PassPorter Wins Ben jamin Franklin Award

<body link="#FF0000" vlink="#FF8000" alink="#800080"> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tr> <td width="100%"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tr> <td width="20"></td> <td width="30%"><p align="left"><a href="aboutbook.htm" target="_top"><img src="images/whatonearthisapassporter.gif" alt="What on Earth is a PassPorter?" border="0" onmouseover="window.status='Learn what a PassPorter is and how it can help you plan the perfect Walt Disney World vacation!' ; return true" WIDTH="177" HEIGHT="68"></a></td> <td width="33%"><p align="center"><img src="images/logo.gif" alt="PassPorter(tm) Walt Disney World(r)" WIDTH="231" HEIGHT="68"></td> <td width="30%"><p align="right"><img src="images/subtitle.gif" alt="The unique travel guide, planner, organizer, journal and keepsake!" WIDTH="176" HEIGHT="52"></td> <td width="20"></td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> </table> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" height="21"> <tr> <td width="14%" height="21"><p align="center"><a href="plan.htm" target="_top"><img src="images/Tab1a.gif" alt="Planning the perfect vacation, Disney information, Web sites, budgeting, saving money, and more!" border="0" onmouseover="window.status='Planning the perfect vacation, Disney information, Web sites, budgeting, saving money, and more!' ; return true" WIDTH="80" HEIGHT="26"></a></td> <td width="14%" height="21"><p align="center"><a href="travel.htm" target="_top"><img src="images/Tab2.gif" alt="Best times, driving, flying, tours, cruises, packing tips and lists, adventuring, and more!" border="0" onmouseover="window.status='Best times, driving, flying, tours, cruises, packing tips and lists, adventuring, and more!' ; return true" WIDTH="80" HEIGHT="26"></a></td> <td width="14%" height="21"><p align="center"><a href="resorts.htm" target="_top"><img src="images/Tab3.gif" alt="Comparing and choosing resorts, reserving rooms, what to expect, dining, playing, tips, notes, best locations, getting about, and more!" border="0" onmouseover="window.status='Comparing and choosing resorts, reserving rooms, what to expect, dining, playing, tips, notes, best locations, getting about, and more!' ; return true" WIDTH="77" HEIGHT="26"></a></td> <td width="14%" height="21"><p align="center"><a href="parks.htm" target="_top"><img src="images/Tab4.gif" alt="Touring, passes, Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Disney-MGM Studios, Disney's Animal Kingdom, water parks, Downtown Disney, Pleasure Island, more places to play, beyond Walt Disney World and Orlando, and more!" border="0" onmouseover="window.status='Touring, passes, Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Disney-MGM Studios, Disney's Animal Kingdom, water parks, Downtown Disney, Pleasure Island, more places to play, beyond Walt Disney World and Orlando, and more!' ; return true" WIDTH="77" HEIGHT="26"></a></td> <td width="14%" height="21"><p align="center"><a href="restaurants.htm" target="_top"><img src="images/Tab5.gif" alt="Priority seating times, restaurant reviews, dinner shows, and more!" border="0" onmouseover="window.status='Priority seating times, restaurant reviews, dinner shows, and more!' ; return true" WIDTH="77" HEIGHT="26"></a></td> <td width="15%" height="21"><p align="center"><a href="magic.htm" target="_top"><img src="images/Tab6.gif" alt="Guided tours, edcuational programs, treasure hunts, VIP tips, childcare programs, special occasions, and more!" border="0" onmouseover="window.status='Guided tours, edcuational programs, treasure hunts, VIP tips, childcare programs, special occasions, and more!' ; return true" WIDTH="77" HEIGHT="26"></a></td> <td width="15%" height="21"><p align="center"><a href="fun.htm" target="_top"><img src="images/Tab7.gif" alt="Reader discussions, chats, reviews, Web sites, trip reports, and more!" border="0" onmouseover="window.status='Reader discussions, chats, reviews, Web sites, trip reports, and more!' ; return true" WIDTH="77" HEIGHT="26"></a></td> </tr> </table> <div align="left"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" bgcolor="#000000" height="2"> <tr> <td width="100%"></td> </tr> </table> </div> <div align="center"><center> <table border="0" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" width="100%" height="927"> <tr> <td valign="top" width="47%" height="917"><h1><font face="Verdana"><font color="#FF8000" size="5"><strong>PassPorter Wins Benjamin Franklin Award!</strong></font></h1> <p><font size="2">In April 2000, PassPorter was nominated as a finalist for a <b> Benjamin Franklin Award - The Best First Book by a New Publisher (The Bill Fisher Award)</b>. The Ben Franklins are sponsored by the <a href="http://www.pma-online.org" target="_top"> Publishers Marketing Association</a>, the largest trade association for independent book publishers, and are announced on the eve of the huge Book Expo America, the biggest national convention in the book industry. All the publishers -- large and small -- are there to sell to the book stores, the printers are there to sell their services to the publishers, and so on.