Nominations Open for 2012 Silver Crescent Award Honoring South Carolina’s Leading Manufacturers
October 2, 2012
Eleventh annual awards to recognize world-classstandards in innovation, sustainability, workforce engagement,citizenship and performance
STATEWIDE, SC – October 2, 2012 – Nominations are now being accepted for the 2012 Silver Crescent Awards for Manufacturing Excellence, the acclaimed annual program which recognizes the achievements and contributions of South Carolina’s leading manufacturers.
The Silver Crescent Award is the most prestigious awardthat a South Carolina manufacturer can receive. Presented annually bythe Silver Crescent Foundation, its partners and the statewidemanufacturing Community, the Award recognizes the most excellentmanufacturing operations demonstrating superior performance in each of 7Crescents of Excellence. Awards are made in each of three sizecategories: Small (<200 employees), Medium (200-499 employees) andLarge (>500 employees).
Now in its eleventh year, the exclusive annualrecognition program honors manufacturing organizations from across thestate for their citizenship, employee engagement, customer satisfaction,environmental stewardship, innovation, financial performance andcommitment to longevity in South Carolina. Past Silver Crescent Award recipients include such notables as Silver Crescent Awards and Packaging Corporation of America.
A significant change for 2012 nominations is use of an initial Intent to Applyform, due by November 15, 2012, which allows any organization toquickly indicate their interest to apply for honors. This one-page formcan be filled out in under two minutes by any manufacturer orpartner/vendor of a manufacturer, and extends their deadline to submitthe complete application until December 31st.
The nomination process has also been streamlined andreorganized to allow for easier third party nominations, and to enableorganizations with a strong story to tell, but only limited access tostatistical data, to remain competitive in the program, noted TonySmith, president of The Silver Crescent Foundation, which annuallybestows the awards.
For 2012, our evaluation system will review eachnominee’s commitment to community citizenship, employee engagement,customer satisfaction, environmental stewardship, innovation, financialperformance and commitment to longevity, said Smith. Each section ofthe revamped application form has been shortened to capture the mostpertinent information from each candidate company, and letters or quotesof support are encouraged. Our goal is to recognize the best of thebest in South Carolina manufacturing – whether large, medium or small incompany size.
To be eligible for honors, companies must submit theIntent to Apply form, indicating their decision to proceed with theprocess, by November 15, 2012. Once submitted, the Intent form will beacknowledged by the Silver Crescent Foundation and a nomination packagesent to each candidate company. Application forms and guidelines arealso available online at www.SaluteToManufacturing.org. All nominations must be submitted by December 31, 2012. Nominationsmay be submitted by companies directly or by third parties, and will beevaluated for completeness and ranked by a review panel from the SilverCrescent Foundation based solely on responses received.
The top companies will be honored on March 21, 2013 at the Salute To Manufacturing Awards Luncheon at the TD Convention Center in Greenville, South Carolina. Awards willbe presented in the Small, Midsized and Large Manufacturer Categories. A private best-practices forum will precede the luncheon.
Presented annually by The Silver Crescent Foundation, the 2012 Silver Crescent Awards are co-sponsored by CPM Federal Credit Union, and by SC Biz News, LLC. Sponsorship opportunities are now available for the awards luncheon and best-practices forum in March, Smith noted.
To encourage eligible manufacturers to participate inthe 2012 program, a broad-based awareness campaign has been launched inmedia markets across the state and via Internet channels, viralmarketing and grassroots public relations efforts, added programdirector Sharon Halsey of the Silver Crescent Foundation.
We want to encourage as many eligible manufacturers, orindividuals with supplier-partners to manufacturers, to considernominating a manufacturer for consideration in this important honorsprogram, said Halsey. By being nominated, they can benefit fromexpanded awareness of their organization, networking with topmanufacturing executives, positive employee morale and regional/nationalrecognition. It’s a great opportunity for Palmetto Statemanufacturers.
To learn more about the Silver Crescent Awards or the Salute to Manufacturing Luncheon, or to nominate an organization, visit www.SaluteToManufacturing.org or contact Sharon Halsey at (803) 657-6183.
