Velasco News

September 2003 – Velasco & Associates wins national Clarion award

July 2003 – Velasco & Associates wins APEX awards for communications excellence

June 2003 – Velasco Named Woman Business Owner of the Year

May 2003 – Velasco & Associates to Exhibit at 2003 Businesswomen’s Expo

April 2003 – Velasco & Associates Acquires New Client in South Carolina

April 2003 – Velasco & Associates Acquires New Client in Rockford

April 2003 – Velasco and Roxworthy Speak at Rockford Network Luncheon

March 2003 – Velasco & Associates Designs Taste of Rockford Logo

March 2003 – Velasco Profiled in Local News Publication

January 2003 – Velasco & Associates Designs Village Calendar

January 2003 – Velasco Appointed to Local Board

January 2003 – Velasco Profiled in Local Business Magazine

September 2003 – Velasco & Associates wins national Clarion award

Velasco & Associates, Inc., a full-service marketing and graphic design firm in Rockford, is the recipient of a national Clarion Award honoring clear, concise communications for the concept and design of Wisconsin-based client Applied Ecological Services’ “Build Your Own Rain Garden” brochure. Velasco & Associates, a woman-owned firm, was awarded the honor by The Association for Women in Communications during the 31st Annual 2003 Clarion Awards competition.

July 2003 – Velasco & Associates wins APEX awards for
communications excellence

Velasco & Associates, Inc., a full-service marketing and graphic design firm in Rockford, is the recipient of two 2003 Awards of Excellence in the APEX ® Fifteenth Annual Awards for Publication Excellence competition.
Velasco was honored in the category of Special Purpose Brochures, Manuals & Reports for their creative work on Rock Valley College’s New Student Guide 2002-2003, and also in the category of Education & Training Brochures, Manuals & Reports for their design of client Applied Ecological Services’ “Build Your Own Rain Garden” brochure.
Close to 5,000 entries from communications professionals across the nation were submitted in this year’s APEX competition. The awards are based on excellence in graphic design, editorial content and the ability to achieve overall communications excellence.

June 2003 – Velasco Named Woman Business Owner of the Year

Kathy Velasco, owner and founder of Velasco & Associates marketing firm, has been named Woman Business Owner of the Year 2003 by the Rockford Area Chamber of Commerce.
The award was presented to Velasco at the Eighth Annual Women in Business Showcase Luncheon on June 5, 2003, at Cliffbreakers restaurant. A record 335 people attended the event, which was co-sponsored by the Rockford Area Chamber of Commerce and the Women Business Owners’ Council. Awards were also presented for Woman Manager of the Year and Woman Business Leader of Tomorrow. In addition, Velasco & Associates was one of 80 exhibitors at the Businesswomen’s Expo which ran concurrently with the luncheon.
“Kathy performs and excels at every aspect of small business ownership, from balancing the books, overseeing her staff, meeting with new clients and designing eye-catching marketing promotions to troubleshooting her own computer problems, ordering office supplies and even dusting the bookshelves,” wrote the Rockford Network Awards Committee which nominated Velasco for the honor. “She is a fair, approachable, and thoughtful leader as well as a real mentor to young women in the business world.”
A Rockford native, Velasco, 47, resides in Woodstock. She holds a bachelor of science degree in English and broadcasting from Western Illinois University, and previously served as vice president and executive editor at the Fabricators & Manufacturers Association before launching her own advertising agency in 1995.

May 2003 – Velasco & Associates to Exhibit at 2003
Businesswomen’s Expo

The marketing and advertising services of Velasco & Associates, Inc., will be featured in the Women Business Owners’ Expo at the Eighth Annual Women in Business Showcase Luncheon on June 5, 2003, at Cliffbreakers River Suites Hotel and Conference Center in Rockford.
This is Velasco’s second year of participating in the event, which is being presented by the Women Business Owners’ Council and the Rockford Area Chamber of Commerce. In addition, Velasco & Associates was hired by the Chamber to design and coordinate production of the event invitation.
“As a woman-owned-and-operated marketing firm competing in a community where new advertising and design agencies are cropping up every day, this expo is a great opportunity to re-connect with long-time business associates and make some valuable new ones, too. Plus, it’s a lot of fun!” commented company owner Kathy Velasco.

