Austin Business Awards

I had the honor of being the Master of Ceremonies last night for the 6th Annual Austin Business Awards, hosted by the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce.

The Chamber of Commerce in Austin is a great organization with a long history of success. The mission of the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce is to provide leadership that will help create regional economic prosperity and success for its members in Central Texas. The proof that it achieves this goal is evident everyday to those who live, work and visit the city.

Fourteen years ago I worked at the Chamber selling advertising in their membership directory. Over the years I have volunteered to help with a variety of causes and committees, but when they asked me to be the MC for this major event, I hardly felt worthy. Yet, I still said "yes". Granted, I was a bit nervous to take on this role, but one thing I preach about to others is that when an opportunity arrives, you have to take it....even if it is a little scary!!!

I think the event went very well (The real job of the Master of Ceremonies is really just to make sure the event ends on time....... we ended ten minutes ahead of schedule!!!). The evening was a tribute the to companies that made up the list finalists and winners in the categories of Innovation, Customer Service, Community Relations, Education and Protecting the Environment. Winners were honored for small, medium, large and not-for-profit businesses in each category. To see a list of all the companies who were nominated, click here.

The winners were:

Customer Service Category:

Personal Wine by Pervino
Truluck's Seafood, Steak and Crab House
Hoover's Inc.
Capital Metro

Education Category:

Sprysoft Corporation
Washington Mutual Bank
Bracewell & Giuliani
The Housing Authority of the City of Austin

Environment Category:

Habitat Suites Hotel
Texas Disposal Systems

Community Relations Category:

Austin Woman Magazine
KXAN and KNVA - TV
Applied Materials
Assistance League of Austin

Innovation Category:

Biophysical Corporation
NetSpend Corporation
Time Warner Cable - Austin Division
City of Austin Solid Waste Services

Freescale Not-For-Profit Award Winner:

Meals on Wheels and More

Austin, Texas is fortunate to have wonderful companies that give so much to the community. All those who were nominated, finalists and the winners make this the greatest city in the United States. I am proud to call Austin my home. Congratulations to all.

Have A Great Day.

Thom Singer
www.thomsinger.com
thom@thomsinger.com