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And the winner is . . .

For the savvy marketer looking for a novel way to promote their products or services, I propose you consider entering one of the many awards competitions offered throughout the year. Winning one of these awards will earn you and your company many accolades including giving your promotional campaigns an added punch.

For example, if you are a successful woman or minority-owned business, you may want to consider entering the PNM Entrepreneurial Leadership Awards (www.pnm.com/wesst), co-hosted by WESST Corp. This competition offers several categories to choose from including the Entrepreneur of the Year, Rising Star and Leadership awards to name just a few. Having won such a prestigious award, your organization can tout this in your advertisements and give your company image an added boost.

"The PNM Awards Program has been a great way for companies throughout New Mexico to be acknowledged," said Agnes Noon, executive director of WESST Corp. "This can also lead to some great press which may impact the winners' bottom line. For example, Agnes Chavez continues to receive additional financial backing for her Spanish-language learning tools after being named last year's Entrepreneur of the Year."

Other company-level awards include the Association of Commerce and Industry's VIVA Awards; the New Mexico Business Weekly's Best Places to Work recognition, and Quality New Mexico's annual Zia award and Roadrunner and Pi¤on recognitions, all of which are based on the Baldrige National Quality Program. Although Quality New Mexico's 2006 competition is already in full swing, you may want to consider attending its conference and awards ceremony, March 8 and 9 at the Hotel Albuquerque at Old Town to see what it's all about.

The Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce offers the widest range of awards including such prestigious competitions as the Duke City Dozen, the Corporate Citizenship Award and the Maxie Anderson Awards to name just a few.

Technology Ventures Corporation annually presents the Flying 40 awards to the state's fastest growing technology-based businesses. Similarly, the New Mexico Information Technology and Software Association presents several IT Excellence Awards at their annual gala dinner.

In the marketing arena, there are the New Mexico American Marketing Association's Marketer of the Year Awards, the New Mexico Public Relations Society of America's Cumbre Awards, and the New Mexico Advertising Federation's Addys, which culminates in a national competition that garnered more than 60,000 entries this past year.

Recognizing companies across a wide spectrum of different categories are Albuquerque Magazine's Best of the City Awards, the Alibi's Best of Burque, and the Downtown Action Team's DAT Look Awards, which recognize the best of the best in Downtown Albuquerque.

This is certainly not an exhaustive list of the many awards given across the state, including many industry-specific awards given by the over 300 local professional and trade associations, but it certainly gives you a flavor of what's out there. In all cases these competitions offer you an opportunity to stand out above the crowd and add to your prestige in the business community.