Korea, was operating in Vietnam.  “The Doosan Group chose Vietnam for its $330M investment because of a unique set of incentives and circumstances offered by the leaders of Vietnam,” Dale explained.  “It began with a set of critical criteria followed by a lengthy global search and an extensive due diligence of the many proposals put forth by countries from all over the world. Doosan ultimately selected Vietnam because of the outstanding support and stability of the local, regional, and national governments, an unbeatable package of financial incentives, an eager labour force, and a coastal location that allowed us to build a dedicated port that would give us ready access to major sea lanes.”

Be Flexible

Since Dale is a specialist in communications in the region, we asked him for some tips for companies thinking of doing business in Vietnam. “First, do your homework,” advises Dale. “And that should involve consulting with those that have ‘been there, done that,and have the T-Shirt to prove it.’ That will save a ton of time and money in the exer-cise and get you into production much faster than would happen otherwise.
“Second, Vietnam is evolving at such a rapid pace that you should be prepared to be flex-ible—like you’ve never been before or even imagined possible—then double that.”

Future Potential

We asked Dale what excited him most about his work. “Communications is foundational to all that we do in life,” he told us. “So finding a new, more effective way to reach someone—be it a customer, co-worker, or community—is both challenging and exciting. It keeps my wheels turning and my mind working.  Here in Vietnam, the communications industry is morphing on an almost daily basis. It is still developing, but to look back just a few years and compare it to today, I see tremendous improvement and even greater potential.”

About Dale E. Gerstenslager:

After a 25 year career in the media, living and working in six countries and 14 U.S. states as an award winning editor, journalist, and publisher, Dale Gerstenslager moved from mass communications to public relations and communications.  He accepted a position In Vietnam with Doosan in 2008 where he planned, launched, and now leads the Public Relations and Communications function for the Doosan Group’s $300 million investment in Vietnam.

About Doosan Vina:

Doosan Vina is a high-tech industrial complex in the Dung Quat Economic Zone of Central Vietnam’s Quang Ngai Province.  It covers 110 hectares, employs 3,000, and has shipped over $1 billion U.S. of product to global markets.  The company supplies the mega infrastructure products that make modern life a reality. Doosan Vina’s products include: boilers for thermal power plants; heat recovery steam generators that increase the efficiency of a typical power plant by over 30%; 4,500 ton desalination plants that are the size of a football pitch and turn 95 million liters of sea water into fresh per day; material-handling systems like the cranes that are the heart of logistics at ports around the world; and chemical processing equipment that turns the earth’s natural resources into the useful products we use every day.  

About The Doosan Group:
The Doosan Group is a global multinational focusing on power, water, and other infrastructure developments worldwide. The company is Korea’s oldest business operation, tracing its roots back to 1896 with the opening of the Park Seung-jik Store. The company is headquartered in Seoul, South Korea and has operations in 37 countries, over 35,000 employees, and $22 billion in annual revenue.

The 11th annual Stevie® Awards for Women in Business, the world's top honors for women entrepreneurs, executives, employees, and the organizations they run, will be presented this Friday, November 14 at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York.  More than 400 women and their guests from around the world will attend.

The presentations will be broadcast live across the U.S.A., and simulcast worldwide via the web, by Biz Talk Radio, from 7:30 pm eastern time on Friday.  Listen in and follow along with a copy of the awards dinner's official program book.

Finalists in the 2014 awards were announced last month.  This Friday the Finalists will find out whether they've won Grand, Gold, Silver or Bronze Stevie Award status.

So who's coming to New York City for Friday's gala event?  Here are the organizations who have already booked their place for the awards dinner.  Tickets are still available.

