There’s an ironic truth that most media companies have in common — they’re great at sharing news about others with their readers or viewers, but when it comes to sharing happy tidings about themselves, they often drop the ball.
We at Smart Business are no different. That’s why, this month, I’ve decided to break the trend and devote my column to sharing some good news about our team here at Smart Business.
It was a good year for journalism awards for our team of writers, editors and contributors. We garnered seven prestigious awards in three different competitions.
Later this month, we’ll be heading to Columbus to attend the 2010 Society of Professional Journalists statewide awards banquet, where we’ll receive four awards — two first place and two second place.
Senior Assistant Editor Kristy O’Hara was awarded first place for her cover story on Bill Jarvis of Revol in the “Best Personality Profile” category.
Associate Editor Brooke Bates received first place for her story on how to build a relationship with a private equity firm, featuring Bill Fink of Area Wide Protective, in the “Best Trade Report” category.
Former columnist Jim Huling’s “Business of Life” column was honored with a second place award in the category of “Best Trade Columnist in Ohio.”
Smart Business Cleveland received second place as the “Best Trade Publication in Ohio.”
During the summer, we picked up two multistate journalism awards from the American Society of Business Publication Editors for the Central-Southeast region of the United States (a 10-state region).
Columnist Michael Feuer received Gold (first place) as “Best Contributed Column,” and Huling received Silver (second place) in the same category.
More impressive is that this marks the fourth straight year that both men have been honored in this category, and for Feuer, this is the second Gold award he’s received.
O’Hara’s Revol story was honored with a second award this year, picking up a second place nod in the Press Club’s all-Ohio Excellence in Journalism program.
And finally, Feuer penned a book (along with myself as co-author) that was picked up by New York publisher John H. Wiley & Sons. “The Benevolent Dictator: Engage your employees, build your business and outwit the competition” is slated for an early 2011 nationwide release.
Congratulations to our award-winning writers and editors, as well as the entire team at Smart Business, for the bevy of honors and a job well done.
