PHYSICS

SAS, the leader in business intelligence, has been named a finalist in six categories of the second annual American Business Awards. The categories are: Best Executive, Best Marketing Executive, Best Communication Organization, Best New Product/Service, Best Ad Campaign and Best Demo. Hailed as "the business world's own Oscars" by the New York Post (September 22, 2002), the American Business Awards are the first national, all-encompassing business awards program honoring great performances in the workplace. Nicknamed the Stevies(TM) for the Greek word "crowned," winners will be announced during presentations on Monday, May 10, at the Sheraton New York Hotel & Towers in New York City. The ceremonies will be videocast live on the Internet and will be broadcast nationwide on radio by the Business TalkRadio Network. More than 800 nominations from companies of all sizes and in virtually every industry were submitted for consideration in more than 40 categories. SAS(R) Marketing Optimization is a finalist for Best New Product/Service, while the demo for SAS Supplier Relationship Management is up for Best Demo. SAS President and CEO, Dr. Jim Goodnight is a finalist for Best Executive; the Best Marketing Executive nominee is Jim Davis, executive vice president and chief marketing officer at SAS. "We're proud to see that we're finalists in so many different categories," said Davis. "Receiving such sweeping validation for our marketing and communication activities from such a distinguished panel is a true honor." Members of the awards' board of distinguished judges and advisers, as well as their staffs, will select Stevie winners from among the finalists. The board includes business luminaries such as Rich Karlgaard, publisher of Forbes; Bruce Nelson, chairman and CEO of Office Depot; marketing gurus Don Peppers and Martha Rogers; Anthony Robbins, chairman and CEO of The Anthony Robbins Companies; Drew Schutte, publisher of Wired magazine; Jeffrey Tarr, chairman and CEO of Hoover's Inc.; and Donald Trump, chairman, president and CEO of The Trump Organization. "The Stevie Award has quickly become the most coveted business honor in America," said Michael Gallagher, founder and president of The Stevie Awards. "We began the Stevies in 2002 with the mission to generate recognition of deserving companies and individuals among the business community, the press and the general public. Being selected as a finalist is an important achievement, because it means that independent judges have agreed that the finalist is worthy of national recognition. We congratulate all of the finalists on their achievements and wish them well in the competition." Details about The American Business Awards and the list of finalists are available at www.stevieawards.com/aba .