11mark  
6Sense  
ABS-CBN Corporation
AccountingDepartment.com  
All Channels Communication Group
ALOM  
Amadeus  
American Express Global Business Travel  
ARIIX
A-T Solutions
AT&T
Bahwan CyberTek  
Best Doctors  Inc.
Bhava Communications
Bitsy's Brainfood  .
Biz TV
BLAMtastic  LLC  
Bombshell Productions  
Collective Bias  
Complete Active Living  
Confirm Biosciences  
Curemark  
Deborah Mitchell Heaven Health & Beauty Ltd
Decisive Minds  LLC  
Dell Boomi  
Delta Air Lines
DentaSpa Seminars  
Descriptive Video Works  
Digital Risk  
EMC
EnergyRICH® Coaching  Inc.  
Esprit de Mami Corporation
Exceptional Business Solutions, LLC
Experian Marketing Services  
Extreme Networks  
eZCom Software
Fabric Innovations  
Fareportal
Financial Voyages LLC
FIS  
Gabriel Marketing Group
GALILEO RESEARCH AND STRATEGY CONSULTANCY LLC  
GE Software  
Girls Leading Our World
Global Good Fund  
Gridstore  
Grow Marketing  
Hansen Technologies  
HARMAN  
Hewlett-Packard Company  
HirePerfect
Home Development Mutual Fund (aka Pag-IBIG Fund)  
Home Rental Services  
IBM  
iFinance Canada Inc.
In-Flight Crew Connections  LLC.  
inVNT
Isagenix International  LLC.
iTalent Corporation
Jones Publishing (Citywealth)
KAY Corp.
KC Projects  
Lexicon  Inc.  
Lisa Tener  Book Coach
Liz Palmer Media Group Inc.
LLORENTE & CUENCA
Lovell Corporation
Lyons Consulting Group  
Marketsmith  Inc.
MarketStar  
Martz Parsons
Mblox Inc.  
McAfee  part of Intel Security  
McKinsey Development  Inc.  
Medical Observer
Miller Street Dance Academy  
Mosaic Sales Solution
Mosman NewMedia Inc.
National Merchants Association  
NEI Global Relocation
Nerium International  
New Family Organization  
Newberry Executive Solutions  LLC
Nicor Gas  
Novitex Enterprise Solutions  
NurseWise  
One Stop Environmental  
Origami Owl
Orion Associates Incorporated
Panache
Pascale Communications  
Pathways Community Interest Company
PepsiCo AMEA
PepsiCo SACCAF  
Picore International
Pink Elephant  
Plasticity Labs  
PPC Ltd
Pretty Pushers  Inc.
Prime Therapeutics
ProcessPro  
Proforma Printelligence  
Propeller Resources
ProposalHelper LLC
Qualia  
Rakuten Marketing  
Red Hat  
Regional Business Accelerator  Lloydminster  
Ripper PR
S & E Trusted Online Directories Inc
SAMMS Juke Box
Sarofsky  
SEARCH Group Partners
Seeing Angels Two by Two  
SevOne  Inc.
Silicon Image
SocialCode  
Spherexx.com  
SPLICE Software  
Synergy Vision Ltd  
Tequila Avión  
Tollgrade Communications  
UST Global
Veggiecation
VerticalResponse
Waitressville  
WDS Marketing & Public Relations
Wells Fargo Bank
WLF Medical  
Women Presidents’ Organization
World Vision Canada  
Xceed Financial Credit Union  
Yuwakai
ZYTO Corporation

The Stevie Awards are delighted to announce the names of the five distinguished women who will chair the final judging committees of the 2014 (11th annual) Stevie Awards for Women in Business competition.

The Stevie Awards for Women in Business are the world's top business awards program for female entrepreneurs, executives, employees, and the organizations they run.

Finalists in this year's Stevie Awards for Women in Business were announced last week.  Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie placements from among the Finalists will be determined in final judging, to begin next week.  Results will be announced at the 11th annual awards dinner in New York on November 14.  Tickets are now on sale.

The five committee chair selections are based on the categories that will be judged. Final judging chairs helped to form their committees, each of which will be comprised of 10-20 other executives.  Here are this year's final judging committee chairs.

INDIVIDUAL/EXECUTIVE AWARDS

CHAIR: Susan Johnson, Director of Communications
The Women Presidents’ Organization, New York, New York

Susan Johnson is Director of Communications for the Women Presidents’ Organization (WPO). WPO is a membership organization for women presidents and CEOs of privately held, multimillion dollar companies. Through global, confidential, and collaborative peer-learning groups, the WPO accelerates business growth, enhances competitiveness and promotes economic security. Working at the local, national, and international levels, Susan oversees marketing, public relations, and brand building initiatives for WPO, whose mission is to accelerate business growth, enhance competitiveness, and promote economic security for multi-million dollar, women-led companies.

Prior to joining WPO, Susan had her own business, developing strategically creative marketing campaigns to give brands, services, and nonprofits a distinctive voice, personality, and presence.  A seasoned public relations agency professional, Susan has a strong background managing strategic business-to-business and business-to-consumer communications that build brand reputation and value, and support business objectives. Having had the privilege of launching and sustaining many well-known brands, she’s also helped startups come to market and built thought leadership platforms for nonprofit organizations.

Her work at Fleishman Hillard and Rowland Worldwide has been recognized with the industry’s highest honors, including a Silver Anvil from The Public Relations Society of America. Named a fellow of Columbia University’s Age Boom Academy, she honed her social media skills at the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism.

INDIVIDUAL/ENTREPRENEUR AWARDS

CHAIR: Redickaa Subramanian, CEO & Chief Strategist
Interakt Digital Group, Singapore

Redickaa Subramanian is a global advertising, marketing, and technology expert and the co-founder and CEO of Interakt Digital Communications Group, a digital marketing and communications firm headquartered in Singapore. Through her strategic insight and hands-on leadership, she has guided Interakt’s growth to approximately 200 associates with operations on four continents.

