Winners Selected for 2007 ABC Student Writing Contest

The Student Awards Committee is pleased to announce the winners of the sixth annual ABC Writing Contest:

• 1st place: Julie Ryan, Iowa State University; Anish Dave, faculty sponsor
• 2nd place: Adena Strickland, Arkansas Tech University; Slavica Kodish, faculty sponsor
• 3rd place: Andrea Allan, Arkansas Tech University; Slavica Kodish, faculty sponsor

As 1st place winner, Ryan will receive $300; as 2nd place winner, Strickland will receive $200; and as 3rd place winner, Allan will receive $100. These awards are made possible through the continuing generosity of authors Mary Munter and Paul Argenti and a private donor. We are grateful for these donors’ contributions and we thank them for supporting exemplary student writing.

The contest was open to undergraduate business students who worked independently to write a response to this year’s case and whose entries were submitted by their instructors. The selection process was a rigorous one. First, all student entries were coded so readers would not know the identity of the student authors, instructors, or schools. Next, the ABC Student Competition Committee members worked independently to read and rank all entries and identify their most highly regarded entries. Finally, six business professionals also worked independently to read and rank the most highly regarded entries and to identify the contest winners. All readers used a holistic scale similar to that used for the GMAT to rank entries.

The case study for the 2007 contest was adapted from a case written by Maria Eichmans Cochran at Iowa State University. Thank you, Maria, for submitting the case. Entrants responded to the case with two documents: (1) a one-page memo detailing a strategy for developing a working relationship with the community; and (2) a memo to the writer’s instructor describing the rationale for the response (used for information only; not evaluated).

ABC Student Awards Committee for 2007

Cindy Drexel, Western State College of Colorado
Deborah Roebuck, Kennesaw State University
William Sharbrough, Citadel
Kris Walker, Tennessee Technological University
William Wardrope, University of Central Oklahoma
Ann S. Wilson, Stephen F. Austin State University

Businessperson Judges for the Writing Contest for 2007

Ms. Judy Cartwright, New Zealand
Ms. Jenny Berilla Egan, Delaware
Ms. Nancy Erickson, Colorado
Mr. Karl Keller, Illinois
Mr. Gary Weibert, Nevada
Mr. Randall Wells, Nevada

The ABC Student Awards Committee thanks everyone who promoted the contest, who encouraged students to submit their work, who read and evaluated entries, or who helped in other ways to make this year’s contest a success! The Committee also gives a special thanks to authors Mary Munter and Paul Argenti and to our anonymous donor, whose generosity made it possible for us to recognize the exceptional writing of three students this year. Thank you!