And The Winner Is…

In the category for the Best Overall Company with up to 2,500 employees, the Stevie Award went to American Equity Mortgage of St. Louis. Within the nominations for this category was another mortgage entity, Homefield Financial, according to The American Business Awards.

Nicknamed Stevies for the Greek word “crowned” and hailed as the “business world’s version of the Oscars,” The American Business Awards are the first national, all-encompassing business awards program honoring great performances in the workplace, a press release by the awards organization said. More than 1,200 nominations were submitted for consideration in more than 40 categories for this third annual event. Members of the Awards’ Board of Distinguished Judges & Advisors and their staffs selected Stevie winners from among the finalists, which were selected by business professionals nationwide during three months of preliminary judging.

The Stevie for Best Chairman went to Bruce Karatz of KB Home, the homebuilding parent of KB Home Mortgage.

In a little more than 10 years from his 30-year tenure with KB Home, Karatz has taken the company from building in just 3 states to 13 states, combining organic expansion and strategic acquisitions in 36 of the top metropolitan statistical areas in the nation, the homebuilder reported.

“It is an honor to receive this prestigious recognition from the esteemed American Business Awards for what I consider the dream job of making homeownership a reality for tens of thousands of families each year,” said Karatz in a written statement.”

The nation’s largest originator, Countrywide Financial Corp., was honored for having the Best Investor Relations Program.

“The Stevie Award underscores the excellence and cohesiveness of our IR team, while also reflecting Countrywide’s commitment to providing superior levels of customer satisfaction to investors and analysts,” Lisa Riordan, company investor relations executive vice president, said in announcement.

IndyMac Bank was the only and twice nominee in the category for Business or Industrial Theatre Productions-Convention, and was awarded for its 2004 national sales convention.

U.S. Bancorp Asset Management / First American Funds was honored for the best public relations corporate image.