Awards And Certifications From January 28

Pure Michigan Awarded Five HSMAI Adrian Awards: The Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International honored Pure Michigan with five Adrian Awards Monday, acknowledging successful marketing and public relations efforts executed by the campaign in the past year. Pure Michigan will receive awards for its partnership with Mario Batali, the "Who is the real Mitten State?" initiative and several feature placement stories. George Zimmermann, vice president of Travel Michigan, has also been named one of the Top 25 Extraordinary Minds in Sales & Marketing by HSMAI. The HSMAI Adrian Awards are open to all travel-related industries with categories in advertising, digital marketing and public relations. This year HSMAI received more than 1,000 entries. Pure Michigan will take home gold medals for the "Who is the Real Mitten State?" initiative in the digital marketing category and for the feature placement, Just Back: Detroit, in the New York Post. It is also receiving a silver medal for the feature placement, Great American City: Detroit, in the New York Daily News and a bronze medal for the Mario Batali "Made in Michigan" Media Day held in Traverse City this past summer. The fifth award, Zimmermann's Top 25 Most Extraordinary Minds in Sales and Marketing recognition, is given to the best sales and marketing professionals in the hospitality, travel and tourism industries. A panel of senior industry executives selected the 2012 "Top 25" recipients based on recent work meeting the following criteria: creativity and innovation; cutting edge sales or marketing campaigns; triumph in challenging situations; and sales efforts that resulted in dramatic gains. The Pure Michigan brand was created by the Birmingham, Michigan office of McCann Erickson. Pure Michigan also works with Weber Shandwick's Birmingham office and Travel & Lifestyle practice to help build the Pure Michigan brand through web, media, public relations and digital marketing. Travel Michigan, part of the Michigan Economic Development Corp., markets the state's tourism industry and provides valuable visitor information services. For Michigan travel news and updates, go to michigan.org.

Southwest Michigan First's Jennifer Owens Wins "40 Under 40" Award in Economic Development: Jennifer Owens, vice president of Southwest Michigan First, has been selected as a winner in the economic development profession's "40 Under 40" awards, the first-ever awards program recognizing young talent in the economic development profession. A five-member selection committee chose the winners from a pool of more than 150 candidates based on their exceptional contributions to the economic development industry. The award's program was managed by Development Counsellors International, a New York-based firm that specializes in economic development marketing. At Southwest Michigan First, Jennifer leads Southwest Michigan First's attraction efforts which center on educating site consultants and company leadership on the advantages of a Southwest Michigan location. As part of her responsibility for executing the organization's attraction strategy, Jennifer travels both nationally and internationally promoting the regional and state economies. DCI officially announced the winners Sunday night at an awards reception during the International Economic Development Council Leadership Summit in Orlando and will feature an in-depth profile of each on its website during 2013. For more information on DCI's "40 Under 40" winners, visit www.aboutdci.com/40under40. Founded in 1999, Southwest Michigan First is an organization of privately funded economic development advisors who act as the catalyst for economic growth in Southwest Michigan. For more information about Southwest Michigan First, visit www.southwestmichiganfirst.com, or call (269) 553-9588.