The Star Magazine Shines Brightly With Four Gold Medals In International Automotive Media Awards (IAMA) Competition
The Star, official magazine of the Mercedes-Benz Club of America, won four gold medals and one silver medal in the 18th International Automotive Media Award competition, the highest total ever achieved by the MBCA publication in a single year.

COLORADO SPRINGS, CO, July 10, 2009 /24-7PressRelease/ -- The Star, the official magazine of the Mercedes-Benz Club of America, won four gold medals in the 18th International Automotive Media Award (IAMA) competition. Additionally, The Star was awarded a silver medal, bringing the magazine's medal count for 2008 to five, the highest total ever achieved by the MBCA publication in a single year. The IAMAs are considered by many in the automobile industry to be the Academy Awards of automotive journalism.

Compared with other consumer publications, The Star ranked second only to Automobile magazine in total IAMA awards. Trailing The Star were Vintage Motorsport (four gold, one bronze), Motor (two gold, three silver), Automobile Quarterly (three gold, one bronze), and Motor Trend (one gold, one silver, one bronze). The 18th IAMAs recognized automotive journalistic work that was produced during 2008.

The five awards presented to The Star illustrate the overall excellence and broad range of subjects covered in the magazine. For the second straight year, The Star won a gold medallion plaque for best single issue in the category of magazines with a total circulation of 20,000 or less. The September/October 2008 issue of The Star was recognized as that award winner for its editorial content. Additionally, the January/February 2008 issue was presented a gold medallion plaque for design. No other gold awards were presented in either category.

David Cummings, Executive Director of the Mercedes-Benz Club of America--the largest Mercedes-Benz enthusiast organization in the world--and Publisher of The Star, viewed the two gold medals as symbols of the high standards established by the organization.

"The Board of Directors of the Mercedes-Benz Club of America have long known that the club's crown jewel is The Star magazine," Cummings said. "They recognize that The Star is a valuable tool that can be used to spread information, recruit new members, and share news and background information about the club as well as educate readers about the long and proud history of the world's oldest automobile manufacturer. The Board committed the resources needed to achieve those goals by authorizing me to build a team with some of the best automotive writers and editorial staff in the world. I think these awards validate the wisdom of their decision in the strongest way possible."

Three of The Star's awards were presented for stories written by members of its editorial staff. For the second consecutive year Contributing Editor John Chuhran won an IAMA gold medal. This year, his Motorsports History article "The 1908 French Grand Prix" in which Mercedes and Benz entries swept the top five positions was the category award winner while Contributing Editor Jim McCraw won a gold medal for his New Model Introduction article "Blue is the New Green" about the clean Mercedes BlueTEC diesels becoming the first diesels to be certified for sale in all 50 states. Additionally, Mary M. Hedberg was presented a silver medal for her Personality Profile "A Humble Legend: John Cooper Fitch" about the multi-talented designer, engineer, and race driver who continues to innovate and break barriers as he moves into his 90s.

"For years, The Star has recruited some of the best automotive writers in the world," said former Star editor Jim Luikens. "Those talented contributors enable The Star to provide interesting, well-written articles in a forum that embraces all things Mercedes. The content, photography, design, and production of The Star are of the highest quality and these five awards are independent confirmation that The Star is equal to any automotive publication in the world. Considering its Mercedes-focused emphasis, The Star provides greater substance to Mercedes-Benz enthusiasts. While there are numerous benefits of MBCA membership, many members feel that just receiving The Star every other month makes the MBCA's $45 annual dues a terrific value."

Two additional IAMA awards were indirectly related to MBCA and The Star. Karl Ludvigsen, a Contributing Editor to The Star and the winner of the 10th IAMA Lifetime Achievement Award in 2007, won the ultimate IAMA gold medal as the Best of 2008 for his book, "Ferdinand Porsche: Genesis of Genius." Also, Jim Luikens, who served as Editor of The Star from 2007-2009, earned an IAMA gold medal for the "Be Cool" master catalog that was produced by his company, Rise Sales, Inc. Later that evening the Be Cool catalog was awarded an even higher honor when it was named as overall Best of the PR/Marketing category. MBCA also took pride in the IAMA silver medal won by editor Cyndi Vander Horn for the "300 StarLetter," the official publication of the Gullwing Group International.

The IAMAs are an annual program to recognize and encourage excellence in all forms of automotive journalism. Judging is done by journalism and broadcasting professionals to a pre-set standard and entries may earn up to 100 points. Bronze medallions and silver medallions are presented to those works that receive 85-91 points and 92-96 points, respectively, during judging. Gold medallion plaques, the highest level, are presented to those entries that score between 97 and 100 points during the judging.

Each work is judged on its own merits against a scale. Entries must meet a minimum standard to qualify for an award. If no entry in a category meets the minimum standard, no award is given. Thus, some categories might have multiple winners of the same award while other categories might not have a winner despite entries being submitted. The act of entering does not guarantee an award will be presented or even that an entry will be recognized.

Elaine C. Haessner, IAMA Executive Director, served as the emcee of the formal 18th IAMA award ceremonies, which were held at the Automotive Hall of Fame in Dearborn, Michigan. The IAMA (tm) is administered, produced by, and is a property of The International Society for Vehicle Preservation, a non-profit 501 (c) (3) educational organization based in Tucson, Arizona. The IAMA accepts no sponsorship in order to maintain its journalistic integrity.


About the Mercedes-Benz Club of America

Press Release Contact Information:

Jim Luikens
Rise Sales
President
5489 32nd Avenue
Hudsonville, MI
United States 49426
Voice: 616-450-5659
Website: Visit Our Website