As Interakt’s chief strategist, she specializes in helping global companies deliver their brand promise inside/out by aligning all audiences and messaging, internally and externally. She has worked with some of the world’s most respected brands, including Citibank, Ecolab, Lenovo, Nalco, Sony, Hewlett-Packard, Acer, HSBC, Motorola, Levi’s® and Estee Lauder Companies.

Redicka earned her MBA at the State University of New York at Buffalo and was named “Outstanding Entrepreneur of the Year 2007” by DBS-SICCI.

COMPANY/ORGANIZATION AWARDS

CHAIR: Stephanie Azzarone, Founder & President
Child’s Play Communications, New York, New York

Stephanie Azzarone is founder and president of Child’s Play Communications, the first agency to specialize exclusively in marketing to moms. Child’s Play celebrated its 25th anniversary last year (2013). Stephanie is creator of the award-winning Team Mom™ blogger network, the voice behind the blog Mom Market Trends, and winner of Bulldog Reporter’s Social Media Innovator of the Year Award. She also received an Honorable Mention in this year’s Enterprising Women of the Year Awards.

Stephanie has been quoted on the subject of marketing to moms in media ranging from PRWeek through The Wall Street Journal and writes a monthly post for the industry publication Engage:Moms. Disney, Warner Bros. Consumer Products, Heinz, Hewlett Packard, TIME Inc., and the Wildlife Conservation Society are among her recent clients.

CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS/MARKETING/NEW PRODUCTS & SERVICES

CHAIR: Katrin Ludvigsson, CEO
Rippler Communications, Stockholm, Sweden

Katrin is the CEO of Rippler Communications, an award-winning strategic and creative agency committed to delivering quality marketing and communications solutions in multiple channels and across platforms. Having spent a decade as account director and senior consultant at one of Sweden´s largest PR-firms, she founded Rippler eight years ago together with a female former colleague. Together they set out to create a business squarely dedicated to delivering quality with pride, a matter of “ your business is our business.”

From the first year of operations, Katrin and Rippler have earned numerous awards in SPINN—the Swedish equivalent of the IPRA Golden Awards—for both business-to-business and business-to-consumer clients. Last year, though, was the first year Rippler entered any international competitions and as a result Katrin won the Gold Stevie® Award for Communications or PR Campaign of the Year – Public Affairs and Public Service with “For a more humane city” – displaying homelessness through a nationally covered photo campaign. The campaign “For a humane city” was also selected as one of the winners in IPRA last year.

On a more personal level, Katrin is dedicated to work against ethnic and racial intolerance, being one of the co-founders of Oss alla, a national network with about 20,000 followers, writing and co-signing opinion pieces, commissioning and promoting research to combat myths about refugees and immigration. She recently launched a campaign,“the mirror of prejudice,” targeted at high school students and aiming to promote classroom discussions on tolerance issues. Katrin and her Rippler co-founder have also started an informal network for women, meeting twice a year to help promote other women in business.

Katrin has a Bachelor of Arts in both journalism and international relations from the University of Minnesota.  

MEDIA

CHAIR: Caroline Tien-Spalding, Marketing Director
Arcsoft/Perfect 365, San Francisco, CA

As Senior Director of Marketing for ArcSoft consumer imaging applications and a photography black belt, Caroline Tien-Spalding is always looking to turn pixels into magic pixie dust. Caroline has built an impressive track record of success in the mobile app and consumer markets, and was the driving force behind bringing ArcSoft’s Perfect365, a digital makeover app, to the forefront of over 45 million users.

Prior to ArcSoft, Caroline was instrumental in successfully launching the renowned photo app Camera Awesome with SmugMug, and spreading the word on wireless memory cards at Eye-Fi.

Caroline has been a speaker at CES, Macworld, SXSW, and Mobile Mondays in Silicon Valley. She is a University of California, Berkeley alumna (go bears!) and has a Masters in Linguistics. She speaks on a wide range of topics related to imaging technology, including face recognition, Internet of Things, and connected home. Past engagements include Macworld, CES, CTIA, SXSW and Mobile Mondays.

The following professionals participated in preliminary judging of the 2014 Stevie Awards for Women in Business, the top business awards program for women,  in September and October.  Their average scores determined the 2014 Finalists.  We thank them for their time, insights and support.

