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Jul. 11, 2007 at 12:31pm Eastern by Tamar Weinberg

Yahoo Celebrates "Ultimate Connection" Search Marketing Awards

Yesterday, the Yahoo Search Marketing team honored three small business owners at Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, NJ as part of the Yahoo! Ultimate Connection Contest. Of over 10,000 applicants, five finalists were chosen, and of those five, three special individuals, Glen Halliday of Kids Crooked House, Mike Willner of AlphaGrip, and Melissa Belland of Made in Heaven by Missy were selected as winners.

I had the pleasure of speaking with Kristen Wareham of Yahoo who told me a little more about the contest and its impetus. With the launch of Panama in February, the company decided to bring awareness to the new advertising platform in May and invited Yahoo small business owners to write an essay about how Yahoo could help them achieve success. The winners, who were selected by Yahoo! and Ivanka Trump, each received a trip to New York, a $25,000 budget from Yahoo! Search Marketing to be used towards a keyword ad campaign, access to a Yahoo! Search Marketing mentor throughout the year, and a website makeover from FastPivot.

In blistering 90+ degree heat and low visibility into New York City, the YSM team made strides with a great event. The Power Lunch in the Sky, as this was called, was literally a table held up by crane and suspended above the New York harbor.

Take off:

One hundred and feet in the sky:

As you can tell, I did not go up in the table, though they were kind enough to invite me.

This is a picture that was taken by Jim Larsen from the adjacent crane reserved for photographers—and no, I didn't go in there either!

This contest was a great and successful way to help small businesses connect with customers. Great job, all, and thanks to Kristen Wareham and Dina Freeman of Yahoo, and Stephanie Luttringhaus of Voce Communications for your help and accommodations.

More pics follow.

The Yahoo Search Team, Ivanka Trump, and the winners:

Ivanka Trump and the presentation of awards:

Winners' products:

Kids' Crooked House by Glen Halliday (Yahoo! branded):

The Alpha Grip by Mike Willner:

Melissa Belland's "Made in Heaven by Missy" Handmade Fairies:

You can read more about the contest and winner bios on the official page of the Ultimate Connection Contest.

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