by Eileen McMorrow

The Best of NeoCon 2007 Competition has received 427 product entries in 40 furniture and furnishings, flooring, lighting and interior environment categories. The competition, now in its 18th year, is sponsored by Contract magazine, Merchandise Mart Properties, Inc., The International Interior Design Association (IIDA), The International Facility Management Association (IFMA), and McMorrow Report.com. “This is an unprecedented number of entries and the clamor to enter products and have them reviewed by our Best of NeoCon jury was thunderous this year,” says Eileen McMorrow, Director of the Best of NeoCon, 1989-2007, and editor and publisher of McMorrow Report.com.

In a typical year, we judge 350 products, so we have expanded the jury of facilities management executives, interior designers and architects to 55 to cover judging 427 products in 22 hours,” says McMorrow. The jury selects winners for Silver and Gold Awards, Innovation Awards and the Best of Competition. The editors of Contract magazine and McMorrow select a handful of Editors’ Choice Awards.

In order to give the industry a method to see who is competing for Best of NeoCon awards and to view the winners, Contract magazine developed the Contract Network, which is now in its third year, www.contract-network.com. Facilities managers, interior designers and architects who want to learn about new products and plan their visit to NeoCon 2007, can join the network as a “designer”, set-up a profile with their e-mail and password, and gain ongoing access to the products.

On the Contract Network, the “my favorites” tool allows users to view, organize and search for product favorites by Best of NeoCon categories and by manufacturer name. Further, it allows users to create and save up to four portfolios of products for different projects. Users can browse through the new product offerings, and add products that may work for their projects at will. You can save a portfolio, open it a few days later, and change or add to your selections.

The “my itinerary” feature allows you to create and print a customized tour of Best of NeoCon products featured in The Merchandise Mart, based on your favorites.

Don’t wait to arrive in The Merchandise Mart to plan your showroom and Market Suite visits. Identify the products you want to see by viewing photos and information formerly available only to Best of NeoCon jurors, by visiting www.contract-network.com or click on the Best of NeoCon 2007 logo from the home page of www.mcmorrowreport.com.

The following facilities managers, interior designers, and architects comprise the 2007 Best of NeoCon jury. For more information, contact: Eileen@mcmorrowreport.com

Best of NeoCon 2007 Facilities Manager Jurors

• Ms. Cynthia Alexander, Facilities Manager, The University of Michigan, College of Literature, Science and the Arts,  Ann Arbor, Michigan
• Mr. Brian D. Bennett, President, The Facility Group, Tulsa, Oklahoma
• Mr. Gary Bonnell, AIA, IFMA, Architect/Facility Planner, State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co., and President, Central Illinois Chapter of IFMA, Bloomington, Illinois
• Mr. Greg Buse, Corporate Director, Purchasing, Great Wolf Resorts, Inc., Madison, Wisconsin
• Mr. Jerry DiCola, IFMA, Facilities Manager, Brinks Hofer Gilson and Lione, Chicago
• Ms. Kristen Drewke, Manager, Corporate Real Estate Services & Facilities, Baxter Healthcare Corp., Deerfield, Illinois 
• Ms. Cynthia Dvorak, CFM, IFMA, Facilities Management Director , Sidley Austin LLP, Chicago
• Ms. Phyllis Ewers, Furniture Specialist, Cisco/CB Richard Ellis, San Jose, California
• Ms. Doreen Fentress, Vice President of Facilities, Quality Technical Services Inc., Virginia Beach, Virginia 
• Ms. Monica M. Gailus, Assistant Facility Manager, Sargent & Lundy LLC, Chicago
• Ms. Charlene Happel, Facility Manager, NIKE Space Planning, NIKE, Beaverton, Oregon
• Ms. Kristi Hartwell, Industrial Engineer, John Crane Inc., Morton Grove, Illinois 
• Ms. M. Alice Hogueisson, IFMA, U.S. Director of Facilities, Senior Vice President, Edelman, Chicago
• Mr. Joseph Lajeune, Corporate Facilities Planner, Abbott Laboratories, Chicago
• Mr. Remi Loyer, Facilities Administrator, Facilities & Services, SHELL Canada Ltd., Calgary, Alberta, Canada
• Ms. JudyLynn Monaco, Project Manager, North Business Unit, Fresenius Medical Care North America, Waltham, Mass.
• Ms. Susan Monroe, Facilities Manager, The University of Michigan, College of Literature, Science and the Arts,  Ann Arbor, Michigan 
• Mr. Dom Ruggerio, President, Ruggerio & Associates, Inc., Chicago
• Ms. Sue Schmidt, CPM, Director of Facilities, Healthways, Nashville, Tennessee
• Mr. David J. Solomon, Principal, Solomon Coyle LLC, Alexandria, Virginia 
• Ms. BJ Thomas, Facilities Manager, Gateway Health Plan, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
• Mr. Charles Watkins, IFMA, PMI, ISM, Procurement Facilities Specialist, Grant Thornton LLP, Oakbrook, Illinois

