Between plates of pasta and slices of cheesecake, members of the Midwest-South Region of the ASBPE spent an “Evening in Italy” celebrating its own 2012 Azbee Awards of Excellence winners in late July at Tutto Italiano Ristorante in downtown Chicago. The awards were distributed by Chicago chapter President Deborah Cassell, Vice President Zach Phillips and Board Member Tina Grady Barbaccia.

More than 50 editors, art directors and publishers gathered for the annual event, where 69 regional awards and 72 national awards were given out. Winners included Professional Builder/Professional Remodeler, which took top prize for Multi-Platform Presentation of the Year. Honorable Mention went to REALTOR Magazine.
Meanwhile, three Magazine of the Year enties were recognized: Automotive News (Top 10), Workforce Management (Top 10) and HealthLeaders (Honorable Mention). The ultimate honor went to the staff of Music Inc., which named Magazine of the Year (Under $2M).
“Being recognized with ‘Magazine of the Year’ is the greatest thrill of my career and an enormous honor for the rest of the Music Inc. team, as well,” said Zach Phillips, editor of Music Inc. magazine (and the aforementioned vp of the Chicago chapter). “’Magazine of the Year’ is the B2B publishing community’s equivalent of the ‘Best Picture’ Oscar or the ‘Album of the Year’ Grammy. We’ve long coveted the award, and although we’re surprised and humbled to be this year’s winner, we’ve worked tirelessly every day to improve our magazine and to find better ways to deliver cutting-edge, relevant information to our readers. It’s gratifying that ASBPE’s judges recognized our efforts.”
The Chicago chapter of the ASBPE will hold its next event — its annual Fall Workshop — on Friday, Oct. 19, at DePaul’s O’Hare Campus. Stay tuned to www.asbpe.org or email debbiecassell@yahoo.com for further details.
To view the full list of national Azbee winners, press here.