BennettAwards.net Blog » 2011

ABSOLUT Vodka Commissions Bennett Custom Award

November 29, 2011 on 1:54 pm

ABSOLUT Vodka, along with Thrillist, recently commissioned Bennett Awards to create a new custom trophies design for their “ABSOLUT Best Bloody in America” contest. Bartenders from across the country submitted their Bloody Mary recipes. Regional competitions were held in each state, and votes were tallied on a special Facebook page created for the award competition by ABSOLUT. The top vote getters from each state then competed in a national competition, and an additional round of voting was held on Facebook to select eight finalists. The eight finalist bartenders then competed against each other in a live competition held November 14, 2011, at the Sons of Essex in New York City. A panel of judges selected the winning recipe. The national award winner was Luis Martinez, the bar manager of “The Patio on Guerra”, in McAllen, Texas, for his “Akita Mary” concoction. For his victory, Martinez received a unique custom trophy designed specifically for this competition by Bennett Awards.

For this unique custom trophies design, Bennett Awards created a pewter sculpture award shaped like a Bloody Mary. The main element of the trophy was a pewter glass with a raised relief of the ABSOLUT Vodka logo and tagline. Other sculptural elements were incorporated into the trophy to create a distinctive Bloody Mary representation, including a stalk of celery, olives, and a lime wedge. The pewter trophy was mounted on a black marble base that featured customized engraving of the ABSOLUT logo, the competition name, and the date of the finals. A closer view of this custom trophy can be seen by clicking the following link: “ABSOLUT Best Bloody Mary in America Custom Award”.

Bennett Designs New Perpetual Award for International Skateboard Competition

November 22, 2011 on 1:28 pm

Bennett Awards recently designed and developed a new custom awards design for a new international skateboard competition. This unique custom recognition awards design is being used as a perpetual trophy for the Adrenalina Skateboard Marathon, a 26.2 mile longboard race that promotes health, fitness, and the Action Sports lifestyle. The competition consists of multiple laps around a series of courses designed to showcase different cities around the world. Host cities in 2011 included New York City; Caguas, Puerto Rico; Plano, Texas, and Hallandale Beach, Florida.

Bennett Awards created a unique, distinctive custom perpetual awards design for this new competition. The top sculpture portion of the recognition award consists of a custom trophy in the shape of a championship cup. These custom cup trophies feature a raised relief of the Adrenalina logo. They are cast in pewter, and feature a brushed pewter finish. The achievement trophy is mounted on a black, hand-crafted hardwood base that holds customized engraved plates listing each year’s winners. Every year, new personalized engraved plates will be affixed to the trophy’s base with the name of that year’s winners. A larger view of this custom trophies design can be seen by clicking the following link: “Adrenalina Skateboard Marathon Custom Awards”.

This year, in 2011, the award winners were Jeff Vyain and Paul Kent (tie) on the men’s side, and Cami Best on the women’s side. The champions hoisted the achievement trophy after the 4^th and final leg of the marathon, held November 6, 2011 in Hallandale Beach, Florida.

Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Honors Aretha Franklin with Bennett Recognition Award

November 15, 2011 on 12:17 pm

The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, in conjunction with Case Western Reserve University, honored Aretha Franklin’s lifetime of contributions to music with a unique Bennett recognition award. The achievement award was presented to Franklin as part of the 16^th Annual Music Masters Series. Each year, the American Music Masters recognition awards honor individuals who have played a key role in the evolution of popular music, and whose stories, accomplishments, and contributions merit wider recognition.

The unique recognition trophy “Harmonize”, which depicts a stylized musical note, was used for these special recognition awards. This distinctive sculpture awards design was created by renowned Bennett Awards artist and sculptor Tom Bennett.

This year’s awards ceremony was held November 5, 2011, at Cleveland’s Palace Theatre in PlayhouseSquare. The three-hour achievement awards ceremony and gala concert featured performances by Lauryn Hill, Chacka Khan, Dennis Edwards of The Temptations, and an encore performance by Aretha Franklin herself.

