What are the Allie Awards?

History

About the Allies

When you think of the Oscars, the Emmys or the Grammys, you most likely think of the red carpet, celebrity stars and dramatic acceptance speeches. And while those things may matter to the attendees and viewers alike, there is a real value and purpose behind the creation, the meaning and the evolution of these award ceremonies. It's not only about recognition, but also about driving the industry to reach further, try harder and continually push to improve the quality in every part of the process.

In 1988, when Tim Lundy, CSEP, first envisioned the Allie Awards, those were the guiding principles he had in mind. He knew the city of Atlanta was fast becoming one of the stars of the event industry and wanted to create a platform for the local event industry to not only showcase their talents, but also drive them to produce events that could compete on national and even global levels.

Birth of the Allie Awards

A trusted board member of the Atlanta Chapters of both the National Association of Catering Executives (NACE) and the International Special Events Society (ISES), Lundy brought forward his idea to both organizations and received their backing for the production. An awards committee was formed with Lundy as the Chair and Judy Cook as the Co-Chair. They were assisted by wonderful industry visionaries like Suzanne Stedman, Edmund Faget, Debbie Hill and Ralph Traxler.

The name "Allies" was selected to represent all "allied" event companies in Atlanta working together for a common good: to promote excellence in event design, planning and production.

The inaugural event was held in 1991 to a group of 185 event professionals in the Greater Atlanta area, during a broadcast of the Oscars, with awards presented during commercial breaks. That year there were few categories. But, each year since then, the committee has added new awards to recognize the growth and depth of our industry.

The Allies Today

Today, 21 years later, the Atlanta Allies has grown into a huge production with 30+ awards and has also donated monies to charitable organizations in the Atlanta area. Several other ISES Chapters in North America have modeled awards celebrations around the Allies, and following the success of these Chapter awards, the International ISES Esprit Awards celebration now exists.

Atlanta is very proud of the longevity and success of the Allie Awards, and invites you to participate by attending, entering, sponsoring or volunteering!