Galveston.com Wins 2006 American Business Award

Galveston.com & Company won a Stevie Award for Best Overall Website Design in The 2006 American Business Awards Monday night, June 12th.  The company was also a finalist in the Website Brand Building & Promotion category.

Hailed as “the business world’s own Oscars” by the New York Post (April 27, 2005), The American Business Awards are the only national, all-encompassing business awards program honoring great performances in the workplace.

Nicknamed the Stevies for the Greek word “crowned,” the awards were presented during ceremonies at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City.  The ceremonies were hosted by CNN business news anchor Ali Velshi, videocast live on the Internet, and broadcast nationwide on radio. 

In winning the Stevie, Galveston.com & Company beat out other finalists including Polo Ralph Lauren, Entergy Corporation, Delphi, EDS, Edison International, URS Corporation, Kelly Services, and Kluber Skahan and Associates. Lee Roane and Jim Cordell, President and Vice-President of Galveston.com & Company, were presented the Stevie before a packed ballroom by Stevie Awards Founder Michael Gallagher.   In accepting the Stevie, Lee Roane said, “From what began on a Macintosh laptop in a closet 12 years ago, Galveston.com has now won this wonderful award.  To be in the same group as these wonderful other finalists is the biggest honor in the history of our business.”

Stevie Awards were presented in over 40 categories including Best Overall Company, Best Executive, and Best Corporate Social Responsibility Program.  More than 1,500 entries from companies of all sizes and in virtually every industry were submitted for consideration.  

Rich with interactive polls, site-wide searchability, a robust message board, audio and video podcasts (the first Convention & Visitors Bureau-related website in the world to offer such), tourism-related rss feeds, tourism-related member pages for local businesses, enhanced continuously updated AccuWeather, city-wide megapixel webcams, personalized itinerary builder, "one-click" expandable navigation, and complete interactive reservations for lodging, cruises, cruise parking, and airport transfers, the recently-relaunched Galveston.com was produced over a two-year period by a team of designers from both Texas and the United Kingdom.

Members of the Awards' Board of Distinguished Judges & Advisors and their staffs selected Stevie winners from among the Finalists.   Finalists were chosen by business professionals nationwide during preliminary judging earlier this year.

The elegant Stevie trophy was designed by R. S. Owens, the same company that makes the Oscar® and the Emmy.

“Being in Times Square with friends, family, and employees was a thrill in itself,” says Jim Cordell. “But to win an award of this stature with all of them present was a dream come true.  We couldn’t be more excited.”

Details about The American Business Awards and the list of Finalists and Stevie Award winners are available at www.stevieawards.com/aba. 

About Galveston.com & Company...

Galveston.com & Company, Inc. is a destination marketing corporation based in Galveston, Texas. Additional website ventures by Galveston.com & Company include Galveston.org, GalvestonCruises.com, HoustonAreaHotels.com, and Kemah.com. The company specializes in destination portals, as well as online lodging, cruise, parking, and transfer reservations via its proprietary DestinationNext_^TM reservation module. For more information, contact Galveston.com & Company at via phone (409)763-8676 or email at websites@galveston.com.

About The Stevie Awards...

Hailed as “the business world’s own Oscars” by the New York Post (April 27, 2005), Stevie Awards are conferred in three programs: The American Business Awards, The International Business Awards, and The Stevie Awards for Women Entrepreneurs. Honoring companies 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 www.stevieawards.com.

Premier sponsors of The 4th annual American Business Awards include the City of Toronto, Pitney Bowes, ValueVision Associates, RealLife HR, and The Professional Society for Sales & Marketing Training.

Media sponsors include CIO Decisions magazine, CRMAdvocate, Human Resource Executive magazine, ProductionHub.com, and Selling Power magazine. HB Group will videocast the awards ceremonies live on the Internet. The Business TalkRadio Network will broadcast the ceremonies live on radio nationwide.