Husam Mahmoud Abdallah, Sr. Specialist Strategy & Business Excellence, Dubai Airport Free Zone, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Lisa Abeyta, Founder/CEO, APPCityLife, Inc., Albuquerque, NM, USA
Huda Al-Husaini, Engineer, Jordan Engineers Association, Jordan
Andrea Archuleta, Director, Corporate Strategy and Business Development, Ascendant Global Technology, Albuquerque, NM, USA
Kausar Asif, Sr.Manager Mktg.Services, Cupola Pakistan Limited, Karachi, Pakistan
Michelle Bart, President, CEO, National Women's Coalition Against Violence & Exploitation (NWCAVE), Vancouver, WA, USA
Janet Beale, Managing Director, Sytor Enterprises Pty Ltd, East Lindfield, NSW, Australia
Talia Beckett, Managing Director, Pink Pearl Public Relations, Canada
Sherry Bellamy, Business Owner, Anythingdomain.com, Centreville, VA, USA
Denise Blasevick, CEO, The S3 Agency, Boonton, NJ, USA
Tya Bolton, CEO / Business & Event Strategist, Exceptional Business Solutions, LLC, Waldorf, MD, USA
Karen Bonsignori, Founder/CEO, FRESH Company USA, Clearwater, FL, USA
Jennifer Braun, Owner & CEO, Type A Events | Festivities, Medina, MN, USA
Jane Bryant, Director, Spire Communications, Potomac Falls, VA, USA
Mj Callaway, Author, Coach, Speaker, Rock More Sales, Delmont, PA, USA
Bev Campbell, Employee Advocate, Bev's Business Services, Kimberley, BC, Canada
Dawn Campbell Giesman, Sr. Marketing Manager, PublicSchoolWORKS, Cincinnati, OH, USA
Deb Carr, Founder, Sydney Lifestyle Blog, Sydney, NSW, Australia
Kim Clark, Principal, Polished Professionals Boston, Boston, MA, USA
Monica Coburn, Vice President, Wells Fargo, Las Vegas, NV, USA
Etta Cohen, Founder, Forward Ladies, Leeds, United Kingdom
Jennifer Commander, Partner and Managing Director, Alexandria Clinical Research Alexandria, VA, USA
Irene Corpuz, Head of Planning & IT Security, Western Region Municipality, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Maria Coyne, Executive VP, KeyBank, Cleveland, OH, USA
Kate Darcy Hohenthal, Founder, The Birthday Club, Manchester, CT, USA
Churchill Dass Prince, Founder CEO, Sales Intellect Company, Chennai, India
Danielle Davenport, Co-Founder South Valley Angels, San Martin, CA, USA
Robyn Davis, Owner, When I Need Help, Lexington, SC, USA
Anna Day, Director, Worldwide Womens Resources, Bicester, South East, United Kingdom
Rochelle Ekanayake, Managing Director, MrPierce Studios International Asia (pvt) LTD, Colombo, Sri Lanka
Lori Ericson, Product Planning and Development, Epicor Software Denver, CO, USA
Joy Lynn Fields, President, Joy Lynn, Inc., GA, USA
Kharma Finley-Wallace, Principal, Hoverfly Media, Washington DC, USA
Lynette Flowers, CEO, Flowers Powers Girls, USA
Susan Flynn-Doyle, Co-Owner, SFD Couture Formal Wear, New York, NY, USA
Lorretta Gasper, Owner/Principal, Wind Rose Communications, Atlanta, GA, USA
Manoj Gautam, MR Om Shiva Shakti, Herbal Company, Kathmandu, Nepal
Linda Ginac, CEO, TalentGuard, Austin, TX, USA
Barb Girson, President, My Sales Tactics, LLC, New Albany, OH, USA
Regina Glick, Director of Marketing, Summit Business Media, New York, NY, USA
Charity Herb, Online Content Administrator, American Greetings, Cleveland, OH, USA
Kimberly Howard Vice President, Creative Director, The Thomas Collective, New York, NY, USA
Jennifer Hrycyszyn, Vice President, Greenough, Boston, MA, USA
Craig Jacobsen, Founder, Open Spaces Marketing, Vista, CA, USA
Monika Jaslowska, Corporate Communications, Polpharma, Warsaw, Poland
Anne Jefferies, Vendor Compliance Manager, AT&T Global Vendor Management, Biggar, United Kingdom
Brigitte Johnson, APR, Communications Manager, Enterprise Community Partners, Columbia, MD, USA
JP Jones, Owner, Paige1Media, Lawerenceburg, TN, USA
Rebecca Jones, Owner, bScene Marketing Solutions, Miami, FL, USA
Rose Jurczewski, Owner, Funxion Fuzion, Roselle, IL, USA
Nancy Justice, Global Customer Service Manager, Braiform, Asheville, NC, USA
Laura Kerr, Principal Business Analyst, Sabre Airline Solutions, Southlake, TX, USA
