Keep America Meeting Wins Coveted ISES Big Apple Awards for Best Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Initiative and Best Use of Social Media

New York, NY – July 2, 2009 – The industry-wide Keep America Meeting campaign was celebrated by the NY Metro Chapter of International Special Events Society (ISES) earlier this week, when ISES judges awarded Keep America Meeting two Big Apple Awards for Best Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Initiative and Best Use of Social Media. The ISES 8th Annual New York Metro Chapter Big Apple Awards recognize honor and excellence in the special events industry.

“It is only fitting that Keep America Meeting won two ISES NY Metro Big Apple Awards because it was such an incredible initiative,” said Jennifer Quinones, CSEP, President ISES NY Metro Chapter. “Keep America Meeting took action at a time when the meetings and events industry was at a crossroads. Keep America Meeting went above just promoting meetings and events; they took a stand to protect our industry, secure jobs and ¬¬bolster our national economy.”

Keep America Meeting was launched in February 2009 to support the meeting industry. The petition drew widespread support from individuals in all 50 states, and even around the world. In an impressive show of industry unity, more than 21,000 signatures from the Keep America Meeting online petition were delivered by the U.S. Travel Association to the Senate Commerce Committee.

Keep America Meeting also activated its audience to support the U.S. Travel Association‘s first Travel Rally Day on May 12th, leveraging the power of social media to connect the community simultaneously live and online.

“We are thrilled Keep America Meeting won two ISES NY Metro Big Apple Awards,” said Lee Rubenstein, President and COO of TBA Global, the agency that originated the Keep America Meeting campaign. “We are proud to have created a program of such great significance to the industry, and hope that the members of ISES and the many individuals who promoted the campaign take pride in this award.”

“In addition to the ongoing promotion by TBA Global, ISES and official endorsing organizations, we would like to thank two individuals who worked to spread the news through social channels,“ added Rubenstein. “Terri Hardin and Rachel Globus worked tirelessly to keep the dialogue fresh and continual through Facebook and Twitter.”

The industry is encouraged to join Keep America Meeting through its online social networks on Facebook , LinkedIn or Twitter to hear industry updates.

Keep America Meeting was created by TBA Global in partnership with the U.S. Travel Association with support from the Event Marketing Institute. It is endorsed by a non-partisan group of associations, publishers and companies. A complete list of endorsers is listed on www.keepamericameeting.org.

About TBA GLOBAL
Founded in 1994, TBA Global (www.tbaglobal.com) is an award winning, privately-held agency that creates nontraditional marketing and communications programs, events and meetings for high-profile businesses and associations worldwide. TBA Global is ranked in Advertising Age Magazine’s Top Promotion and Event Marketing Agencies (April 27, 2009). TBA Global has 18 offices in North America and the U.K.

ABOUT ISES
The International Special Events Society (ISES) represents over 7,200 event professionals in 50 chapters around the world. The NY Metro Chapter is the 2nd largest chapter with more than 350 members in the tri-state area. Founded in 1987, ISES New York Metro Chapter is celebrating its 20th anniversary. The Mission of ISES is to educate, advance and promote the special events industry and its network of professionals along with related industries. To that end, ISES members are the most trusted source for bringing together innovative, knowledgeable and professional special event services that consistently deliver high-quality events and tangible results. For additional information about ISES, please visit www.ises.com.

U.S. Travel Association
The U.S. Travel Association is the national, non-profit organization representing all components of the $740 billion travel industry. U.S. Travel’s mission is to promote and facilitate increased travel to and within the United States. For more information, visit www.ustravel.org.