The Association of Washington Business (AWB) has received several national awards for its coalition building efforts, Web site and magazine.

Washington Business Magazine received a second consecutive Award of Merit from the American Chamber of Commerce Executives (ACCE). ACCE judges magazines from hundreds of state and local chambers throughout the nation and the competition is very stiff. “We are very proud of the progress our magazine has made after only two years in circulation,” said Don Brunell, president of AWB. “This Award of Merit is a great stepping stone for future success with our magazine.”

ACCE also presented AWB with an Award of Excellence for its coalition building in 2003. “Over the last two years, our organization’s ability to unite the business community has shown great success. It is nice to be recognized for what we have done thus far,” Brunell added.

The judges were particularly impressed by AWB’s work with the Coalition of Washington Business Organizations (COWBO). In 2002, AWB received an ACCE Award of Merit for the Washington Alliance for a Competitive Economy (WashACE). WashACE is the partnership AWB developed with the Washington Roundtable and the Washington Research Council to promote the state’s competitiveness. Also, AWB’s Web site received an ACCE honorable mention. “Considering the vast amount of quality competition, this is a great achievement,” Brunell said.

In other competitions, Publications Management awarded AWB with a “Magnum Opus Award” honorable mention for 2003. Washington Business Magazine was recognized with awards in “Most Improved Design” and “Most Improved Editorial”. The prestigious Missouri School of Journalism provides judging for the Magnum Opus Awards. The Magnum Opus is a nationwide competition for business publications and industry journals. “I feel very proud of our magazine. In only our second year, we are competing with the likes of Disney and Verizon, it is a great accomplishment,” Brunell said.