Announcing the ACCE 2008 Cartoon Caption Contest



    NEW YORK, July 30 /EMWNews/ -- Managing a contact center is serious

business, but three talented people who come up with the best humorous

one-liner about the experience will win fabulous prizes and the undying

adulation of their amused peers in the ACCE 2008 Cartoon Caption Contest.



    Contact center comedians can enter the contest by submitting a caption

for the cartoon, which is posted on both http://www.ACCEicmi.com and

http://www.toonblogs.com. The contest is co-sponsored by The International

Customer Management Institute (ICMI) -- the leader in call center

consulting and training experiences including the Annual Call Center

Exhibition (ACCE) and Call Center Demo and Exhibition conferences -- and

Cartoon Art Associates, a longtime partner.



    Winners of the ACCE 2008 Cartoon Caption Contest will be announced at

the fifth Annual Call Center Exhibition (ACCE), which will take place

September 15-18, 2008 at the Phoenix Convention Center in Phoenix, AZ.



    The grand prize winner of the ACCE 2008 Cartoon Caption Contest will be

awarded a full conference pass to any 2009 ICMI contact center event in the

United States, plus round-trip economy air travel to and from the event

from the major airport nearest the winner's residence. All finalists will

receive a print of the cartoon featuring their caption and signed by the

artist who designed the cartoon.



    "I'm really looking forward to seeing what captions contestants come up

with," said Carl Nelson, President of Cartoon Art Associates. "Call centers

aren't usually thought of as humorous, but I've found that humor sometimes

comes from the most unexpected places."



    All contest entries must be received by Friday, August 15, 2008. ACCE's

panel of expert contact center judges -- Bruce Balentine, Executive Vice

President, Enterprise Integration Group, Lori Bocklund, President,

Strategic Contact, Inc., Drew Daly, Senior Director of Sales, World Travel

Holdings, Anne Nickerson, President, Call Center Coach, LLC, and Daniel

Ord, CEO, OmniTouch -- will then review the captions and choose the top

three based on creativity, originality, and humor.



    Finalists will be announced at http://www.acceicmi.com and

http://www.toonblogs.com on August 26, 2008. The public will then be asked

to cast their votes on the web or at ACCE 2008 to choose the grand prize

winner.



    "We hope this contest will give everyone something to smile about

during the midst of a busy day," says Rachel Levy, ACCE Event Marketing

Manager. "ACCE is known for providing outstanding opportunities for both

learning and networking to its attendees, and sharing jokes about the high

and low points of contact center management is a great way to help people

in our industry connect with one another."



    Now in its fifth year, ACCE draws business leaders from around the

globe. Last year ACCE brought together more than 1700 contact center

professionals from over 40 countries and all 50 states. Attendance is

expected to be even higher this year. For more information about ACCE 2008

and the ACCE 2008 Cartoon Caption Contest please visit

http://www.ACCEicmi.com.






     Media contacts

     Steven Blinn

     BlinnPR

     212-675-4777

     [email protected]



     Rachel Levy

     Think Services

     609-759-4738

     [email protected]

    About ICMI Events



    ICMI's conferences are created with a depth of expertise and resources

that no other conference organizer can offer. Over the past 22 years, our

exclusive devotion to the contact center industry has made us the trusted

source for reliable, product-neutral information and guidance.



    Our consulting team works "in the trenches" with companies large and

small to overcome their contact center challenges, and gain first-hand

knowledge of what keeps you up at night.



    In producing our digital magazine, "Customer Management Insight" and

numerous email newsletters, our editorial team is constantly seeking trends

and news from around the industry. And our extensive professional

membership roster from more than 50 countries keeps us in communication

with our audience year-round. ICMI has trained more than 75,000 call center

professionals so far -- you can be sure that attending an ICMI event will

be time well spent!



    About ICMI



    Founded in 1985, the International Customer Management Institute (ICMI)

is one of the call center industry's most established and respected

organizations. ICMI's mission is to provide resources and expertise that

help individuals and organizations improve operational performance, attain

superior business results and increase the strategic value of their

customer contact services. Through the dedication and experience of its

team, uncompromised objectivity and results-oriented vision, ICMI has

earned a reputation as the industry's most trusted source for: Consulting,

Training, Publications, Events, and Professional Membership. Through

constant innovation and research, ICMI's network of resources and services

have become the industry's gold standard. ICMI is part of Think Services, a

division of United Business Media LLC. To learn more, visit

http://www.icmi.com.