Las Vegas Meetings by Harrah’s Entertainment Wins Big at 6th Annual American Business Awards
Source: Harrah's Entertainment Inc.
Jun 23, 2008 - 4:49:26 PM
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Las Vegas Meetings by Harrah’s Entertainment Wins Big at 6th Annual American Business Awards SM
Las Vegas Meetings by Harrah’s Entertainment took home two Stevie® Awards in the
Sales and Management categories, respectively, at the 2008 American Business
Awards on Thursday, June 12 in New York City. The company’s Eastern Region Sales
Team was recognized as Best Sales Team and National Sales Manager Patrick
Espinoza was recognized as Best Sales Director or Manager. In addition, the
organization was recognized with finalist status in several company and
individual categories.
For nearly every quarter since the inception of
Las Vegas Meetings by Harrah’s Entertainment three years ago, the division’s
Eastern Region Sales Team, headed by Director of Sales Todd Gagnon, has finished
as the top-performing team. In 2007, the group achieved 132.31 percent of their
goal, exceeding the revenue goal by nearly $34 million. Such an achievement
would not have been possible if this team did not successfully function as a
single, cohesive unit.
“We are extremely proud of the Eastern Region
Sales Team. Their superior results start with an amazing “can do” attitude and a
refusal to fail or even to come in second place,” said Michael Massari, vice
president of meeting sales and operations for Las Vegas Meetings by Harrah’s
Entertainment. “Todd has an inspired group of individuals who all thrive on the
culture of teamwork and success that he has created. Together, they face the
world with the staunch belief that nothing but the best will
do.”
Likewise, National Sales Manager Patrick Espinoza – recognized as
Best Sales Director or Manager in this year’s awards – is consistently the top
performer out of over 50 salespeople, far exceeding his sales goals. In one
quarter alone, Espinoza achieved an astonishing 512.87% of his goal, booking
more in those three months than he was budgeted for the entire
year!
“Patrick has been a force to be reckoned with on our team for a
number of years,” said Vice President of Sales Jordan Clark. “He is continually
willing to do whatever is needed, and at every turn, he has excelled. Not only
is he an extraordinarily successful salesperson, but he is just a really great
guy, and is well-liked and well-respected by both customers and colleagues – a
true measure of one’s success. We are very proud of his
accomplishments.”
Las Vegas Meetings by Harrah’s Entertainment was also
recognized with finalist nods in a number of additional categories,
including:
- Las
Vegas Meetings by Harrah’s Entertainment – Best Sales Organization/Department
- Las
Vegas Meetings by Harrah’s Entertainment – Best Management Team
- Michael Massari, vice president of meeting sales &
operations – Best Executive
- Jordan Clark, vice president of sales – Best Sales
Executive
- Todd
Gagnon, Director of Sales, Eastern Region – Best Sales Director or Manager
- Wendy Bennecke, Director of Sales, Midwest Region – Best
Sales Director or Manager
- Jennifer Abdinoor, Director of Sales, Western Region –
Best Sales Director or Manager
- Amy
Dosa, Sales Marketing Manager-Las Vegas – Best
Marketer
The awards were presented during
ceremonies at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City. The ceremonies were
hosted by Cheryl Casone of Fox Business Network and broadcast nationwide on
radio by the Business TalkRadio Network.
Stevie Awards were presented
in over 40 categories including Best Overall Company, Best Executive, and Best
Corporate Social Responsibility Program. More than 2,600 entries from companies
of all sizes and in virtually every industry, including such notable and
respected companies as AT&T, Carlson Restaurants, Chevron, Cisco, DHL
Express, E*Trade Financial, Eastman Kodak Company, FedEx Kinko’s, Hewlett
Packard, Hormel Foods, Microsoft, salesforce.com, Sprint, StarCite, Starwood
Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, The Schwan Food Company, Toshiba America,
Travelocity, Travelport GDS, United States Postal Service, and Wyeth, among
others – were submitted for consideration.
Members of the Awards'
Board of Distinguished Judges & Advisors and their staffs selected Stevie
winners from among the Finalists. Finalists were chosen by business
professionals nationwide during preliminary judging in April and May. Details
about The American Business Awards and the list of finalists and winners are
available at www.stevieawards.com/aba.
About Harrah's
Entertainment Inc.
Harrah's Entertainment, Inc., is the world's
largest provider of branded casino entertainment. Since its beginning in Reno,
Nevada nearly 70 years ago, Harrah's has grown through development of new
properties, expansions and acquisitions, and now owns or manages casinos on four
continents. The company's properties operate primarily under the Harrah's®,
Caesars® and Horseshoe® brand names; Harrah's also owns the London Clubs
International family of casinos. Harrah's Entertainment is focused on building
loyalty and value with its customers through a unique combination of great
service, excellent products, unsurpassed distribution, operational excellence
and technology leadership. More information about Harrah's Entertainment is
available at its website: www.harrahs.com.
About Las Vegas Meetings
by Harrah's Entertainment
The 2005 merger between Harrah's
Entertainment and Caesars Entertainment launched a groundbreaking philosophy
aimed at offering more choices to meeting planners by unifying the meeting sales
and operations of seven distinctive Las Vegas properties into a single city-wide
operation under one leadership umbrella. This unique concept led to the creation
of Las Vegas Meetings by Harrah's Entertainment, which comprises some of Las
Vegas' most notable properties: Bally's Las Vegas, Caesars Palace, Flamingo Las
Vegas, Harrah's Las Vegas, Imperial Palace Las Vegas, Paris Las Vegas and Rio
All-Suite Hotel & Casino. The combination offers 1 million square feet of
cumulative meeting space, 20,000 guest rooms and suites, and countless options
for dining, entertainment and leisure. The distinct advantage for the meeting
planner is the convenience and leverage of one contact and one contract,
combined with the access and freedom to enjoy the wide variety of venues and
amenities across all seven Las Vegas properties.
Property
Summaries:
Bally's Las Vegas
• 2,814 guest rooms and
suites • 175,000 sq. ft. of meeting space
Caesars
Palace
• 3,348 guest rooms and suites • 240,000 sq. ft. of
meeting space
(4,013 in 2009)
(300,000 in
2009)
Flamingo Las Vegas
• 3,565 guest rooms and suites
• 73,000 sq. ft. of meeting space
Harrah's Las Vegas
•
2,550 guest rooms and suites • 25,000 sq. ft. of meeting space
Imperial Palace Las Vegas
• 2,640 guest rooms and suites
• 40,000 sq. ft. of meeting space
Paris Las Vegas
•
2,916 guest rooms and suites • 140,000 sq. ft. of meeting
space
Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino
• 2,563 guest suites
• 163,000 sq. ft. of meeting space
For information on Las Vegas Meetings by Harrah's
Entertainment call 877-MEET-702 or email lvmeetings@harrahs.com. Visit our
website at www.lvmeetingsbyharrahs.com.
About The Stevie
Awards
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. Honoring
companies of all types and sizes and the people behind them, the Stevies
recognize outstanding performances in business worldwide. Learn more about The
Stevie Awards at www.stevieawards.com.
Global Sponsor of the 2008 Stevie
Awards is Dow Jones. Supporting sponsors of The 2008 American Business Awards
include FIS Softpro, High Performance Technologies Inc., John Hancock, RCN
Corporation, Richardson, and Ultimate Software. Media sponsors include the
Business TalkRadio Network, CRM Advocate, and Human Resource Executive.
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