The AAMA Announces 2020 Excel Award Winners

CHICAGO, December 30, 2020 (Newswire.com) - ​​​Congratulations to the winners of the 2020 Excel Awards! The Excel Awards highlight the most excellent publications, promotions, people, employers, and more. Although the 2020 AAMA Annual Conference was canceled to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, the American Association of Medical Assistants® (AAMA) still recognizes the incredible medical assisting groups and individuals who participated in the 2020 Excel Awards.

The AAMA is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2020 Excel Awards.

The Awards of Distinction recognize individuals for their professional contributions and national AAMA service, while the student essay competition celebrates an outstanding medical assisting student:

• 2020 Golden Apple Award winner: Jennifer Williams, MS, BHA, AAS, CMA (AAMA)—for displaying outstanding dedication to and accomplishments in the field of medical assisting education
• 2020 Leadership and Mentoring Award winner: Mary Gambrell, CMA (AAMA)—for promoting the professional identity and stature of AAMA members and the medical assisting profession by having displayed outstanding leadership and mentoring abilities on the national level.
• 2020 Medical Assistant of the Year Award winner: Ramona Charlene Driggers, CMA (AAMA)—for being an exemplary professional medical assistant who has displayed an outstanding commitment to advancing the profession.
• 2020 Student Essay Award (sponsored by F.A. Davis) winner: Yolanda Estrada—for writing the winning essay that answered, “What is your vision for the future of medical assisting, and how will you contribute to providing safe and quality care for patients?”

The 2020 CMA (AAMA)® Employer of the Year Awards are given to medical institutions that employ CMAs (AAMA) and are strong supporters of professional growth, particularly in the areas of certification, recertification, professional membership, and networking. Nominees fall into one of four size categories based on the total number of employees in the medical institution: A (1–25 employees), B (26–50 employees), C (51–75 employees), and D (76 or more employees). This year, there is one winner:

• TriHealth LLC from Cincinnati, Ohio (D)

The next set of awards are earned by AAMA state societies who fall into one of four size categories: A (200 members or fewer), B (201-500 members), C (501-800 members), and D (801 members or more).

• 2020 Excel Excellence in Publishing Award winners:
  • CTSMA eMagazine, published by Connecticut (B), Rebecca Rivera, CMA (AAMA), editor
  • The Helping Hands, published by Ohio (D), Melanie Shearer, CMA (AAMA), editor
• 2020 Excel Website Development Award winners:​
  • South Dakota (A), Maggie Olson, CMA (AAMA), web chair
  • Connecticut (B), Rebecca Rivera, CMA (AAMA), web chair
  • Michigan (D), Mistie Atkins, CMA (AAMA), and Cristle Weissmiller, CMA (AAMA), web chairs
• 2020 Excel Marketing, Promotion, and Recruitment Award winners:
  • “Medical Assistants Fighting COVID-19,” conducted by Arkansas (A), Melinda Rhynes, MEd, CMA (AAMA), campaign director
  • “Fantastic Fall Medical Assistants Recognition Week,” conducted by Texas (C), Angela Hensley, CMA (AAMA), Lisa Connelley, CMA (AAMA), and Tammie Hartman, CCMA, campaign directors
  • “Post Card Campaign,” conducted by North Carolina (D), Betty Jones, campaign director
• 2020 Excel Community Service Award winners:
  • “Seton Youth Shelter,” conducted by Virginia (B), Virginia Thomas, CMA (AAMA), campaign director
• 2020 Excel Membership Retention winners: South Dakota (A); New Hampshire (B); Nebraska (C); Iowa (D)—for AAMA state societies with the greatest retention rate​
• 2020 Excel Membership Recruitment winners: Hawaii (A); Colorado (B); Maine (C); Florida (D)—for AAMA state societies with the greatest percentage increase in members
• 2020 Excel Student Membership Recruitment winners: Oklahoma (A); Idaho (B); Maine (C); Oregon (D)—for AAMA state societies with the greatest percentage increase in student members
• 2020 Excel CMA (AAMA) Certification: Oklahoma (A); New York (B); Texas (C); Washington (D)—for AAMA state societies with the greatest percentage increase of member CMAs (AAMA)

State society nominees earn Achievement Awards by being runners-up and meeting a certain points threshold.

See the full list of 2020 Excel Award and Achievement Award winners, learn more about each award, and read the winning student essay via the Excel Awards webpage of the AAMA website.

In lieu of the Awards Ceremony typically held at the AAMA Annual Conference, AAMA President Debby Houston, CMA (AAMA), CPC, hosted a Facebook Live event—sponsored by the AAMA Awards Committee—on Sunday, December 27, 2021, to announce the 2020 winners of the Awards of Distinction, the CMA (AAMA) Employer of the Year Award, and the student essay competition. All winners will still be celebrated in person during the 2021 conference. Furthermore, all 2020 winners will receive their certificates in the mail soon and will be featured on the AAMA website and in AAMA social media posts, AAMA e-blasts, and the January/February 2021 issue of CMA Today.

Source: American Association of Medical Assistants