Datin Sri Dato', Dr. Wang Kim Ha, Group Executive Director, Smart Reader® Worldwide Sdn. Bhd., Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Shamina Krishna Manager, Training Department, Smart Reader® Worldwide Sdn. Bhd. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Tammy Kronawitter, Executive Assistant, Clear Decisions, Mitcham, SA, Australia
Iwona Kubicz, President of the Board, Procontent, Warsaw, Poland
Jill Liberman, Founder, Videoglobetrotter Inc., Boca Raton, FL, USA
Vanessa Lindeberg, Account Manager, OnStrategy, Reno, NV, USA
Natalie Lowde, Founder Director, #Changetheratio, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, United Kingdom
Susan Lynch, EVP & CFO, Global Information Solutions Division, Hitachi Data Systems, Santa Clara, CA, USA
Anil Machado, Managing Director, Tnell Sieradz, Poland
Morag Malloy, Managing Director, Fission Creative, Paisley, United Kingdom
Carol Marx, Past President, American Agri-Women, Rickreall, OR, USA
Donald Mazzella, COO, Information Strategies, Inc., Ridgefield NJ, USA
Robin McCoy-Ramirez, Owner, SoothEaze, Boston, MA, USA
Elaine Metlin, Senior Partner, Dickstein Shapiro, Washington, DC, USA
Nicole Middendorf, CEO, Prosperwell Financial, Plymouth, MN, USA
Laurel Mintz, CEO,Elevate My Brand, Inc Studio City, CA, USA
Deborah Mitchell, Founder, Heaven Health & Beauty Ltd, Wolverhampton, United Kingdom
Debbie Moore, COO, Other Creative Ltd LONDON, London, United Kingdom
Dawn Morris, Sr Vice President & General Manager, Bankers Warranty Group, St. Petersburg, FL, USA
Chris Moschovitis, CEO, TMG-emedia, New York, NY, USA
Stephanie Moss, Vice President, Hansen Technnologies, Powder Springs, GA, USA
Rajendran Nair, Sr Director, Marketing Intalio, USA
Kirsten Osolind, founding CEO, Re:invention, USA
Liz Palmer, President and CEO, Liz Palmer Media Group Inc., Toronto, ON, Canada
Gayle Pearce, Senior Associate, STS Capital Partners, Mississauga, ON, Canada
Sarah-Jane Peterschlingmann, Managing Director, ATechnology International, Australia
Harish Pillai, COO, Indus Health Plus Pvt. Ltd., Pune, India
Toni Potter, Director, Technica Dulles, VA, USA
Fabi Preslar, President, SPARK Publications, Matthew, NC, USA
Vicky Prior, Founder, Utter Content Creation Ltd, Huddersfield, AL, United Kingdom
Rebecca Quin, Owner, The Rebecca Quin Agency, New York, NY, USA
Maria Reitan, Senior Principal, Lola Red PR, Minneapolis, MN, USA
Sandra Richardson, Co-founder and Chief Marketing Officer, Métier, Ltd., Healdsburg, CA, USA
Anupama Rosa, Marketing Executive, LYCATEL SWITCHWARE LTD, United Kingdom
Catalina Rousseau, President & CEO, BDR Associates, Bucharest, Romania
Pearl Saadi, Ms Other creative Ltd London, London, United Kingdom
Amy Scarlino, President & CEO, Catchpole Corporation, Boston, MA, USA
Grace Schalkwyk, CEO, Gramercy Digital Strategy Advisors, New York, NY, USA
Katja Schroeder, President, Expedition PR, Brooklyn, NY, USA
Mark Schroeder, Senior Vice President, M Booth & Associates New York, NY, USA
Christine Seymour, Director of Marketing, Siemens Industry, Inc., Alpharetta, GA, USA
Julie Sheppard, General Counsel, Florida Institute for Human & Machine Cognition (IHMC), Pensacola, FL, USA
Letty Swank, Founder, Giftwrapperz, Los Gatos, CA, USA
Alice Takpemongo, Technology & Innovation Consultant, Mindjet, Brentford, Middlesex, United Kingdom
Pamela Thomas, President, The Thomas Collective, New York, NY, USA
Josie Thomson, CEO, JosieThomson.com, Red Hill, QLD, Australia
Melanie Tinto, Vice President, Hewlett-Packard, Palo Alto, CA, USA
Debra Turbes, Director Corporate Marketing, NEI Global Relocation, Omaha, NE, USA
Gea Wijers, Senior Consultant, Wijers Community-based Consulting, Amsterdam, Noord Holland, The Netherlands
Leah Wilkinson, Partner, Wilkinson Shein Communications, Stevenson, MD, USA
Becky Wilson, Chief Visibility Officer, WDS Marketing & PR, Overland Park, KS USA
Yvonne Wu, Author Assistant & Publicist, The YP Publishing, Ontario, Canada

