SAN FRANCISCO -- The American Business Awards presented the We Card program with a Bronze Stevie Award in the Best Training Site website category at the 11th Annual American Business Awards.
The 2013 Steve award is recognition of We Card's high-end eLearning that includes role-playing, innovative gaming exercises and federal and state laws and regulations to teach retail managers and frontline employees to prevent the sale of tobacco and other age-restricted products.
The program has also earned accolades including a 2011 MarCom Gold Award and a 2009 "M" Award from the American Marketing Association.
The We Card program is entering its 18th year with a call to action for retailers, encouraging greater attention to preventing tobacco and other age-restricted product sales to minors. It has become one of the most successful responsibility efforts in America. The program, often recognized by its yellow and red signage that warns "Under 18, No Tobacco: We Card," has been providing training and educational materials to retailers since 1995.
"We Card and all that it has accomplished is a significant achievement for our industry," said Peter Larkin, president and CEO of the National Grocers Association and founding board member of We Card. "I'm pleased that retailers stepped up and joined in a unified 18-year effort to prevent minors from getting access to tobacco products."
As part of its campaign to prevent underage access to age-restricted products, the organization also educates retailers nationwide about state laws that restrict e-cigarette sales to minors.
We Card president Doug Anderson credited the nation's retailers for the win. "We accept this award on behalf the nation's retailers who use our training," he said. "It's a shot in the arm and great recognition for us, but the winners are really the retailers who use our training and work to prevent age-restricted product sales to minors."
September is We Card Awareness Month, during which We Card encourages retailers to train employees, equip their stores with We Card materials and raise awareness of and compliance with federal and state laws and regulations. National and state level retail associations have activated their retail members during Awareness Month--prompting awareness of the need for effective training and education.
The We Card Program Inc. is a national nonprofit organization serving the nation's retailers of tobacco and other age-restricted products. Individual retail establishments as well as large retail chains use We Card's educational and training services to comply with federal and state laws while working to prevent underage tobacco and age-restricted product sales. National and state retail trade associations, government officials, community groups and others also support We Card's ongoing efforts to educate and train retailers.
Stevie Awards are conferred in four programs: The American Business Awards, The International Business Awards, the Stevie Awards for Women in Business and the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service. A fifth program, the Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards, will debut this month. Honoring organizations of all types and sizes and the people behind them, the Stevies recognize outstanding performances in the workplace worldwide.
All organizations operating in the United States are eligible to submit nominations for The American Business Awards--public and private, for-profit and nonprofit, large and small.
Organizations of all sizes and industries submitted more than 3,200 applications this year for consideration in a wide range of categories, including Most Innovative Company of the Year, Management Team of the Year, Best New Product or Service of the Year, Corporate Social Responsibility Program of the Year and Executive of the Year, among others.
Judges of the Stevie awards come from all areas of marketing, advertising, training and digital communications.
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