Best of NeoCon 2007 Interior Designer & Architect Jurors

• Mr. Erik Anderson, eight inc., San Francisco
• Mr. Tod Babick, PLOW, Grand Rapids, Michigan
• Ms. Jennifer Barnes, IIDA, CID, Associate Vice President, RTKL Associates Inc., Baltimore
• Mr. Mark Baughman, AIA, IIDA, Partner, SKB Architecture, Washington, DC
• Ms. Linda Porter Bishop, IIDA, ASID, AAHID, LEED AP ,WHR Architects, Inc., Houston
• Ms. Jean Buckley, Principal, Buckley & Associates, Winchester, Massachusetts
• Ms. LuAnn Cagin, IIDA, RDG Planning & Design, LaCrosse, Wisconsin
• Ms. Maurya Cohan, RDA, Color & Materials Specialist, Associate, OWP&P, Chicago
• Ms. Leslie A. Dohr, Associate/Interior Designer, Kahler Slater Architects, Inc., Milwaukee
• Ms. Royce Epstein, RDA, Associate, Senior FF&E Specialist, Hillier Architecture, Philadelphia
• Mr. Rick Focke, Senior. Principal, Design Director, HOK, New York
• Ms. Amy Foster, RDA, Resource Design Librarian, FRCH Design Worldwide, Cincinnati
• Mr. Anthony Garrett, IIDA, LEED AP, Vice President, Director of Design, Interiors, HOK, San Francisco
• Ms. Lois Goodell, Principal, Director, Interior Design, CBT, Boston
• Ms. Susan Lee, IIDA Associate, Director of Interior Design, PBC+L Architecture, Raleigh, North Carolina
• Mr. Jeffrey K. Liggett, AIA, IIDA, LEED AP, Principal, Loebl Schlossman & Hackl, Chicago
• Mr. Christopher Liu, Vice President, Solomon Cordwell Buenz & Associates Inc., Chicago 
• Mr. Richard Mark, Design Principal, Interiors, KlingStubbins, Philadelphia
• Ms. Kathleen Peters, Director of Interior Design, Arete3, Ltd., Tinley Park, Illinois
• Ms. Maria A. Peterson, LEED AP 2.0, IIDA Associate, Interior Designer, PBC+L Architecture, Raleigh, North Carolina
• Ms. Eileen Ragsdale, RDA, Resource Librarian, TPG Architecture LLC, TPG Architecture & Design, LLC, President, Resource Directors Association, New York
• Mr. Ronald A. Reed, IIDA, FAIA, Principal, Westlake Reed Leskosky Architects, Cleveland
• Mr. Fred Rieber, Design Director, NELSON, San Francisco
• Mr. Bruce Sienkowski, Principal, 2B Studio, Ada, Michigan
  Mr. Michael Sinkew, Senior Designer, Ted Moudis Associates, New York
• Ms. Rae Slater, RDA, Resource Director; FF&E Specialist, Hillier, New York
  Mr. David M. Standard, Senior Design Architect, NELSON, Atlanta
• Ms. Sandy Steven, ASID Allied Member, Facilispace, LLC, Barrington, Illinois
• Mr. Thomas Stack, RA NCARB, IIDA, TPG Architecture & TPG Long Island, Melville, New York
• Mr. William W. (Bill) Suk, AIA, Principal, Truisi Suk Design Group, New York
• Mr. Bill vanErp, Resource Director, Gensler, San Francisco
• Mr. Ken Wachowiak, NELSON, Minneapolis
• Ms. Kimberly Williams, Managing Principal, Interiors, KlingStubbins, Philadelphia
• Ms. Cheryl Zehoski, CID, LEED® AP, Department Operations Manager, Senior Interior Designer, Cuningham Group Architecture, Minneapolis