World's Top Honors for Working Women to Be Presented in New York on November 14

Finalists were announced today in the 11th Annual Stevie® Awards for Women in Business, the world’s top honors for women entrepreneurs, executives, employees, 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 14. More than 300 women and their guests from around the world are expected to attend the presentations, which will be broadcast live by Biz Talk Radio and taped for a later television broadcast.

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; AT&T, Dallas, TX; Australian Innovative Systems, Brisbane, Australia; Craig Safety Technologies, Kansas City, MO; Creative Lodging Solutions, Lexington, KY; Dubai Police General Headquarters, United Arab Emirates; Ellison Educational Equipment, Lake Forest, CA; Gabriel Marketing Group, Reston, VA; Hewlett-Packard Company, Sunnyvale, CA; Home Rental Services, Overland Park, KS; iFinance Canada Inc., Toronto; Jeunesse Global, Orlando, FL; KC Projects, Birmingham, AL; LLORENTE Y CUENCA, Madrid, Spain; Marketing Maven, Camarillo, CA; MWW, East Rutherford, NJ; National Merchants Association, Temecula, CA; NEI Global Relocation, Omaha, NE; Nerium International, Addison, TX; Newberry Executive Solutions, LLC, Dallas, TX; Pink Elephant, Burlington, ON Canada; PPC Ltd, Johannesburg, South Africa; RezBiz, LLC, Estero, FL; Smartling, New York, NY; Wisdom Natural Brands, Gilbert, AZ; and Xceed Financial Credit Union, El Segundo, CA.

For a complete list of Finalists by category, visit http://www.stevieawards.com/Women.

Finalists were chosen by more than 100 business professionals worldwide during preliminary judging. Members of five specialized judging committees will determine the Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Award placements from among the Finalists during final judging that begins on October 20.

About the Stevie Awards
Stevie Awards are conferred in six programs: The American Business Awards, The International Business Awards, the Stevie Awards for Women in Business, the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service, the Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards, and a new program, the German Stevie Awards. 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.

Today we’ve opened the preliminary round of judging for the 2014 (11th annual) Stevie Awards for Women in Business, the world's premier business awards program for women entrepreneurs, executives, employees, and the organizations they run.

You're invited to apply to participate in the judging process, which takes place online.  Interested?  Apply here.

                                              

As a judge you'll read and rate nominations submitted by women-owned and–run organizations all around the world. You’ll be assigned categories based on your experience, function, and industry. Judging takes place online, at your convenience, any time day or night, through October 5. 

You’ll be inspired and educated by the stories of high-achieving women around the world, and you’ll receive a certificate of appreciation, suitable for framing. You’ll also be acknowledged on the awards website (see last year's judges here) and in the November 14 awards dinner program.

Plus, the two judges who review the most entries in the women awards will be offered two tickets to the November 14 awards dinner and $1,000 toward the cost of attending the event.

Apply to be a Stevie Awards for Women in Business judge.  You'll be glad you did!

Questions about the judging process?  Let us know.

All Female Entrepreneurs, Executives and Employees Worldwide Are Eligible to Be Nominated; Entry Deadline August 27, 2014

The Stevie® Awards for Women in Business have issued the call for entries for its 11th annual competition. Entry kits and complete details on the competition are available at http://www.StevieAwards.com/Women.

This year the Stevie Awards for Women in Business will honor women in more than 80 categories including, among others, Entrepreneur of the Year, Executive of the Year, Maverick of the Year, Mentor or Coach of the Year, Lifetime Achievement Award, Employee of the Year and Most Innovative Company of the Year. The awards are produced by the creators of the prestigious American Business Awards and International Business Awards.

All female entrepreneurs, executives, employees, and the organizations they run, worldwide, are eligible to be nominated.

The entry deadline is August 27 and late entries will be accepted through September 24 with payment of a late fee. Winners of the 11th annual competition will be announced at a gala awards dinner at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York on November 14, 2014.

Award category groups for the 2014 competition include Company Awards, Public Relations Awards, Marketing Awards, New Product Awards, Event Awards, and more.

Many Stevie winners over the years have commented on how their win has positively impacted their business. Niamh Barker, founder and managing director of Britain’s The Travelwrap Company, said: “Winning the Stevie Award was an enormous achievement for me and my business and continues to prove beneficial to our operations every day. I had no idea of the impact that winning this award would have on our business until I checked my e-mail from my hotel room the next morning and online orders had flooded in from across the USA. We now have a growing and loyal customer base in America via online and retail outlets. The Stevie Awards have definitely helped elevate our U.S. presence.”

Winners of the 2013 Stevie Awards for Women in Business included, among others:

•     Eileen Howard Boone, President of CVS Caremark Charitable Trust, Woonsocket, Rhode Island
•     Chandra Clements, Director of One Legacy Pty Ltd, Gold Coast, QLD, Australia
•     Sharon Virts Mozer, Founder and CEO of FCi Federal, Leesburg, Virginia
•     Irene Corpuz, Consultant and Operations Advisor of CMI, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
•     Elise Foster Vander Elst, Executive Director of Asia Arts Projects, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
•     Linda Carolyn McCall, Founder & CEO of EasyJet, Bedfordshire, United Kingdom
•     Daina Middleton, Global CEO of Performics, Chicago, Illinois
•     Mitchell Theresia Gouw Ranzetta, Partner of Accel Partners, Palo Alto, California
•     Weili Sandi Smith Levya, President of Ultimate Accounting vCon,  Plano, Texas
•     Women Presidents Organization, New York, New York
•     Vaco Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California
•     Cenergy International, Houston, Texas

The 2013 Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Award winners reflected a diverse group of large and small organizations from around the globe. Organizations that won more than one Gold Stevie Award included Accenture, Child’s Play Communications, Final Salute Inc., CVS Caremark, FCi Federal, Influence and Co., Laserfiche, other, Pivot Communications, TalkSession, Inc., and VerticalResponse.

