2004 Dottie Awards Finalists Announced; Voting Now Open to Public for People's Choice Award

Business Wire, Feb 24, 2004

News Editors/High-Tech Writers

SACRAMENTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 24, 2004

A panel of judges has selected an elite group of 71 finalists from the more than 500 Web sites that were nominated this year for a Dottie, the most sought after award in Northern California for outstanding Web sites.

The 7th annual gala awards ceremony will be held on Thursday, March 11, 2004 at the Crest Theatre in Sacramento. Web sites will be honored for their outstanding content, functionality, innovation and user-friendliness.

Judging for the 2004 Dottie Awards has been completely revamped. A panel of esteemed judges, provided by TechCoire and the American Marketing Association Sacramento Valley, will review and evaluate every site using four criteria: purpose, content, navigation and design, with consideration to Web site construction and performance. Winners will be announced at the 7th Annual Dottie Awards on March 11, 2004.

Dottie judges are independent industry experts with substantial expertise in their given fields, and bring their creative spirit and vast experience to the challenging task of choosing the Dottie Award winners.

Unlike all the other award categories, the People's Choice award is selected by the general public. Voters are free to pick their favorite Web site. Choices are limited to the 71 Dottie Awards finalists, a list of which is available online: www.thedotties.com.

This year Capital Public Radio is also offering the winner of this year's Top Dot award an underwriting sponsorship courtesy of Capital Public Radio, valued at $3,350.

The 16 Dottie Awards categories are: Arts, Culture & Entertainment; Education, Science & History; Finance, Insurance & Law; Healthcare, Bio Tech & Agricultural Science; High Tech & Telecom; Lifestyles & Travel; Media; Non-Profit, Clubs & Associations; Politics & Government; Retail, Consumer & B2B; Science, Agriculture & Engineering; Services, Engineering & Manufacturing; Sports & Sports Fan Clubs; Web Design, Advertising & PR; Weird & Humorous; and Young Developers.

The Dottie Jr., a special award honoring grade-school students' work on the Web, is up for grabs for the second year. Computer lab students in Northern California K-6 schools will compete in groups for the Dottie Jr. Sites will be judged on creativity, ease of use, content and the ever-important "cool factor."

The Dottie Awards are sponsored by Gilbert Associates, Inc., University of Phoenix, Blast Design Studio, Sacramento Business Journal, KXJZ, Jel Productions, Crocker/Flanagan, Blue Tribe Studio, AMASV, TechCoire, Sacramento Metro Chamber, Business Law Venture, The Drake Company Mortgage Brokers, ZAP Creative Group, Business Wire, and Commerce Printing.

The public is welcome to attend the Dottie Awards, held at the Crest Theatre in Sacramento on March 11, 2004. The hosted reception will begin at 5:30 p.m. to give attendees the opportunity to mingle with other regional business executives and Web site developers over food and drinks.

Tickets are now available on the Dottie Web site: www.thedotties.com. Ticket prices are $25 for the VIP reception and awards ceremony and $15 for general admission. Along with admission to the ceremony, attendees will receive one free admission into the Discovery Museum (a $5 value), good for one year. Special group rate tickets are available; buy four tickets to the ceremony and receive the fifth free (a savings of up to $25).

For the fourth consecutive year, The Discovery Museum will be the beneficiary of the Dottie Awards.

2004 DOTTIE FINALISTS

1 - Arts, Culture & Entertainment:
       Claymoon Studio
       www.claymoonstudio.com

       J.P.DAVID PHOTO DESIGN
       www.jpdavidphotodesign.com

       Julie Baker Fine Art
       www.juliebakerfineart.com

       McKay Photography
       www.mckayphotography.com

       Mondavi Center Website
       www.mondaviarts.org

2 - Education, Science & History:
       California Foundation for Agriculture in the Classroom
       www.cfaitc.org

       Dehesa Charter School
       www.dehesacharterschool.org

       Granite Bay High School
       gbhs.rjuhsd.k12.ca.us

       Melvyl
       melvyl.cdlib.org/F/?func=file&file_name=find-b&local_base=cdl90

       New Valley -- Profiling the Growth of the Central Valley
       www.newvalley.org

