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ESM Magazine

Awards of Excellence

CESM Certification

Research

Summary of
ESM Association's 2003
Awards of Excellence

Employer of the Year
The Employer of the Year Award is presented to an employer or Chief Executive Officer (CEO) who supports, promotes and participates in the company’s employee services program. The nominee must justify how employee services are important to the productivity and morale of the workforce. This year’s Employer of the Year is Larry Kurzweil, president and COO, Universal Studios Hollywood, Universal City, CA. Organizational Members nominate their CEOs and ESM Association chooses the winner based on the extent to which the nominee believes in employee services. The recipient of this award is usually considered an Employer of Choice based on the company’s extensive offerings.

Eastwood Award
The Eastwood Award, the most prestigious of the Awards of Excellence, is awarded to the most outstanding overall employee services programs of 2002. The award is named in honor of ESM Association’s first president, Dr. Floyd Eastwood. ESM Association’s Organizational Members submit their entries based on company size. This year, three companies received this award: Raytheon Missile Systems, Tucson, AZ - over 5,000 employees; Mercy Health System (MHS), Janesville, WI - 2,500-5,000 employees; and the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, Las Vegas, NV - less than 1,000 employees. Candidates submit entries that document their mission statement, scope of the program and how it increased the awareness of employee services; examples of how the program impacts the company’s business or culture; plus additional details such as goals and strategies for securing financial resources.

Innovative Program Award
The Innovative Program Award recognizes the most creative program activity within an overall employee services program. This year’s winner is M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX. Entrants include their objective, evaluation process and how their programs increased the awareness/visibility of employee services to their companies’ management.

General Member of the Year Award
Mary Lou Panzano, RVESRA, director of communications, Prudential Financial, Newark, NJ, received the General Member of the Year Award. Individuals nominated for this award have proven their dedication to the field of employee services, are an active participant in ESM Association and make significant contributions to the local chapter or national organization.

Supplier Member Award
The Chuck Bashian National Associate Member of the Year Award is named in honor of the late Chuck Bashian, former marketing director for ESM Association. This year’s winner is Chelle Rupp, regional sales manager, Anheuser-Busch Adventure Parks, Anaheim, CA. Entrants for this award are nominated based on their understanding of the employee market and their contributions to ESM Association and its membership.

Distinguished Service Award
Brenda Robbins, CESM, group leader of the Research Recreation Association and Fitness Center at the Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, TX, received ESM Association’s Distinguished Service Award. Recipients of this surprise award are long-time ESM Association members who have shared their time and expertise with the association and their peers.

Chapter Awards
As a national entity, ESM Association recognizes the value of its chapters, located across the country. The chapters provide local members with frequent educational and networking experiences. ESM Association’s Leonard R. Brice Superior Chapter Merit Award is judged on a point system. The ESM Association of Southern Nevada Chapter and ESM Association of Central Florida were both awarded the Leonard R. Brice Superior Chapter Merit Award. The chapters were granted these awards based on their outstanding chapter administration and their effective efforts to provide professional development and networking opportunities to their members.

Exhibitor Longevity Awards
Suppliers who have exhibited at ESM Association’s Annual Conference & Exhibit for five, 10 or 20 consecutive years receive the Exhibitor Longevity Award. This year’s award recipients are Employee Printing Services for 10 years; Doubletree Castle Hotel for five years; Get Away Today Vacations for five years; and Men’s Wearhouse for five years.

Best Booth Awards
To award the First, Second and Third Place Best Booth Awards, volunteer judges evaluate each of the Exhibit Booths at ESM Association’s Annual Conference & Exhibit. This year, they evaluated 90 Exhibit Booths to determine the following winners: First Place, Universal Studios Theme Parks; Second Place, Monogram Foods; and Third Place, Awards By Kaydan. These exhibitors were granted the Best Booth Award based on their appealing booths and superb exhibiting skills.