In the leadup to tomorrow's final entry deadline for the 10th annual Stevie Awards for Women in Business, the world's top honors for women in the workplace, we've been catching up with Stevie Award winners from the past decade. They've told us about what it meant to them to win their Stevie Awards; how it's affected their lives and their businesses.
Today we catch up with 2005 Stevie winner Marla Letizia, then president of Mobile Billboards of Las Vegas, Las Vegas, NV. Marla and her company won their Stevie for Most Innovative Company of the Year – Up to 100 Employees.
Marla R. Letizia was one of the first women to earn a Stevie Award for Women in Business. In 2005, the second year of the awards program. At that time, Letizia was in the throes of getting her novel billboard business off the ground by bringing mobile advertisements to the exciting Las Vegas market.
At that time, her business was in its embryonic stages. Letizia was learning how to navigate her newfound entrepreneurial venture. She was busy enjoying both building and operating her new enterprise.
The Stevie Award win helped solidify her firm’s position in the marketplace, expanding awareness beyond the Las Vegas market the company was serving, and exposing its successes to others outside the area looking in to find a billboards vendor.
Sometime after winning her Stevie Award, Letizia hit a crisis and while her business survived (and was renamed), she claims to have found the silver lining by learning a great deal about being a successful entrepreneur and running an innovative company. According to Letizia, “I have the courage of a lion with regard to anything in business.” There is an a old quote, “that which does not kill us makes us stronger," and while Letizia grew stronger personally and professionally, the confidence of a winning a Stevie stayed alongside her.
The press coverage that resulted from her Stevie Award win continues to show up in Google searches and brings instant credibility to her business when potential customers -- both inside and outside of the Las Vegas marketplace – search for businesses boasting her service offering. The recognition she earned also continues to aid in recruitment as future employees discover the award win online when searching her firm and are very impressed with the remarkable achievement.
“When a solid organization finds you worthy of honoring, graciously smile and say thank you, then enjoy all it has to offer and then find ways to give back!”
It has been an honor to earn this award, and Letizia is constantly seeking ways to give back. The Stevie has helped propel her business to new levels.
Enter the 2013 Stevie Awards for Women in Business now at www.StevieAwards.com/Women. Need a brief extension past tomorrow's deadline? Request one by writing to help@stevieawards.com.
Winning a Stevie "shone a bright light on Signature HomeStyles’ mission to make a difference … one home at time. The Stevie Awards helped create more awareness about our company with articles appearing in the Chicago Sun-Times, the Chicago Daily Herald, and other news outlets."
"It was a massive honour to be the first Australian woman to win a Stevie Award for Women in Business, and I’ve since gone on to win multiple Stevies. I think back to the night I won my first Stevie and look at how much my business has expanded since, and feel honored to be recognized internationally for my achievements.”
“I encourage every woman in business to explore the Stevie Awards program and consider nominating yourself or another worthy advocate for the awards. The Stevie Awards staff and community are incredibly supportive and insightful. Going through the nomination process is fun and generates powerful self-discovery. Take that step – find your voice!”
"The town where I lived at the time I received the award -- Davie, Florida -- was so proud of and impressed with my Stevie Award that they named a day after me! I never could have anticipated that this type of recognition would elicit such a response from my community, and I am grateful that the judges acknowledged the importance of supporting those with autism. Winning the Lifetime Achievement Stevie Award was one of the high points of my career."
“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.”
"Since earning the Stevie Award, my business has grown. As the first Japanese woman to win, I am humbled and honored to have earned this award. It continues to positively impact the success of my business."
“Outside of being recognized as a best-selling author on Amazon.com, the Stevie Award has been my most recognized accolade.”
As one of the first winners in the Stevie Awards for Women in Business, and subsequently also in 
And the two judges who review the most entries in the 
About nine years ago, when she was more than $100,000 in debt, she discovered the Law of Attraction and put it into practice for herself. Forster went from being on welfare to being a millionaire. Forster deeply appreciates how she became successful as a life coach by creating a business centered around teaching women just how to find their passion and use practical strategies -- along with mindset techniques -- to create their own success in business and life. Prior to winning her Stevie Award (she was the first Australian woman to win a Stevie), Forster's business was gaining momentum and successfully growing, but working from her home-office, she sometimes wondered if her efforts were really having an impact. 
A true entrepreneur, Ryan was fanatical about the online community then – and still is now. She is always seeking ways to maximize the benefits of the Internet. However, as the years passed and the Internet changed, Ryan decided that the format and business model for WorldWIT was not exactly what she wanted to achieve. In 2012, she launched Human Workplace, a publishing, coaching and consulting firm whose mission is to reinvent work for people. Ryan and her Human Workplace business work with the U.S. Department of Labor, many universities and public and private employers, and with individuals on direction, branding and strategy with a human voice. 
Herskowitz spent more than 35 years as a speech pathologist, catering to those with autism. She was working in the autism field when she learned in 1993 that her own son was diagnosed with autism. Her life dramatically changed. Since then, everything Herskowitz developed or has been involved with regarding autism somehow has her son’s imprint on it.
This year, Tappouni celebrates 16 successful years in business, and is proud to say she conquered some of the contracting and construction industry’s most challenging years, on the heels of her awards recognition. The Stevie Awards helped raise awareness of her firm's quality and growth.
They were selling these distinctive cashmere wraps via a company website. Niamh Barker, its founder and managing director, managed the business from a spare room in her home, working around her busy family life (she has two children and four stepchildren). Juggling work and family life was highly challenging but Barker still managed to succeed. In addition to the Stevie she also won the Luxury Gift of the Year Award in the UK for her cashmere travel wraps just prior to earning her Stevie.
Matsumura is the creator of a type of bandana cap for use by hospital patients, which received several awards in Japan for its design and utility. The production was done at a plant located in Hiroshima, Japan, and it was marketed only to some very specific medical institutions in the Kansai area. Since that time, Matsumura added production sites in Osaka and in Sasebo (in Kyushu). Sales have now expanded to major hospitals and department stores all over Japan.
