Abrakadoodle, the award-winning art education company, held its 12^th Annual Conference November 6 – 8, 2015, at the Crayola Experience in Orlando, FL. At this event, Abrakadoodle conferred a number of awards on its franchise owners for exceptional performance, creativity, community service, leadership and more. The conference opened with special recognition for Abrakadoodle’s newest franchise owners: Barb and Steven Gray of Golden, CO; Yolanda Smith of Ashburn, VA; Eileen and Troy Moore of Woodbridge, VA; Jamie and Eric Rodrigues of Gainesville, GA; Gina Bennette of Austin, TX; Ceneetra and Michael Anderson of Montgomery, OH.

Abrakadoodle’s 2015 Arts for All Scholarship, which funds programs that benefit children at locations that would otherwise not be able to offer Abrakadoodle programs, was awarded for the second consecutive year to the Texas Children’s Cancer Center. Charla Stuart of Abrakadoodle-Greater Metro Houston will deliver inspiring hands-on art instruction directly to the children at this center who are too sick to leave their beds. Abrakadoodle’s series of art events also offer art education experiences for siblings, which is so important for families. Charla’s passion for these children is evident in this excerpt from her acceptance speech: https://www.facebook.com/karin.machusic/videos/10203787545449512/

Abrakadoodle takes great pride in the work of its franchise owners and uses the annual conference to recognize the efforts of its top performers. One recognition looked upon with great anticipation each year is the Purple Tree Award. Inspired by award-winning wildlife artist and Abrakadoodle’s first Artist of Distinction, Morton E. Solberg, the Purple Tree Award is a prestigious honor for a franchise owner who not only performs at a very high level, but also excels at promoting the Abrakadoodle brand, participates in corporate initiatives and helps other owners to grow. This year’s national winner, Pat Lakatta of Baltimore, MD, has worked tirelessly to elevate the Abrakadoodle brand with key educational audiences in her community and has received outstanding media coverage for her well-regarded art programs. Pat believes in quality in all that she does and takes it upon herself to conduct research and build strong relationships in support of her program. Get to know Pat: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/239247.

Abrakadoodle’s 2015 International Purple Tree Award is an equally prestigious honor which recognizes an international program of exceptional performance. The winners of the 2015 International Purple Tree Award were James Liu and Alice Wang, Abrakadoodle Master Franchise Owners from the People’s Republic of China. This Master Franchise, which started in 2010, has grown to over 125 locations all across China in just 5 years. From Beijing to Guangzhou and from Xian to Hunan, Abrakadoodle of China touches the lives of thousands of children each year.

Abrakadoodle also recognized four franchise owners with 10-Year Franchise Awards. Each of these owners has signed a renewal of their 10-year Franchise Agreements since last year’s conference:  Sue Walia of Northern Virginia, Pat Lakatta of Baltimore, MD, Lezlee Hustad of South Minneapolis, MN and Krista Roberts of Northern New Jersey. These exemplary award winners have helped to weave the Abrakadoodle tapestry and, in ten years in the system, have demonstrated hard work, dedication and a passion for the Abrakadoodle brand.

Each month, Abrakadoodle recognizes the “Doodle Dozen,” which is a list of the top 12 performers of the preceding month. At the annual conference, Abrakadoodle’s Doodle Dozen Award is given to those franchise owners who have appeared on that list at least once over the past year. The 2015 Winners were: Lisa Albert of Suffolk County, NY; Erin Bakker and Teri McGinnis, Destin, FL; Maria Gonzalez, Miami, FL; Barb & Steven Gray, Golden, CO; