CHICAGO, IL (April 23, 2018)—The Awards and Personalization Association is pleased to announce that three of its members have achieved professional certification. Through the Awards and Personalization Association certification program, awards and personalization professionals can achieve Certified Recognition Specialist (CRS) or Certified Recognition Master (CRM) designations.

CHICAGO, IL—The Awards and Personalization Association is pleased to announce that the International Marking and Identification Association (IMIA) will host its annual membership meeting in conjunction with the 2018 International Awards & Personalization Expo on February 20-23 in Las Vegas, NV.

Congratulations to the winners of the Awards and Personalization Association's annual Retailer and Supplier Product Contests.

Whether it’s a buzzer beater, penalty kick, first place or consolation finish, youth sports coaches and parents are on the front lines with young athletes for their first taste of winning, losing and instilling a love of and respect for the game.

Members of the Awards and Personalization Association recognized the 2016-2017 Gold Obelisk Recipients at the International Awards & Personalization Expo held recently in Las Vegas. The Gold Obelisk awards were presented at the Awards Gala held February 9th at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino.

With the start of a new year, the Awards and Personalization Association is excited to unveil a new name and identity for its monthly magazine. Formerly Recognition Review, the publication has been renamed Insights! The new name reflects bringing insights into the industry, products, and trends needed for the readers to boldly move forward.

Whether you provide participation awards to your customers or not, we are all affected by the media's negative portrayal of our industry and the tradition of participation awards in youth sports programs.

The Awards and Personalization Association encourages all retailers and suppliers to work with their customers to develop meaningful recognition programs that will benefit children around the world.