FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE December 8, 1999, Great Falls, Virginia. Debra Faraone, president of The Elements, Inc., has been named a Nominee in the Working Woman Entrepreneurial Excellence Awards 2001. This nomination is an acknowledgement of extraordinary achievement and commitment to furthering the advancement of women business owners. Nominees are selected on the merits of their ambition, ingenuity and sheer determination in building a business that will shape the future for other aspiring women. From the field of nominees, the best in the mid-Atlantic region will be selected in February 2000. Regional winners will go on to compete in the National Entrepreneurial Excellence Awards in Santa Monica, CA on April 2, 2001. WOMEN'S BUSINESS ENTERPRISE NATIONAL COUNCIL (WBENC) TO SPOTLIGHT 11 WOMEN BUSINESS OWNERS AS PART OF SECOND ANNUAL SALUTE TO WOMEN'S BUSINESS ENTERPRISES (WBEs) WASHINGTON, D.C. (February 11, 2000) - The Women's Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC) and its women's organization partners nationwide have selected 11 women's business enterprises (WBEs) to profile as part of its Second Annual Salute to WBEs: The Enterprising Economy. The gala dinner and fund-raiser will be held on March 1 at The Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, DC. "These eleven WBES, like many of the 9.1 million U.S. based women business owners, have demonstrated their commitment, expertise and professionalism consistently and successfully in whatever industry they have chosen to do business," said Susan Phillips Bari, president of WBENC. "Our Salute provides a platform to recognize the efforts of these business owners, and through them, all of the WBEs certified by WBENC and its national network of women's organizations." The women's business enterprises selected by WBENC in 2000 are: The Elements - Debbie Faraone, president, owns and operates the corporate marketing, creative merchandising and specialty gifts company she founded In 1991. The company provides full administration of service programs including corporate catalogs, retirement, incentive and recognition/awards programs, and premiums, giveaways and employee gifts. WBENC, the nation's leading third-party certifier of businesses owned and operated by women, requires that 51 percent of the business be owned and operated by a woman. Established in 1997, WBENC also requires a site visit as part of the certification process. Today, WBENC provides purchasing managers with access to nearly 2,000 certified WBEs via an Internet database -- WBENCLink. For its Second Annual Salute to WBES, WBENC will feature the 11 women-owned businesses on its website in "WBE Success Stories" throughout 2000, in WBENC news releases and in the Salute commemorative program book. United Parcel Service and Honda of America are the event's Platinum Benefactors and underwriters of the gala dinner. "Tribute Patrons" include Bank of America, Ford Motor Company, General Motors Corp., GTE, JCPenney and Sears, Roebuck and Co. Other major sponsors are AT&T, Federated Department Stores, Inc., IBM Corporation, Johnson & Johnson, KPMG LLP, PepsiCo, Inc., Philip Morris Management Corp., SOC Communications, Inc., Wal-Mart Stores, American Airlines, Avis Rent-a-Car, Bristol-Myers Squibb, CGU Insurance, The Chase Manhattan Bank, EDS, Texaco, TXU and United Airlines, the official airline of The Second Annual Salute to Women's Business Enterprises: The Enterprising Economy. Linden International and Cornell Technical Services, women's business enterprises, are also sponsors. For more information about WBENC and its activities, call (202) 872-5515, visit the web site at www.wbenc.org or e-mail WBENC at wbecert@aol.com.
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