Alexandria, VA -- The Chapter Presidents" Council (CPC) of the National Business Travel Association (NBTA) today announced winners of the 2008 Business Travel Professional Service Awards and the 2008 CPC scholarship program. The CPC, a board-level committee of NBTA, is made up of the Presidents of NBTA"s 41 U.S. Chapters.

Business Travel Professional Service Awards Winners
The NBTA CPC Business Travel Professional Service Awards honor 10 members of NBTA"s U.S. Chapters whose contributions to the corporate travel industry have most significantly advanced the business. The 2008 winners, who will be honored at a CPC dinner this Saturday in advance of the 2008 NBTA International Convention & Exposition in Los Angeles, are:

• Toni Bonnette-Verdi, CCTE, Dallas/Ft. Worth BTA
• Dianne Bradley, Austin BTA
• Peter Browne, Wisconsin BTA
• Pat Cooper, Kansas City BTA
• Sharon Fogarty, CCTE, New England BTA
• Diane Hammons, Kansas City BTA
• Chris Magulski, CCTE, Wisconsin BTA
• Richard McIntosh, Puget Sound BTA
• Terry Rockell, New York State BTA
• Rick Wakida, Silicon Valley BTA

Jim McMullan, President of the NBTA CPC and Past President of the St. Louis BTA, said, "Local NBTA chapters across the United States are the grassroots of the international NBTA organization. Chapter leaders often move on to become national and international NBTA leaders. The NBTA Chapter Presidents" Council is proud to honor ten chapter members whose efforts demonstrate exemplary dedication to the industry."

Scholarship Winners
The NBTA CPC scholarship program is designed to help travel management professionals pursue education opportunities that enhance their expertise; encourage local chapter members to become members of NBTA and/or to attend NBTA-sponsored conferences, conventions and seminars held nationally or locally; support chapter programs that accomplish these same goals. There are two categories of scholarships: individual and chapter. Each individual scholarship is awarded directly to a member of an NBTA chapter, while a chapter scholarship is awarded to a chapter to benefit members of that organization. The 2008 NBTA CPC Scholarship Winners are:

Individual - NBTA Convention Registration

• Colleen Guhin, Arizona BTA
• Gaye Vollrath, North Central BTA

Individual - First Year of NBTA Membership

• Rob Clifton, Tennessee BTA
• Marianne Mellado, Austin BTA

Individual - CPC Memorial Scholarship, $1,000 Scholarship for NBTA Education Sessions (CTE, CCTE or GLP)

• Christle Johnson, CCTE, Texas BTA

Individual - $500 Scholarship for NBTA Education Sessions (CTE, CCTE or GLP)

• Leslie Cho, CTE, Hawaii BTA
• Robyn Gilmartin, CTE, New York State BTA
• Kendra Gleason, CCTE, Texas BTA
• Laura Herde, CTE, Florida BTA, Gold Coast
• Tom Klein, CTE, Utah BTA
• Tim Nall, Virginia BTA
• Roseanne Russo, CMP, Pittsburgh BTA
• Jan Shoemaker, North Central BTA
• Beth Truax, Midwest BTA
• Denise Truso, North Central BTA

Chapter Scholarship

• Hawaii BTA

McMullan said, "Each year the NBTA Chapter Presidents" Council Scholarship Program helps to advance the careers of NBTA chapter members by giving winners access to national and international professional development through NBTA, and helps one chapter advance its member offerings. We are proud of all of this year"s CPC Scholarship Winners and look forward to seeing them take advantage of these exciting opportunities."

The National Business Travel Association (NBTA) is the world’s premier business travel and corporate meetings organization. NBTA and its regional affiliates – NBTA Asia Pacific, the Brazilian Business Travel Association (ABGEV), NBTA Canada, NBTA Mexico, and NBTA USA – serve a network of more than 15,000 business travel professionals around the globe with industry-leading events, networking, education & professional development, research, news & information, and advocacy. NBTA members, numbering more than 4,000 in 30 nations, are corporate and government travel and meetings managers, as well as travel service providers. They collectively manage and direct more than US$200 billion of global business travel and meetings expenditures annually on behalf of more than 10 million business travelers within their organizations. For more information, visit