Linda Huntoon, Tim Hickman and Scott Chilcutt Honored by DMA List & Data Council

June 10, 2008 — The Direct Marketing Association’s (DMA) List & Data Council last evening presented its highest honors — the 2008 List Leader of the Year Award, the Ron Davis Young List Professional of the Year Award, and the first-ever Industry Innovation Award — to winners Linda Huntoon, Tim Hickman, and Scott Chilcutt, respectively.

The annual List Leader of the Year Awards Dinner, this year held at the Sheraton Hotel and Towers, was celebrated in conjunction with Fast Forward, the conference for list executives. Fast Forward opened a day before the DM Days New York Conference & Expo, which will be presented through June 12 at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center.

In announcing the awards in April, DMA List Leader Group Chairman Jay Schwedelson, corporate vice president, Worldata, and member of the awards selection committee, said, “Now that direct marketing is firmly set in the data-driven, multichannel, rapidly evolving marketplace, list professionals must innovate to stay relevant. Linda and Tim regularly perform above and beyond the call of duty, which helps move our profession forward and the inaugural Industry Innovation Award — deservedly earned by Scott Chilcutt — represents DMA List & Data Council’s commitment to keep lists on the cutting edge, as well as honors Scott’s work, which truly has revolutionized this business.”

2008 List Leader of the Year — Linda Huntoon

Executive Vice President of Corporate Consumer List Brokerage, Direct Media, Inc.

The List Leader of the Year Award annually honors an individual for outstanding contributions to the list and data community. Honorees must have at least 15 years of experience in the list and data profession and have contributed to improvements in one or more of the following areas: Ethics, education, list practices and standards, privacy issues, postal reform, communication, and environmental concerns.

Huntoon is a much-respected list and database profession veteran who began her direct marketing career in the early 1980s. At Direct Media since 2002, Huntoon works with the corporate executive team to support their client base, and maintains her long-held accounts while continuing to prospect. She is past chair of the DMA List & Data Council, and a 2004 winner of the Silver Apple Award from the Direct Marketing Club of New York.

Past DMA List Leader of the Year honorees are:

2007 Fran Green, President of Data Management, American List Counsel, Inc. (ALC)

2006 Stefanie Pont, Managing Partner, Pont Media Direct

2005 Deb Goldstein, President, IDG List Services

2004 Donald Mokrynski, Former Chairman, Mokrynski Direct

2003 Chris Paradysz, CEO, ParadyszMatera, Inc.

2002 Ray Schultz, Editorial Director, Direct Magazine

2001 Ben Perez, President, Millard Group, Inc.

2000 Brian Kurtz, Vice President of Marketing, Boardroom Inc.

1999 Donn Rappaport, Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, American List Counsel, Inc. (ALC)

1998 Lesli Rodgers, LR Direct

2008 Ron Davis Young List Professional of the Year Award — Tim Hickman

Customer Service Representative, American List Counsel, Inc.

Named in honor of Ron Davis, who was responsible for creating the List Marketing Department at Meredith Corporation, the award recognizes young list professionals who have made a mark in their careers. Davis, who died in 1995, was a well-known advocate of the list field. He gave generously to his field and mentored many young list professionals.

The criteria for the Ron Davis Award pay homage to Davis by requiring nominees to be in the list and data profession for no more than five years, middle management or below, consistently performed at a level above and beyond everyday job expectations, has extended education or service in the list arena, and is committed to the direct marketing process as a career.

At American List Counsel (ALC), the company that collects more than just names and addresses and basic datacard information, but looks into customer behavior, Hickman is rising fast. His ascension from the Data Management Division to senior list manager was meteoric. The customer service representative, who started at ALC in February 2006, shows interest in sales, marketing, and data; helps train new employees in the Data Management Division, and works closely with the director of operations to create a better workflow for both ALC and its clients. Hickman now oversees some of ALC's top-managed properties such as Reader’s Digest, Time Life, and Highlights for Children.

Industry Innovation Award — Scott Chilcutt

Vice President, Marketing Information Network Division of NextMark Inc.

The DMA List & Data Council’s new Industry Innovation Award is given to an individual whose products, services, or business practices have made a lasting, positive impact on, and revolutionized the list and data field. The recipient has been integrally involved in creating ways for companies to be more productive and effective in serving their clients and employees.

Chilcutt founded Marketing Information Network (MIN) in October 1989 with three employees and a dream. The company’s mission was to create an electronic DataCard System that would cause efficiency “in an industry full of inefficiencies.”

Today, the DataCard Database is one of direct marketing’s most comprehensive resources for mailing and email lists, as well as insert, statement stuffers, coop mailings along with interactive media rates and information. MIN now employs more than 30 research professionals — using people, not computers, to constantly verify and update more than 55,000 active datacards for access by hundreds of list companies.

In April 2008, NextMark Inc. and MIN announced their merger. At that time, Chilcutt took the title of vice president of the Marketing Information Network division of NextMark. He remains employed at MIN’s Edmond, OK headquarters.

The DMA List & Data Council

The DMA List & Data Council provides a forum for its members to discuss key trends, issues, and technological developments relating to the use of mailing lists and databases. The mission of the council is to provide the opportunities and venues to educate, inform, and bring together list professionals nationwide. For additional information about the council, visit: http://www.the-dma.org/councils/listdatacouncil.

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