The Stevie Awards for Women in Business are judged each year by women entrepreneurs, executives and luminaries worldwide. Last year more than 240 professionals participated in the process.

About the Stevie® Awards
Stevie Awards are conferred in six programs: The American Business Awards, The International Business Awards, the Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards, the German Stevie 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 on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and YouTube.

Melissa Sones Consulting in New York, New York, won a Grand Stevie Award in the 2013 Stevie Awards for Women in Business, the world's premier business awards program for women.  The 2014 Stevie Awards for Women in Business is now accepting entries, with a July 23 early-bird deadline.  Review the entry kit here.

This past November, Grand Stevie Award trophies were presented for the first time in the Stevie Awards for Women in Business to the five organizations that submitted the best body of entries to the competition.  Also a first, the name at the top of that list was not for an individual or company that had been a winner: it went to Melissa Sones Consulting, which had successfully entered several of its clients in the competition.  

We asked Melissa for some insight on this success.  What, for example, did she tell her clients were the most important reasons for entering a professional awards competition such as the Stevie Awards for Women in Business? 

“First, I tell clients or potential clients that awards marketing is the number one form of marketing in the world,” explained Melissa. “Just look around you: car companies run TV commercials noting that they are number one on J.D. Power and Associates; others on TV say they are topping Angie’s List. There are many examples.

The Power of Awards

“Second, I tell them I have had personal experience with the power of awards. I won a major award years ago and it changed my life and brought opportunities my way that might not otherwise have come. In my experience winning awards has worked, so I encourage my clients to win awards themselves so that they can do the same for their businesses, ultimately attracting lots more business.

The Thrill of Winning

“Reason number three is the awards ceremony itself.  While I focus on the applications and the actual winning—so far, 99% of those we have entered for major business awards have won something—getting up in front of a large audience comprising a wide range of business owners is a thrill. That’s why I took a table at the 2013 Stevie Awards for Women In Business Awards and encouraged my clients to come. Four of them won Gold Stevies, and it was very exciting!

“A fourth reason is that I want my clients to have a marketing tool that they can use over and over again. Win once and you can put it out there forever. I love that, and it’s effective.

Value for Money

“Finally, there is the cost. As a major marketing tool for a company of any size from sole proprietor to corporation, awards marketing is extremely affordable—a big bang for your buck, as they say. Pay a very affordable fee and we work to help you win. We are also “winner spotters,” so if we believe you can win, you usually do.”

Winning a Grand Award

We asked Melissa what winning a Grand Award at the 2013 Stevie Awards for Women in Business had meant to her.

“I was surprised when I won!” she told us. “It meant that the focus of my company–the only awards consulting company of its kind in the U.S.—is working.”

Additionally, Melissa told us that her awards consulting company does more work with the Stevie Awards than with any other awards competitions.  As she puts it: “Everything about it makes sense for the many businesses I work with. The applications themselves allow for creativity without being too time-consuming; the team at the Stevies is available whenever I need help, such as when filing an application or following up on a trophy order; and the awards have names or titles that I happen to like from a marketing standpoint.  Winning a Women in Business Award or an American Business Award or an International Business Award appeals to my clients, most of whom have come back for more awards, with the Stevie Awards for Women In Business at the top of the list so far!

Living in Integrity

Melissa has been a professional writer her entire adult life, and running a marketing awards company incorporates that.  As she told us: “I have always done exactly what I want to do ONLY if what I want is in my Integrity, no matter what, and I continue to do that. The latter is part of Living In Integrity.”

Melissa is certainly providing a service to others, as her achievements testify.

About Melissa Sones

Melissa Sones is a seasoned, results-focused communications and media relations consultant and writer in the lifestyle arena. Her clients include companies in fashion, beauty, food and restaurants, consumer products, public relations, health, international investment banking, retail, and family publishing.

Known for her corporate seminars on "The Art of Pitching" as it relates to lifestyle, Melissa is a former columnist for Food & Wine; the former beauty editor at Self magazine; fashion features editor (and member of the founding team) of Mirabella; fashion critic for the New York Post; and fashion editor for United Press International. She has been a regular contributor to Glamour and her pieces have appeared in The New York Times, Harper’s Bazaar, and Redbook, among others. She was also a contributor to the Zagat Guide on Shopping. She is the author of Getting into Fashion, A Career Guide (Ballantine) and Full Frontal Fashion: Never Worry Again About What To Wear (Plume/Penguin Group), which was featured in People Stylewatch, on The View, and in other national publications. She has been quoted on lifestyle in O, The Oprah Magazine and Real Simple. Her company specializes in creative thinking and knowing what's coming down the pike before others do. The New York Times featured the company’s creative approach in a 2009 article. In 2013, Melissa Sones chose to make awards and awards marketing the main focus of her company.

