Stevie Awards News

Danielson Designs Wins American Business Award for Best Corporate Social Responsibility Program

TRINIDAD, Colo., June 27 PRNewswire — Danielson Designs, a leading designer and manufacturer of home decor products nestled in the foothills of southern Colorado, has won a Stevie Award for Best Corporate Social Responsibility Program for companies with less than 100 employees in The 2008 American Business Awards (ABA).

The awards were presented during ceremonies at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City on June 12. The ceremonies were hosted by Cheryl Casone of Fox Business Network and broadcast nationwide on radio by the Business TalkRadio Network.

Danielson Designs beat out many other finalists to win this highly acclaimed award, including Family Heritage Life Insurance Company of America (based in Cleveland), Reprise Media (based in New York) and VerticalResponse (based in San Francisco). Danielson Designs also was a finalist in the Best Overall Company category for companies with less than 100 employees.

The Stevie Awards were presented in more than 40 categories including Best Overall Company, Best Executive and Best Corporate Social Responsibility Program. More than 2,600 entries from companies of all sizes and in virtually every industry were submitted for consideration.

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 in April and May.

"We are thrilled and honored to win a in the category of Best Corporate Social Responsibility Program and be recognized by such a prestigious organization as the American Business Awards," said Mark Danielson, who along with his wife Annie is a founder and owner of Danielson Designs.

In 1991, Mark and Annie Danielson had a vision to create a company that could be an agent for social change and provide jobs in their economically depressed old mining town of Trinidad, Colo. Today they are not only one of the largest employers in their county, but their company is one of the top wall-decor companies in the country and a model for small businesses and entrepreneurs wanting to make a difference as well as make a profit.

Danielson Designs' decorative signs and photo frames feature upscale design, environmentally sensitive manufacturing, and are made entirely in Trinidad, Colo. Their products are sold through more than 5,000 independent retailers across the U.S. and Canada.

Just as Annie and Mark created Danielson Designs with a vision of creating jobs in Trinidad, they opened Danielson Dry Goods and The Cafe with a vision of being a part of the restoration of the glory of what once was — and is becoming again — a beautiful downtown area. In addition, to help the community create an anchor for downtown life, the Danielsons helped found a professional repertory theatre company and remain its principal sponsors. "Mark and I absolutely love Trinidad — the town, the history and the people," says Annie. "We're so proud to be a part of revitalizing this great, Colorado small town."

As Danielson Designs has grown, Mark and Annie have developed a unique profit sharing program where 10% of the company's pre-tax profits are put into a virtual bucket. Every time it fills to a predetermined level, the bucket dumps and is distributed to employees — not based on salary or title — but on years worked at Danielson Designs. So a non-college educated employee in the shipping department often receives more profit sharing dollars than key managers, creating a sense of ownership, pride and loyalty.

Also, the Danielsons' vision to improve communities has grown beyond southern Colorado. Every time the bucket dumps, Annie and Mark also donate $4,000 to dig a water well in Africa. In this way, a community across the world is built as well. In 2007, they dug 10 wells, which now serve more than 150,000 villagers.

"As the economic outlook for our town improved and the sense of pride has returned, we wanted Danielson Designs and the town of Trinidad to pay it forward," said Mark. "The challenge was to take what we've learned and figure out how to help replicate our success in other communities. One way was to share our story and vision with the hopes of helping other small businesses become agents for social change. The other way was to bring our employees together to help revitalize communities in crisis across the globe. We hope that winning a 2008 Stevie Award will help to extend the reach of our vision even further."

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

About The Stevie Awards

Stevie Awards are conferred in four programs: The American Business Awards, The International Business Awards, The Stevie Awards for Women in Business, and the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service. 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 http://www.stevieawards.com.

Global Sponsor of the 2008 Stevie Awards is Dow Jones. Supporting sponsors of The 2008 American Business Awards include FIS Softpro, High Performance Technologies Inc., John Hancock, RCN Corporation, Richardson, and Ultimate Software. Media sponsors include the Business TalkRadio Network, CRM Advocate, and Human Resource Executive.

SOURCE Danielson Designs

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