By WC&P Staff
The 2006 International Bottled Water Association (IBWA) Convention and Trade Show, operating under the theme Everyone’s A Winner, was held in Las Vegas from October 3-6, 2006. The state-of-the-art exhibits showcased premier processing, packaging, equipment and services available to the global bottled water industry. Training and insights were provided in addition to the opportunity to exchange ideas, challenge practices and network with industry peers.
Convention attendees had the opportunity to earn up to 23 Continuing Education Units (CEUs) required of all Certified Plant Operators during 22 educational sessions. Topics included safety, quality and regulations, plant and production processes, marketing, advertising and public relations, politics and government relations, lab and analytical sciences and container and recycling issues.
The General Session of the Board contained a full agenda of award announcements. The Aqua Awards were presented in recognition of excellence within the industry for advertising and public relations programs produced by member companies. The winners were chosen in small, medium and large categories.
The Best of Show Award was presented to Mountain Valley Spring Company for its outstanding creative contributions.
Charles Campbell, Clear Mountain Spring Water (small), Dave (D.J.) Miskowiec of Culligan Bottled Water (medium) and Thomas Carter of DS Waters/Sierra Springs (large) received the 2006 Route Salesperson of the Year Award. They have demonstrated an unyielding work ethic and strong interpersonal skills while maintaining successful bottled water delivery routes.
The Plant Manager of the Year award recognizes the tremendous impact plant managers have in achieving business goals and objectives for bottlers. It was presented to Gabriel Bravard of Culligan Water Conditioning.
Introduced this year, the prestigious Director’s Award recognizes members whose advocacy, commitment and actions on behalf of the organization and industry have achieved clear and measurable results. The two recipients of the inaugural award are Shayron Barnes-Selby (DS Waters of Ameri-ca, LP) and Jan Saxman (Shenandoah Valley Water Company).
In addition, several awards were given for different media types:
Print
Mountain Valley Spring Company (small/medium) and Nestlé Waters North America, Inc. (large)
Special promotions and public relations
Crystal Mountain Natural Spring Water (small/medium) and DS Waters of America, LP (large)
Vehicle advertising
Crystal Mountain Natural Spring Water
Package and label design
Oasis Pure Water Factory, LLC (small/medium) and DS Waters of America, LP (large)
Website
Mountain Valley Spring Company (small/medium) and CCDA Waters (large)
Point-of-purchase
Nestlé Waters North America, Inc.
Outdoor advertising
Crystal Mountain Natural Spring Water (small/medium) and Nestle Waters North America, Inc. (large)
Supplier advertising and marketing
Whatman, Inc.
Television
Crystal Mountain Natural Spring Water (small) and Nestlé Waters North America, Inc. (large)
Radio
Crystal Springs Bottled Water (small/medium) and Crystal Rock, LLC (large)