About Melissa Sones Consulting

Melissa Sones Consulting (MSC) is an awards consulting company that helps individuals and businesses win the top national and international awards—with a special emphasis on business awards. 99% of the companies MSC has entered for a top business award have won something. If you want to win, you want to work with MSC. For more information, go to www.melissasonesconsulting.com.

Learn all about the Stevie Awards for Women in Business, the world's top honors for women entrepreneurs, executives, and organizations they run at www.StevieAwards.com/Women.

Janine Popick is CEO & Founder of VerticalResponse in San Francisco, California, USA, and the winner of a Gold Stevie Award for Female Executive of the Year-Business Services (up to 2,500 Employees) in the 2013 Stevie Awards for Women in Business.

The 2014 Stevie Awards for Women in Business competition is now open.  The early-bird entry deadline is July 23.  GET THE ENTRY KIT HERE.

“How do I build or get an email marketing list?” As the leader of an email marketing software company for the last 13 years that’s been the most common question I’ve heard whenever I’ve talked to small businesses.

I’m also often asked if it’s okay to use a purchased, rented, or scraped email list.

My answer? Nope. Nada. Not so much. There are no shortcuts to growing an engaged and loyal base of subscribers, fans, and followers.

In reality, rather than get you the results you want, that purchased list could tarnish your relationship with your recipients—not a great way to start out.

So, how do you grow a list with engaged subscribers who want to hear from your business? I have five sure-fire ways, so read on!

1. Offer Value

In exchange for giving you their email address, subscribers expect to get something of value. Whether it’s a discount, exclusive deal, advance access, tips, how-tos, advice, or something else, make sure the value is stated on your email sign-up form.

2. Give ’Em a Sneak Peek

You can give folks a sneak peek of what they’ll get by joining your email list. How? By providing tangible examples of your emails, newsletters, and invitations right on your website. This gives them a chance to “try before they subscribe.”

At VerticalResponse, we archive our weekly VR Buzz e-newsletter so folks can preview what they’ll see before they hand over their email addresses. Also, once they’re a subscriber, if they happen to miss a newsletter, they always have easy access to it.

3. Subscribe (Opt-in) Everywhere

Sending emails to your subscribers is all based on getting their permission first. Here’s where your “join my list” form—also called an opt-in form—comes into play. An opt-in form is priceless because, when people willingly give you their email addresses, they’re saying they want to hear from you. And by getting opt-in permission, you build a relationship and gain trust. It’s a win-win for both parties.

Tip: Make sure you keep your forms short, and easy.  Also, give folks the opportunity to sign up whenever they contact or interact with your business, including from multiple pages on your website (homepage, contact page, pricing page, etc.), your blog, your Facebook profile, transactional emails such as receipts and invoices, and at events or tradeshows.

4. Get Them to Pass It On

The ability to forward an email to a friend seems to have been around since the dawn of email marketing (trust me, I was there), but it’s amazing how many people still don’t include the forwarding ability in their emails.  This is a missed opportunity, especially now that people are totally accustomed to sharing any messages that they think friends or co-workers might get value from or enjoy.

Encourage the forward by saying something like: “Share this email with friends you think might enjoy it!” All email service providers should allow you to insert a forward to a friend link very easily when you create your email. The bonus is that an email service will usually include an option to sign up for a mailing list in these forwarded emails, and that will add to list growth!

5. (Social) Sharing is Caring

Make sure that every email you send can be shared by your current subscribers on their social media networks. Most email service providers let you include social media buttons in your emails that allow recipients to share your message on Facebook and Twitter.  Reporting and tracking will allow you to see how many people are sharing your messages.

There you have it:  Five sure-fire (and easy) ways to grow your email list. Have any to add to my list? Share them in the comments!

Did you enjoy this post? If so, sign up for the free VR Buzz weekly newsletter and check out the VerticalResponse Marketing Blog.

About Janine Popick
Janine Popick is the CEO and founder of VerticalResponse, a provider of online marketing tools for small businesses that include email marketing and social media marketing. Janine brings over 20 years of experience leading direct and Internet marketing programs for some of the biggest brands in technology and entertainment.

About VerticalResponse
VerticalResponse Inc., a subsidiary of Deluxe Corporation, provides a full suite of online marketing tools to help small businesses connect with their customers on email, social media, mobile, and more. More than 1 million users worldwide have relied on the VerticalResponse platform to easily create, manage, and analyze their own marketing campaigns, all from a single account. For more information visit www.verticalresponse.com, or connect on Twitter and Facebook.