Industry All Star Award

The Industry All Star Award, jointly presented by DMAW AND DMAW Educational Foundation, honors an individual as the “best in our industry.” The award recipient is recognized for behavior that should be emulated throughout the industry. The Industry All Star honoree is known for serving as a role model as well as an ambassador for the Direct Marketing Community – constantly getting the best out of people and continuing to attract the best and the brightest.

Congratulations to our 2024 Award Recipients:

Kathy Swayze
President & Creative Director
Impact Communications

Previous Industry All Star Award Recipients

2023

Elise Buck

2022

Teri Taylor

2021
Alan Rich

2017: Angela Struebing

2019
Polly Papsadore

2017: Angela Struebing

2018
Jim Doyle

2017: Angela Struebing

2017
Angela Struebing

Previous Industry All Star Award Recipients

2016: Tracy Lea

Tracy Lea, CFRE, Vice President, The Harrington Agency, has been a senior consultant in he field of non-profit direct response fundraising for over 30 years. Tracy is an industry expert in telemarketing having spent over 20 years in that field. Now, as a vice president of THA, she works with her agency's clients to develop integrated, channel-agnostic response fundraising campaigns.

Tracy has been an active member of DMAW since 1986 as well as having served on the DMAW board working on various committees as well as serving as DMAW's president in 2005. Tracy was named DMAW's 2012 Volunteer of the Year and served as the Co-Chair of the 2012 Bridge Conference. Tracy remains active with DMAW as a member of the MAXI Award committee.

Tracy has been an avid supporter of the Bridge Conference since its inception. Recently, Tracy stepped down as one of the co-chairs of the sponsorship committee after serving for four years. While "stepping down" from the committee did not me stepping away from Bridge. She continues to serve as a member of the Steering Committee and is an adviser to the sponsorship committee.

In Tracy's spare time, she serves as Special Olympics International chair of the Cycling Resource Team, serves as Special Olympic Maryland's cycling program coordinator, volunteers for Achilles International and is helping to develop Cuba's nascent Para cycling program. Tracy also likes to remind her colleagues that she is also an unwilling member of the "Urban Amish Sect!"

2016
Tracy Lea

2015: Tiffany Neill

Partner, Lautman Maska Neill & Company

2015
Tiffany Neill

2014: Allison Porter

Allison is that rare marketer who is both a tactical dynamo and focused strategist, able to uniquely marry an organization’s near- and long-term objectives.

Allison’s service to the direct marketing fundraising community is exemplary. She served as marketing co-chair for the 2013 Bridge Conference and in 2014 was named the overall Bridge Conference co-chair, helping the conference reach record numbers.

A gifted speaker, Allison is direct and enthusiastic about her vocation, which is evident in her participation in industry seminars and workshops- including the very popular DM 101 and 201 courses.

She brings a positive, focused and strategic energy to everything she does- her work as a nonprofit fundraiser, her industry leadership, and her volunteer commitments.

Her dedication and passion for volunteering within the community is well known- she mentors young marketers (and was recently appointed to the Marketing EDGE Board of Trustees), has served on nonprofit boards, and is heavily involved in her home city, including her instrumental work in planning the Annapolis Film Festival.

2014
Allison Porter

2013: John Bell

After graduating from the University of Michigan in 1980 and a brief stop with an insurance company, John has spent the balance of his career in the direct marketing industry.

Most all of that time has been spent in a sales and marketing capacity in the data processing/database marketing service side with companies like Metromail (now Experian), Merkle Direct Marketing and now with MMI Direct. John has been an active participant in the DMAW, DMA Nonprofit Federation and DMFA. He served as co-chair the last 3 years for The Bridge Conference and has been part of the planning committee for 5 straight years.

He has co-chaired the DC Nonprofit Conference in 2010, and has served on right different conference planning committees. While serving on the planning committee for the DC Nonprofit conference in 2008, John organized the very successful DM 101 program which has since been presented in Boston, Chicago, Washington DC, New York and San Francisco.

John, and his wife Laurie, are very active outdoors people and include scuba diving, biking, kayaking and running among their activities. They are also avid travelers and have been lucky enough to have visited every continent. Some more than once. They have many interesting stories and encounters to share, so feel free to ask!

2013
John Bell

Industry All Star Award

Congratulations to our 2024 Award Recipients:

Previous Industry All Star Award Recipients

Previous Industry All Star Award Recipients

Being Direct Works.