Aretha Franklin is one of the giants of soul music, and indeed of American pop as a whole. More than any other performer, she epitomized soul at its most gospel-charged. Her astonishing run of late-’60s hits with Atlantic Records–”Respect,” “I Never Loved a Man,” “Chain of Fools,” “Baby I Love You,” “I Say a Little Prayer,” “Think,” “The House That Jack Built,” and several others–earned her the title “Lady Soul,” which she has worn uncontested ever since.

This is the firth straight year that Bennett Awards has produced recognition trophies for this event. Past recipients of unique Bennett achievement awards used for the American Music Masters Award include Janis Joplin, Jerry Lee Lewis, Les Paul, Fats Domino, and Dave Bartholomew.

Intel Uses Bennett Custom Corporate Awards for Educational Program

November 8, 2011 on 3:04 pm

For the 10^th straight year, Intel Corporation utilized a set of Bennett custom corporate awards for their “Intel Schools of Distinction Awards”. This national education awards program, which is sponsored by Intel, honors U.S. schools for implementing innovative math and science programs, and serving as a model for other schools. These schools were recognized for their demonstrated excellence in math and science education and their ability to promote students’ problem solving, critical thinking and collaboration skills, areas called 21^st century skills by educators.

For 2011, 18 schools were selected as finalists for these prestigious custom awards. These schools received a $5,000 grant, along with a trip to Washington D.C. for the Intel Schools of Distinction Awards reception. At this recognition awards presentation, held September 20, 2011, six of these schools were named as Intel Schools of Distinction. These schools received a $10,000 grant and a custom corporate awards designed by Bennett Awards. In addition, one of these six schools, Valley Christian Junior High School, in San Jose, California, also received the prestigious “Star Innovator Award”, which is also a custom corporate awards design created by Bennett Awards.

The unique custom awards design for these prestigious corporate awards is based on a three-dimensional representation of the program’s logo. A larger view of these custom awards can be seen by clicking the following link: “Intel Schools of Distinction Custom Awards”. More details on the overall Intel corporate awards program can be found at “Intel Schools of Distinction Program”.

Bennett Custom Awards Created for Northern California Innocence Project

November 1, 2011 on 12:17 pm

Bennett Awards created a set of unique custom awards for the Northern California Innocence Project’s (NCIP) “Justice for All” Awards Dinner, held June 2, 2011, at the Marriott Hotel in San Jose, California. The “Justice for All” custom recognition awards honor individuals for their exceptional dedication to both freeing innocent people who were wrongfully convicted and incarcerated, and to bringing substantive reform to the system responsible for their unjust imprisonment. Keynote speakers at this achievement awards event included Betty Ann Waters, who pursued college and graduate degrees to help free her wrongfully convicted brother, who served 18 years in prison for a crime he didn’t commit, actress Juliette Lewis, who starred in “Conviction”, a film based on Water’s pursuit for justice, and Pamela Gray, the screenwriter for “Conviction“, which won Best Film at the Boston Film Festival, a National Board of Review “Freedom of Expression Award,” and an NAACP Image Award nomination.

This was the third straight year that the NCIP has used these unique trophies, which are based on a custom awards design created by Bennett Awards artist Alice Bennett. These unique custom recognition awards stand 11” tall, and are crafted in the shape of the NCIP logo, which features a human silhouette cut into a large letter “I”, for innocence. These custom trophies can be seen in more detail by clicking the following link: “NCIP Justice for All Custom Awards“.

At this recognition awards dinner, there were four recipients of these distinctive sculpture awards. Exoneree John Thompson received the Freedom Award. Thompson spent 18 years on Death Row in Louisiana for a murder he did not commit. After his release, Thompson founded “Resurrection after Exoneration” to help exonerees adjust to life outside prison. John Hollway, an attorney and the well-regarded author of “Killing Time: An 18-Year Odyssey from Death Row to Freedom”, which is based on John Thompson’s journey, received the Media Award. The Leadership Award was presented to Betty Ann Waters and the film “Conviction”, which, as described above, chronicled Water’s demonstration of leadership in he fight for justice in her brother’s wrongful conviction case. The fourth custom trophy – the Pro Bono Award – was given to Colley LLP in recognition of their hundreds of pro bono hours, their stellar work on amicus briefs filed on behalf of NCIP and the Innocence Network, and their generous contribution of resources to NCIP cases.