Typically, fall signifies the end of the growing season and time to harvest the results of a summer's worth of hard work. Though we're not technically farmers, we can still take this opportunity to harvest the results of the work we have done and show off our success in a different way!
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Putting your hard work to work for you
Winning a contest is a great way to show off your abilities to your clients! Meryl Snow of Feativities Events knows how a little competition can go a long way to attracting customers. She seeks out and enters several contests each year, and while it is hard work finding and preparing entries for the right contests, Meryl knows that the benefits of winning far out weigh the effort to compete. Her top tips for getting in and succeeding on the contest curcuit?
1. Make sure you pick the right entry for a particular contest. You
have to consider the judging, the content and the scope of the contest
and make sure you pick the event, recipe or idea that best fits the
criteria.
2. DON'T GIVE UP! If you don't win the contest, enter again next year and keep entering until you DO win!
3. Never doubt yourself - your stuff IS good enough to win any contest! If you're putting your best effort out there every day, then you really have nothing to lose, do you?
So what do you do once you've won? There are many creative ways of putting those awards to good use and gaining invaluable benefits from your efforts:
Show 'em off!
Create a dislay area in your office that clients are sure to see as they walk in. You can tell the client how great you are until you're blue in the face, but nothing drives that fact home like a shelf full of shiny, sprakling testimonials!
Pat yourself on the www.back
Posts your accomplishments for all the world to see out on your website. It may seem a little self serving, but you have to make an impression on a potential client even before they pick up the phone to call you.
E-branding
Meryl uses her full
list of accomplishments as part of her email signature in every message
she writes or replies to. This consistency helps to brand these awards
as a part of who she and her company are and the quality of work they
do.
Meryl believes in the old addage "If you don't enter, you can't win!" and she's certainly done just that!
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Start
harvesting YOUR best work and enter one (or all!) of the contests we're
offering this year. You can show off your best ideas and win your share
of over $25,000 in cash and prizes. In addition, the exposure you'll
get through catersource Magazine
and www.catersource.com means that your ideas will inspire and motivate
thousands of caterers from across the country and the world.
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Last year catersource
held it's first ever magazine cover contest. We planned on getting a few submissions and picking one
really great shot to feature on the cover of our January 2007
issue. What happened? We got dozens of really great shots and had to
make a very hard decision to pick just one!
In 2008, we plan
to feature your great food shots on most if not ALL of our 2008 covers.
We know you have a lot of truely stunning shots out there,
so please consider showing them off!
Qualifying photos must:
· Be high resolution digital, 300dpi (2,000x3,000 pixels)
· Be available for use by catersource at no charge
Enter the contest by emailing your photo to artdirector@catersource.com
ENTRY DEADLINE: November 30, 2007
Even photos that are not chosen for a 2008 cover could be used in articles in catersource Magazine, on www.catersource.com or on catersource marketing materials with full credit given to YOU - so no matter what happens, you win!
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Annual Buffet Contest
This annual contest an exciting way to show off the trensetting ideas that you're using in buffet design - from ingeniously simple to large and extravagant. All buffet entries will be judged in the following four categories:
Best of Show
First, second and third places will be awarded to the buffets winning the most popular votes - the top prize is worth more than $6,000!
One winner in each of the following categories will win more than $2,500 in cash and prizes:
Most Innovative: The unique use of materials,
Most Viable Concept: Functional, practical design
Most Creative: Best implementation of a theme
Your single buffet entry can win in multiple categories! Click here to visit our website for complete buffet contest rules, prizes and entry forms.
There is no entry deadline, but space is limited so enter early!
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The hottest trend in marketing is the inspiration for our newest competition. We want to see what you're doing to communicate with clients, build customer loyalty and promote your business.
First, second and third place winners will be awarded more than $5,000 in total cash and prizes. A detailed list of prizes is available on our website, and you can request an official entry form and rules by sending an email to enewslettercontest@catersource.com
ENTRY DEADLINE: January 1, 2008
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2007 ACE Awards
The catersource ACE Award recognizes companies that have shown
leadership and noteworthy achievement in their communities and have
demonstrated professional contributions to the catering industry. Five
winners will be chosen annually on a regional basis, one each from the
Midwest, South, East, West and International regions.
Click here to get ACE Award details and entry forms on our website.
ENTRY DEADLINE: October 31, 2007
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The winners of these contests will be announced at the 2008 Conference & Tradeshow in Las Vegas. Please note the the deadlines vary by contest! Visit our website or click the links above for full details, prizes and official entry forms.
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Gimme a break!
And in keeping with the fall harvest theme...what do you really know about the popular beverage that begins it's life as a bunch of grapes on the vine?
Take this WINE QUIZ and find out!
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Other contests
Our industry is eager to support and recognize accomplishments!
The ICA CATIE Awards
Started in 2004, these prestigious awards are designed
to recognize the achievements of caterers and are open to
entries from caterers in any country in the world.
Event Solutions Spotlight Awards
These prestigious awards are presented annually to top event industry
professionals. Finalists are selected based on their performance during
the previous calendar year.
NACE Awards
NACE recognizes eleven different categories of excellence in it's annual awards, one is sure to fit you!
Go local
Don't forget to look for contests in your area! Your city's chamber of commerce, Jaycees, newspaper and business magazines frequently have recognition programs for local businesses.
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More catersource winners
Our 2007 contests brought out the best in everyone. Check out these winners:
2007 COVER CONTEST Mattison's Sarasota, FL 2007 BUFET CONTESTMOST INNOVATIVE
Catered Occasion
Los Angeles, CA
MOST VIABLE CONCEPT
Bon Appetite
St. Louis, MO
MOST CREATIVE
There was a tie in
this prize category:
Saffron Catering
Guasti, CA
Catered Occasion
Los Angeles, CA
BEST OF SHOW 
Michael's of Denver
Denver, CO
WEBSITE CONTESTFIRST PLACE
A Catered Affair
Thanks to all 2007 contest participants and we hope to see you back again in 2008!
A complete list of all contest winners and participants can be found on our website.
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If you have a story, idea, question or comment, please email newsletter@catersource.com.
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