Business Insurance is inviting nominations for its 2007 Benefit Manager of the Year® award.

The Benefit Manager of the Year® competition seeks to recognize excellence and innovation in employee benefits management. Any full-time employee of a corporation, nonprofit organization or government entity who oversees or administers employee benefit functions is eligible for the award. A nominee need not manage benefits as a sole responsibility but must be a full-time employee of the organization.

An independent panel of judges will score each nominee on how well he or she:

c Solved one or more major problems for his or her employer.

c Innovatively applies benefit programs to his or her organization's needs.

c Effectively uses benefit programs to help control costs.

c Exhibits leadership in achieving change within his or her organization.

c Established an effective system for communicating benefit programs to employees.

c Skillfully administers benefit programs through application of technology.

c Develops in his or her career and promotes advancement of the benefits profession.

The value or generosity of specific benefits will not be judged; the award is intended to honor outstanding performance in managing and administering employee benefit programs overall.

As determined by the judges, the highest-scoring candidate, will be named Benefit Manager of the Year® and will be profiled in the upcoming Sept. 17 issue of Business Insurance.

The panel of judges will in- clude representatives of employee benefit consulting firms, brokerage firms, health insurers/managed care organizations, benefits industry vendors as well as prior winners of the award.

Candidates may nominate themselves or be nominated by a supervisor, colleague, broker, consultant or service provider, but the nomination must be accompanied by a letter from a superior who is familiar with the candidate's work.

The deadline for nominations is June 1.

To nominate a candidate for Benefit Manager of the Year®, please download a nomination form at www.BusinessInsurance.com/BMOY or request one from BI Editor Regis Coccia at rcoccia@businessinsurance.com.