Winners Selected for 2009 ABC Student Writing Contest

The Student Awards Committee is pleased to announce the winners of the eighth annual ABC Writing Contest:

• 1st place: Joshua Lindauer, West Chester University, Pennsylvania. Faculty sponsor: Judith Scheffler
• 2nd place: Kalyn Fox, Eastern Kentucky University. Faculty sponsor: Marcel Robles
• 3rd place: Claire Arritola, University of Miami; Faculty sponsors: Larissa Ramos and Adina Sanchez Garcia
  
  As 1st place winner, Joshua will receive $300; as 2nd place winner, Kalyn will receive $200; and as 3rd place winner, Claire will receive $100.

The contest was open to undergraduate business students who worked independently to write a response to this year's case and whose entries were submitted by their instructors. Entrants responded to the case with two documents: (1) a one-page memo detailing a strategy for developing a working relationship with the community; and (2) a memo to the writer's instructor describing the rationale for the response (used for information only; not evaluated).

The selection process was a rigorous one. First, all student entries were coded so readers would not know the identity of the student authors, instructors, or schools. Next, the ABC Student Competition Committee members worked independently to read and rank all entries and identify their most highly regarded entries. Finally, six business professionals also worked independently to read and rank the most highly regarded entries and to identify the contest winners. All readers used a holistic scale similar to that used for the GMAT to rank entries.

ABC Student Awards Committee for 2009

• Fiona Barnes
• Cindy Drexel
• Slavica Kodish
• Deborah Roebuck
• Kris Pickering
• William Sharbrough
• Willian Wardrope
• Ann Wilson
  

Businessperson Judges for the Writing Contest for 2009

• J. Michael Mooney, Chairman, MLG, Wisconsin
• Kim Wier, Director of Training and Leadership Development, Etech, Texas
• Mary Kattreh, Michigan
• Robert Dean, Entrepreneur, Wisconsin
• Sunni Williams, Communications Manager, Mattress Firm, Texas
  

The ABC Student Awards Committee thanks everyone who promoted the contest, who encouraged students to submit their work, who read and evaluated entries, or who helped in other ways to make this year's contest a success! Thank you!