GIE Media’s Cannabis Business Times, Cannabis Dispensary and Hemp Grower Magazines Earn National, Regional Awards from American Society of Business Publication Editors

Cleveland, Ohio (June 23, 2020) – GIE Media’s Cannabis Group received six national Azbee Awards of Excellence from the American Society of Business Publication Editors (ASBPE) during the 2020 award period, including national gold awards for Cannabis Business Times (CBT) and Hemp Grower (HG).

ASBPE honored HG Art Director Andrea Vagas with a national gold award in New Publication Design for HG’s launch issue (November-December 2019). Bold headlines, white space, and charts and graphs accent the issue’s timely coverage of topics such as regulations in Canada and challenges that farmers and researchers have encountered with hemp seeds and clones.

CBT’s print editorial team also received a national gold award  in the Company Profile category, for “Diversify and Differentiate,” the October 2019 cover story on Oregon-based East Fork Cultivars. In the piece, Senior Editor Brian MacIver tells the story of how Nathan and Aaron Howard’s search for relief for their older brother Wesley’s neurofibromatosis led to the development of a multi-acre operation specializing in “elusive” type 2 and type 3 cultivars.

“We are honored to receive these awards from ASBPE, which recognizes publications that achieve the high standards the organization sets for U.S. business publications,” said Editorial Director Noelle Skodzinski, who co-founded CBT in 2014. “Our team is extremely talented and dedicated to producing valuable editorial and design content that best serves our readers in these nascent and truly complex industries.”

On the design side for CBT, Graphic Designer Katelyn Boyden was awarded two national silver awards, one for overall Magazine/Newspaper Design, and the other for Feature Article Design, for the January 2019 cover story on Aurora Cannabis.

In addition, CBT’s editorial team received a national silver award in the category Online Single Topic Coverage by a Team, for their coverage of vaping-related lung illnesses.

And CBT’s full-time print editorial staff, along with contributing writer Paul Barbagallo, were awarded the national bronze award in the Company Profile category for the Barbagallo-penned “Dan’s Gambit,” the July 2019 cover story on Dan Sutton and his company Tantalus Labs.

The Cannabis Group also received several awards in the Heartland Region of ASBPE for all three of its titles: CBT, HG and Cannabis Dispensary (CD).

“These are all wonderful accomplishments and a testament to our team’s talent, hard work and teamwork,” Group Publisher Jim Gilbride said. “We prioritize the highest editorial standards, market leadership and making a positive difference in the industries we serve, and the recognition from ASBPE is another indication that we are achieving our goals.”

For more information on the Azbees, visit http://www.asbpe.org/azbee-awards/

About Cannabis Business Times

CBT was founded in July 2014 (by owner/Publisher Tim Hermes and Editor Noelle Skodzinski) and launched Sept. 1, 2014, as a digital media brand—with a website (CannabisBusinessTimes.com) updated daily and a weekly e-mail newsletter. It was purchased by GIE Media in April 2015. The brand now consists of a monthly print magazine, digital edition of the monthly magazine, an app (available in the GooglePlay and iTunes stores), the Cannabis Conference (co-produced with CD and HG), a series of virtual events, a three-times-weekly enewsletter and the website, CannabisBusinessTimes.com. Subscriptions to the print magazine are free to qualified subscribers. You can sign up to subscribe to the print magazine here or the free three-times-weekly e-newsletter here.

About Cannabis Dispensary

CD was launched in November 2017 by GIE Media Inc. as a sister publication to Cannabis Business Times. The brand now consists of a website CannabisDispensaryMag.com, updated daily, a three-times-weekly enewsletter, the Cannabis Conference and a series of virtual events. You can sign up to subscribe to the free e-newsletter here.

About Hemp Grower

GIE Media Inc. launched HG with its daily-updated website (HempGrower.com) and weekly e-mail newsletter in August 2019 as a sister publication to Cannabis Business Times and Cannabis Dispensary. HG's print magazine was launched in November 2019. The brand now consists of the bimonthly print magazine, digital edition of the monthly magazine, an app (available in the GooglePlay and iTunes stores), the Cannabis Conference, a three-times-weekly enewsletter and the website, HempGrower.com. Subscriptions to the print magazine are free to qualified subscribers. You can sign up to subscribe to the print magazine here or the free e-newsletter here.

Follow the Cannabis Business Times, Cannabis Dispensary and Hemp Grower teams on social media at:

Twitter: @CBTmag, @cdispensarymag, @Hemp_Grower, @NoelleSki,  @cassieneiden, @ericsandy

Facebook: Cannabis Business Times, Cannabis Dispensary, Hemp Grower

Instagram: @cannabisbusinesstimes, @cannabisdispensarymag, @hemp_grower

LinkedIn: Cannabis Business Times, Cannabis Dispensary, Hemp Grower

About GIE Media Inc.

Established in 1980, GIE Media Inc. has grown from one publication into a leading marketing and communications business-to-business media company serving 17 industries. The company goal of Group Interest Enterprises is to publish the highest-quality business magazines, websites, e-newsletters, conferences, reference books and other forms of business media in growth industries, with a quality standard based upon editorial value and market leadership.

GIE Media Inc. is headquartered in Valley View, Ohio, and is privately owned by its founder Richard Foster. The company employs nearly 100 editors, publishers, sales representatives, marketers and other professionals.