2008 Student Writing Contest Winners

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

• 1st place: Nicole Thomas, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida. Faculty sponsor: Fiona Barnes
• 2nd place: Sonia Camacho, Georgia State University; Faculty sponsor: Jan R. Costello
• 3rd place: Ashley Kresky, West Chester University; Faculty sponsor: Judith Scheffler

As 1st place winner, Nicole will receive $300; as 2nd place winner, Sonia will receive $200; and as 3rd place winner, Ashley 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 2008

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

Businessperson Judges for the Writing Contest for 2008

• Jennifer Berilla Egan, Geoscience Consultant, Newark, Delaware
• Nancy Erickson, MBA, President, Erickson & Associates, Consulting, Boulder, Colorado
• Randall Wells, Database Administrator, Sierra Health, Las Vegas, Nevada
• Gary Weibert, Database Administrator, Sierra health, Las Vegas, Nevada
• Judy Cartwright, Director, Peridot Associates Ltd., Pukekohe, Auckland, New Zealand
• Denitia Hays Blount, Language Therapist, Peachtree City, Georgia

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!

2008 Case