April 2003 – Velasco & Associates Acquires New Client in
South Carolina

Velasco & Associates, Inc. recently designed and coordinated the production of marketing materials for the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES), headquartered in Clemson, SC. The project – which promotes NCEES’ 82nd Annual Meeting in Baltimore in August of 2003 – involved production of an eight-page annual meeting booklet, an evening events and guest tours brochure, registration forms and accompanying envelopes.
“We were very pleased with the creativity of the design, which captured the spirit of Baltimore (the host city for our event), as well as the fast turnaround on the project. Even though we are located in South Carolina, having the project handled in Rockford – from concept to distribution – wasn’t an issue at all,” said NCEES Meeting Planner Jennifer King, CMP.

April 2003 – Velasco & Associates Acquires New Client in Rockford

Velasco & Associates, Inc. has been retained as the advertising agency of record for CPH Financial, a financial planning and investment firm in Rockford. Velasco will be responsible for the firm’s in-print marketing communications and strategy.

April 2003 – Velasco and Roxworthy Speak at
Rocford Network Luncheon

Kathy Velasco and Leslie Roxworthy of Velasco & Associates, Inc., were featured speakers at the April 21 luncheon meeting of Rockford Network, a local professional women’s group with over 70 members. The duo presented “Practical Marketing Tips” – 10 writing and graphic design dos and don’ts which are surprisingly often overlooked, followed by “The Forgotten Marketing Tool: Good Customer Service.”

March 2003 – Velasco & Associates Designs Taste of Rockford Logo

Velasco & Associates, Inc. recently concepted and designed a new logo for the third annual Taste of Rockford event, sponsored by the Rockford Area Chamber of Commerce.
The new logo was unveiled in March at a special press conference held by Mayor Doug Scott at First Northern Credit Union, the primary sponsor of the event.
“In designing the logo, we incorporated graphic icons to show what makes this event unique – the sun, the moon, the tagline ‘A Feast for the Senses,’ and a pair of sunglasses with the phrase ‘Kick Off Summer!’ to reflect the timing switch from September to June,” said Kathy Velasco, president of Velasco & Associates.
Taste of Rockford will be held June 20-21, 2003 in the Forest City Plaza/Media Play parking lot, and is expected to attract a crowd of over 20,000 who will come to sample a variety of foods from local restaurants and listen to live music from regional bands. To learn more about the event and to view the new logo, visit www.tasteofrockford.com.

March 2003 – Velasco Profiled in Local News Publication

Kathy Velasco, president and owner of Velasco & Associates, Inc., was profiled as a local business executive in the March, 2003 issue of Stateline Business newspaper, “Up Close and Personal” section.

January 2003 – Velasco & Associates Designs Village Calendar

Velasco & Associates, Inc. was contracted to design and coordinate the production of the Village of Machesney Park’s 2003 Community Calendar. The calendars were distributed at the end of December, 2002, to 8,005 residents and 442 businesses in Machesney Park, IL.
The full-color calendar featured original phototgraphy depicting life on the Rock River, taken by Kay Mullins, a Machesney Park resident. Additionally, 12 local businesses placed advertisements within the calendar.

January 2003 – Velasco Appointed to Local Board

Kathy Velasco, owner and president of Velasco & Associates, Inc., has been appointed to the 2003 Discovery Center Board of Directors.

January, 2003 – Velasco Profiled in Local Business Magazine

Kathy Velasco, owner and president of Velasco & Associates, Inc., was featured as one of five local female entrepreneurs in the January 2003 “Book of Lists,” published by InBusiness: Rockford magazine.