After winning the Creative Marketing & Communications Award at last year’s inaugural TECNA Innovation Awards, WEtech Alliance has been named a finalist in the 2020 TECNA Innovation Awards in the “Major Impact on Tech Community” category for our Nerd Olympics.

As you can see below, we had a lot of fun making our submission video.

Learn more about the impact Nerd Olympics has had on the Windsor-Essex and Chatham-Kent Tech Community in our FY2019 Annual Impact Report.

2020 TECNA Innovation Awards Finalists & Winners

Santa Ana, Calif., July 23, 2020 –  The Technology Councils of North America (TECNA), which represents over 60 technology associations across the U.S. and Canada, today announced the winners of its second-annual Innovation Awards. The awards program recognizes and honors tech council staff and team members who are integral to develop and implement innovative and impactful work on behalf of a tech association. The 2020 Innovation Awards can be viewed on TECNA’s YouTube Channel.

The TECNA Innovation Awards celebrates 5 award winners along with seventeen finalists in five categories. A panel of judges was formed to evaluate the nominations, and awards were presented online in a virtual awards presentation by Cara Snow, TECNA Awards Chair from Technology Association of Oregon, and Doug Robertson, TECNA Board Chair from Venn Innovation in New Brunswick.

“This year’s Innovation Awards reaffirm the extraordinary talent and creativity of the people that work across the TECNA network. They are the ones that develop and deliver innovative, impactful programs and services for our member companies,” said Doug Robertson, TECNA Board Chair. “It seems only fitting in this difficult year, when so many of our programs and activities have gone virtual, that we celebrate the hard work of all the nominees, finalists and winners with a virtual awards ceremony.”

Full list of 2020 Innovation Awards winners and finalists:

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Creative Marketing & Communications

Recognizing one or more team members who developed innovative marketing, communications or social media strategies strengthening the brand and community engagement of the tech council.

Winner – TechPoint – Team Members: Ashlee Wilson Fujawa, Cheryl Reed, Ann Kellison, Merillat Flowers, Lauren Peterson

Finalist – Pittsburgh Technology Council – Team Member: Jonathan Kersting
Finalist – Greater Nashville Technology Council – Team Members: Alex Curtis, Cara McCarthy, Jacqui Logan, Dominique Butts

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Public Policy Advocacy

Recognizing one or more team members who have led creative efforts on behalf the tech council in the area of public policy advocacy. 

Winner – Greater Nashville Technology Council – Team Member: Alex Curtis

Finalist – Arizona Technology Council – Team Members: Dianne McCallister, Jason Bagley, Ron Schott, Jeff Sales, Rachel Aja, Steve Zylstra

Finalist – Knoxville Technology Council – Team Members: Brandon Bruce

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Talent Pipeline and Workforce Development

Recognizing one or more team members who have developed innovative workforce or talent pipeline initiatives.

Winner – Massachusetts Technology & Leadership Council – Team Members: Tom Hopcroft, Nayla Daly, Ruth Morris

Finalist – Greater Nashville Technology Council – Team Members: Jacqui Logan, Dominique Butts, John Anderson, Meg Chamblee, Suzi Earhart, Joanne Eckton

Finalist – Tech San Diego – Team Members: Jarett Hartman, Sara Spiva, Kevin Carroll

Finalist – Technology Association of Oregon – Team Member: Cara Snow

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Major Impact on Tech Community

Recognizing one or more team members who have made a substantial impact on the tech community on behalf of the tech council.

Winner – Technology Association of Oregon – Team Member: Skip Newberry

Finalist – Arizona Technology Council – Team Members: Steven G. Zylstra, Jeremy Babendure, Goldstein, Jill Brownley, Deborah Zack, Jeff Sales, Jamie Neilson, Ron Schott, Don Ruedy, Don Rodriguez, AZTC Board of Directors

Finalist – WEtech Alliance – Team Members: John-Marc Vachon and Michelle Teno-Wachter

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Initial COVID Response Plans/Action

A special recognition to showcase the top initiatives of our member councils responding and adapting to the COVID-19 Crisis in Q1 & Q2 2020 – to celebrate innovative work and share the best practices with our members.

Winner – VIATEC – Team Members: Dan Gunn, Tessa Bousfield, Georgia Cowell, Michelle Gaetz, Forrester Whitney, Robert Bennett, Paula Parker, Eve Olynyk, Dominc Ohl, Lindsay Richmond

Finalist – Communitech – Team Members: Saj Jamal, Andy Dedlow, Anthony Ramsay, Candace Beres, Ian McDonald, Janelle Chalouhi, Rob Carey, Sacha Bell, Megan Gallinger, Michele English, Lauren Camara, Brandy Duffield

Finalist – Technology Association of Oregon – Team Members: Skip Newberry, Cara Snow, Rylee O’Brien, Justin Martinez, Ruthie Ditzler, Elizabeth Allen

Finalist – TechPoint – Team Members: Mike Langellier, Sharon Tuttle, Lauren Petersen, Jennifer Merrell, Roger Shuman, Jordan Isaacs, Ashlee Fujawa, Jara Rowe, Joshua Hall, Cheryl Reed, Merillat Flowers, Al Carroll, Kat Locascio, Destiny Moore, Joe Perin, Kat Locascio, Ann Kellison, Anna Rauh

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About the Technology Councils of North America
The Technology Councils of North America (TECNA) represents approximately 60 IT and Technology trade organizations that, in turn, represent more than 22,000 technology-related companies in North America. TECNA serves its members and the industry through its strong peer-to-peer network and its regional initiatives to raise the visibility and viability of the technology industry. This is accomplished by empowering regional technology organizations and serving as their collective voice in growing the North American technology economy. More information on TECNA can be found at: www.tecna.org or @techcouncils on Twitter.