</font></p> <p><font size="2">June 1st was the award ceremony, and we're incredibly proud and happy to announce that....</font></p> <p align="center"><font size="2"><b>PassPorter won!!!!!</b></font></p> <p><font size="2">What a moment it was! They had given almost all the other awards already. To compare it to the Oscars, it was like waiting through all the Best Cinematography in an Animated Short Subject, Best Supporting Actress in a Disaster Film, and Best Director of a Big Budget Blockbuster awards. The only awards left were Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Picture [or in this case, Best First Book by a New Publisher, Book of the Year (marketing budget under $10,000) and Book of the Year (marketing budget over $10,000)]. These are the awards with the big buildup, where the presenters gave speeches before the award instead of just reading off the list of finalists and announcing the winner.<br> <br> Earlier in the afternoon the presenter of the award (Bill Fisher's son, Howard), sought us out for an interview, so he would have some background information on each of the nominees for his speech. Now Howard was up there at the podium, speechifying, "...the authors of this year's winner...." We looked at each other, because the other two nominees only had one author each. The other people at the table with us looked our way and gave us big smiles ('cause they figured it out, too). YES! </font></p> <p><font size="2">"The authors of this year's winner are not new to books. They are accomplished authors. They are new to publishing, though. Like so many books published by PMA members, this book grew out of a personal and perceived need."</font></p> <p><font size="2">"The winner of this year's Bill Fisher Award is PassPorter Walt Disney World, by Jennifer Watson and Dave Marx...."</font></p> <p><font size="2">We were utterly floored. We did one of those acceptance speeches (...and we'd like to thank our mail carrier, the guy who changes our oil..."), and all sorts of folks were congratulating us (and suggesting we do lunch, take meetings, and all sorts of stuff). We then had dessert with Howard Fisher and the winner of last year's Bill Fisher Award.</font></p> <p><font size="2">Well, we've gone on longer than we should have, but we're still basking in the afterglow. We know the Ben Franklins aren't the Pulitzer or National Book Award, but this is the awards program we've been hoping to win all year long -- recognition by our fellow independent publishers. Not that the awards are open only to small publishers. IDG Books (publisher of the Dummies books and :::gasp::: The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World), Harper Collins and a number of other large publishers won awards for other books, too. (Yes, Harry Potter and Star Wars Episode I also won awards.) In fact, IDG issued a very cool press release about this. We've included it to the right, because it makes our accomplishment seem even cooler than it really is.</font></p> <p><font size="2">Each copy of the new edition, <a href="2000.htm" target="_top">PassPorter Walt Disney World 2000</a>, will proudly display our gold Benjamin Franklin award seal on its cover:</font></p> <p align="center"><a href="2000.htm" target="_top"> <img border="0" src="images/seal.gif" width="144" height="143"></a></p> <p><font size="2">Thank you all for sharing our happiness!<br> <br> <i>Jennifer and Dave<br> Authors, PassPorter Walt Disney World<br> Winners of five national book awards!</i></font><br> </font> </p> <address> <font size="2" face="Verdana"><em>Updated 08/10/06</em></font><font face="Verdana"> </font> </address> <p><font face="Comic Sans MS" size="2"><em><a href="disclaimer.htm" target="_self"> Copyright 1999-2006</a><br> <a href="http://www.passporter.com" target="_top">PassPorter Travel Press</a>, an imprint of <a href="http://www.passporter.com" target="_top">MediaMarx, Inc.</a></em><br> Questions? Problems? <a href="mailto:feedback@passporter.com" target="top1">E-Mail Us!</a></font></p> <font face="Verdana"> </font> </td> <td valign="top" width="22" background="images/spine2.jpg" height="917"> </td> <td valign="top" width="47%" height="917"><font face="Verdana"><font color="#FF8000" size="4"><strong>Photos and Links</strong></font><p align="center"> <img border="0" src="images/award.jpg" width="266" height="345"><br> <i><font size="2">A copy of PassPorter with our gold seal (left) and the award itself (right)</font></i></p> <p align="center"><img border="0" src="images/sign.jpg" width="297" height="288"><br> <i><font size="2">A beautiful bouquet of flowers and a congratulatory sign, compliments of Cathy Davidson (PassPorter's printer)</font></i></p> <p>Links:</p> <p><a href="http://www.pma-online.org/bfwinners2000.html" target="_top"><strong><font color="#FF0000" size="2">Award Winner List</font></strong></a><font color="#000000" size="2">  The complete list of Benjamin Franklin Award Winners</font></p> <p><font color="#000000" size="2"><b><a href="http://www.pma-online.org/benfrank2000.html" target="_top">Benjamin Franklin Details</a></b> - Information on the award itself, categories, and so on.