By Charlie Laughtland
BDA blog editor

The results are in for this year’s BDA Supplier Awards, voted on by BDA sales, product development, logistics and operations staff. Comments are courtesy of Rick Rayl, BDA vice president of purchasing and operations.

2011 Supplier of the Year – Alpha Shirt
“Alpha is an exceptionally well-run, QCA-accredited soft goods supplier with a robust website that makes our job so much easier. They provide a broad assortment of exclusive and private label brands and their distribution structure is top-notch. Beyond that, it’s their unwavering reliability and responsiveness that’s made Alpha an indispensable asset and an extension of our company.”

2011 Supplier Innovation of the Year – Pro Specialties Group
“Our sports teams rely on Pro Specialties Group for custom merchandise on a daily basis. We leverage their innovative design experience to build a wide range of distinctive products. Like BDA, Pro Specialties fosters a creative culture and a commitment to exploring new ways to help clients achieve their branded merchandise objectives.”

2011 Account Manager of the Year – Cristina Ysselstein, LogoMark
“Cristina consistently delivers personalized, thoroughly researched product presentations. She makes our sales teams feel like we’re her only client. LogoMark has the highest safety standards in the industry and Cristina really reflects that commitment to quality.”

2011 Customer Services Rep of the Year – Julie Orriny, Alpha Shirt
“This marks Julie’s fifth time receiving this award. No one else has won it more than once. As much as we’d like to honor other reps, votes for Julie continue to come in so overwhelmingly. She really knows our people, anticipates our needs and always fights to get us the most competitive pricing.”