For the second time in three years, Today’s Garden Center earned the American Society of Business Publication Editors’ (ASBPE) national “Multi-Platform Presentation of the Year” honor. Editors Richard Jones, Sara Tambascio and Jennifer Polanz were recognized for the brand’s “Steal This Idea” program.

“Steal This Idea,” a feature that shares successful ideas gleaned from independent garden centers, has grown from a short feature in Today’s Garden Center eNews to a year-round program incorporating the print magazine, webinars and trade shows and conferences across the U.S.

ASBPE’s “Multi-Platform Presentation of the Year” is one of two premier digital content awards, along with “Website of the Year.” Today’s Garden Center also won the award in 2009 and was a runner up in 2010.

Other Meister Media award winners this year at ASBPE:

• Greenhouse Grower, Today’s Garden Center sister publication, garnered ASBPE’s Silver Award for best “Special Supplement.” Managing editor Kevin Yanik’s “Peat Report” addressed both sides of the controversy surrounding the sustainability of peat moss as a horticultural growing media.
• Three Meister graphic designers won National AZBEE Design Awards. Brad Kish earned a Silver Award for his work on the “Greenhouse Grower Peat Report Cover,” Patrick Brickman collected a Gold Award for “Today’s Garden Center – Contents Page,” and Tyler Hatch earned a Gold Award for the Computer Generated Front Cover of Cotton International Magazine’s “Meetings of the Minds” Issue. The competition in the latter category alone pitted Cotton International’s cover against 26 other National finalists. Meister Media’s Creative Services design team has been recognized 13 times since 1999 for excellence in print design for business publications.

The Organizing Committee for one of cotton’s premier annual events has reached an agreement with Meister Media Worldwide that will facilitate the delivery of timely, high-level industry intelligence to cotton professionals around the world. By designating Cotton International and Cotton Grower magazines the official publications of the International Cotton Advisory Committee’s (ICAC) 69th Plenary Meeting (Sept. 20-25 in Lubbock, Texas), the Organizing Committee has enhanced its ability to provide critical industry information through integrated media to all sectors of the cotton industry across the globe.

As part of the agreement, Cotton International magazine will publish a series of pre-event Special Edition e-newsletters investigating key topics from among the Meeting’s major sessions, including interviews with session moderators and panelists. In addition, both Cotton International and Cotton Grower magazines will provide on-site coverage of Plenary Meeting events from the host city of Lubbock, Texas, including video and in-depth reporting on issues driving the revitalization of the global cotton market.

“Meister Media has offered to provide an impressive array of coverage of all aspects of the 69th ICAC Plenary Meeting,” says Dean Ethridge, chair of the ICAC Organizing Committee. “Based on these considerations, the Organizing Committee is pleased to grant them the status of The Official Media Partner of the 69th Plenary Meeting in Lubbock. The Committee understands that their coverage will come under the auspices of both their Cotton International and Cotton Grower magazines. A global outreach is essential for informing about an ICAC Plenary Meeting. We are counting on Meister Media to help provide this outreach.”

“We’re honored to be The Official Media Partner of ICAC’s 69th Plenary Meeting,” says Gary T. Fitzgerald, Meister Media Worldwide CEO. “ICAC is a catalyst not only for collaboration, but for constructive change. This agreement gives our domestic and global audience an insider’s look at that collaborative process, and helps us fulfill our mission of delivering actionable information that allows our readers to operate their businesses more efficiently and profitably.”

Terry Townsend, Executive Director of ICAC, added, “I welcome this coordination between the Organizing Committee and Meister Media, and I appreciate the support of Cotton International and Cotton Grower magazines in helping to raise awareness of issues affecting the world of cotton.”

To learn more about ICAC’s 69th Plenary Meeting, please visit http://www.icac.org.

Cotton industry professionals who want to receive weekly newsletters from Cotton International and Cotton Grower can sign up for a free subscription at http://cotton247.com/subscribe/.

To meet ever-growing market demands as well as complement its strategy of offering readers and clients a complete suite of integrated informational and marketing solutions, Meister Media Worldwide (MMW) announces the creation of the Meister Events Group.

Meister Events will provide logistical, marketing and event management to MMW’s current stable of trade shows, summits and conferences, and work to develop new in-person opportunities across the company’s specialty agriculture markets. The group will accelerate the blending of MMW’s live-events with print and eMedia offerings to provide fully integrated marketing and business-building solutions.

Leading MMW’s event group is Jeff Fenner. Fenner, with 14 years of business-to-business media and event management, has spent the past two years with Meister’s Clear Window integrated solutions group.

MMW’s current event offerings reach thousands of specialty agriculture professionals across the globe and serve as a source for unique content for the markets served. Key offerings include the 2010 Florida Citrus Show and 2010 Florida Ag Expo in the U.S., the International Tomato Congress and International Cucurbit Congress in Mexico and FCI Trade Summits in Latin America, Europe, Africa, and Asia.

“This is another step in our continued growth as an integrated media company serving these specialty markets around the world,” said Michael DeLuca, president of Meister Media Worldwide. “Even as our eMedia capabilities grow, the need for face-to-face learning and networking experiences for our reader and clients have met high demand.”