</font></p> <p><font color="#000000" size="2"><a href="2001.htm" target="_top"><b>PassPorter 2001</b></a> - More information on the new 2001 edition!</font></font></p> <p> </p> <p><font face="Verdana"><b>Related Press Release:<br> </b><br> Three IDGB Titles Named Finalists in Prestigious Publishers Marketing Association Competition<br> <br> <font size="2">FOSTER CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 31, 2000-- <br> <br> IDG Books Worldwide (Nasdaq:IDGB), the leading provider of technology, business and how-to content, announced today three of its 1999 releases were selected as category finalists in this year's Benjamin Franklin Awards competition, sponsored by the Publishers Marketing Association. <br> <br> The three IDGB contenders for this year's PMA honors are: Betty Crocker's New Christmas Cookbook (August, 1999; ISBN: 0028634659); Spanish For Dummies (December, 1999; ISBN: 0764551949); and Gardening With Stone (May, 1999; ISBN: 0028621344). IDGB has been a proud recipient of Benjamin Franklin awards for the past two years. <br> <br> Considered one of the industry's more prestigious honors, the Benjamin Franklin Awards recognize excellence in independent publishing, singling out the best works in more than 50 separate categories. Winners will be announced at a gala awards dinner ceremony Thursday, June 1, at Chicago's downtown Marriott Hotel, coinciding with the start of the industry's top trade show and convention, BookExpo America. <font color="#000000" size="2"> </font></font></font></p> <p> </p> <div align="center"><center> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tr> <td width="100%"><p align="right"><font color="#FF8000" size="3" face="Comic Sans MS"><strong>Explore Some More</strong></font></p> </td> <td><font face="Comic Sans MS"> </font></td> </tr> <tr> <td width="100%"><p align="right"><font face="Comic Sans MS"><a href="contents.htm" target="_top"><font size="2">Search</font></a><font size="2"> the entire site</font></font></p> </td> <td width="5"><font face="Comic Sans MS"> </font></td> </tr> <tr> <td width="100%"><p align="right"><font face="Comic Sans MS"><a href="default.htm" target="_top"><font size="2">Home</font></a><font size="2"> to the top page</font></font></p> </td> <td><font face="Comic Sans MS"> </font></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p align="right"><font size="2" face="Comic Sans MS">Or jump back to the...</font></p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="100%"><p align="right"><font face="Comic Sans MS"><FORM> <font size="1"> <INPUT TYPE="button" VALUE="Previous Page" onClick="history.go(-1)"> </font> </FORM></font></p> </td> <td><font face="Comic Sans MS"> </font></td> </tr> </table> </center></div> <p align="right"> </p> <font face="Verdana"> </font> </td> </tr> </table> </center></div>  <div align="left"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" background="images/background.jpg"> <tr> <td width="100%"><div align="center"><center><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tr> <td height="19"></td> <td valign="bottom" width="45" height="19"><a href="partner.htm" target="top1"><img src="images/bottom1l.gif" border="0" WIDTH="45" HEIGHT="16"></a></td> <td valign="bottom" width="37" height="19"><a href="default.htm" target="_top"><img src="images/bottom2l.gif" alt="Home" border="0" WIDTH="39" HEIGHT="16"></a></td> <td valign="bottom" width="39" height="19"><a href="index.htm" target="_top"><img src="images/bottom3.gif" alt="Index" border="0" WIDTH="39" HEIGHT="16"></a></td> <td valign="bottom" width="33" height="19"><a href="help.htm" target="top1"><img src="images/bottom4.gif" alt="Help" border="0" WIDTH="33" HEIGHT="16"></a></td> <td valign="bottom" width="89" height="19"><a href="aboutbook.htm" target="_top"><img src="images/bottom5.gif" alt="About the Book" border="0" WIDTH="89" HEIGHT="16"></a></td> <td valign="bottom" width="105" height="19"><a href="order.htm" target="_top"><img src="images/bottom6.gif" alt="Order a PassPorter" border="0" WIDTH="105" HEIGHT="16"></a></td> <td valign="bottom" width="40" height="19"><img src="images/bottom7.gif" border="0" WIDTH="38" HEIGHT="16"></td> <td height="19"></td> </tr> </table> </center></div></td> </tr> <tr> <td width="100%" height="15"><p align="center"><font color="#FFE200" size="2" face="Trebuchet MS"><strong>Brought to you by authors <a href="authors.htm" target="top1">Jennifer Watson</a> and <a href="authors.htm" target="top1">Dave Marx</a></strong></font></td> </tr> <tr> <td width="100%"></td> </tr> </table> </div> </body>