3 - Finance, Insurance & Law:
       Educaid
       www.educaid.com

       Generations Law
       www.GenerationsLaw.com

       Golden 1 Credit Union
       www.golden1.com

       InsWeb Insurance
       www.insweb.com

       Shapiro & Associates
       www.bicycleexpertwitness.com/

4 - Healthcare, Bio Tech & Agricultural Sciences:
       Genentech
       www.gene.com

       Rituxan
       www.rituxan.com

       Roche US Site
       www.roche.us

       Sutter Health Sacramento Sierra Region
       checksutterfirst.org

       Sutter Medical Center, Sacramento
       suttermedicalcenter.org

5 - High Technology & Telecom
       Captus Networks
       www.captusnetworks.com

       KeyEye
       www.keyeye.net

       Meridian Project Systems
       www.mps.com

       Quest
       www.questsys.com

       Sun Ridge Systems
       www.sunridgesystems.com

6 - Lifestyles & Travel:
       American River Inn
       www.americanriverinn.com

       Ananda Meditation Retreat
       www.meditationretreat.org

       Calvary Evangelism Center
       www.ecalvary.net

       EatDrinkDine
       www.eatdrinkdine.com/

7 - Media:
       Air 1 Radio
       www.air1.com

       KCRA Channel
       www.thekcrachannel.com

       KVIE Public Television
       www.kvie.org

       Modbee.com
       www.modbee.com

       News & Review
       www.newsreview.com/

8 - Non-Profits & Associations:
       BloodSource
       www.bloodsource.org

       Best Friends
       www.bestfriends.org

       Make-A-Wish Foundation of Sacramento & Northeastern California
       www.makeawish-sacto.org

       Wonder, Inc.
       www.wonderinc.org

       Sudan Emancipation & Preservation Network
       www.SEPNet.org

9 - Politics & Government:
       CA Chamber of Commerce
       www.calchamber.com

       City of Yuba City
       www.yubacity.net

       El Dorado Hills Chamber of Commerce
       www.eldoradohillschamber.org

       SafeState.org
       www.safestate.org

       Yuba City Police Department
       www.ycpd.org

10 - Retail, Consumer & B2B:
       Big O Tires Corp.
       www.bigo.com/

       Diamond of California
       www.diamondnuts.com

       Floorboardz
       www.floorboardz.com

       Linda Book's World of Music for Kids
       www.lindabook.com

       www.teashop.net
       www.teashop.net/

11 - Science, Agriculture & Engineering:
       Agraquest
       www.agraquest.com/

       Blue Diamond
       www.bluediamond.com

12 - Services, Engineering & Manufacturing:
       LPA Sacramento, Inc.
       www.lpasacramento.com

       North American Realty
       www.north-american-realty.com

       ORR Dreamhouse
       www.ORRdreamhouse.com

       Pinnacle Bay Resource Group, Inc.
       www.pbrg.com

       Rainforth Grau Architects
       www.rainforthgrau.com

13 - Sports & Sports Fan Clubs:
       Erma's Diner
       ermasdiner.com

       KingsSuperFans.com
       www.kingssuperfans.com/

       Placer United Soccer Club
       www.placerunited.com

14 - Web Design, Advertising & PR:
       Brand New View
       www.brandnewview.com

       CRdeZign
       www.crdezign.com

       Fox Works Online Portfolio
       www.foxworks.com

       Noble Image Web Design
       www.nobleimage.com

       Specialized Marketing Agency -- Web Design
       www.specializedmarketing.com

15 - Weird & Humorous:
       badmouth
       www.badmouth.net

       cockeyed.com
       www.cockeyed.com/

       Suckramento.com
       www.suckramento.com

16 - Young Developers: (18 or under)
       Sacramento River guides
       www.sacramentoriverguides.org/

       SFMW Online
       www.sfmwonline.com

       Temple Baptist Church
       www.templebaptistlodi.com

       Nicole Weirich
       www.amusedteen.com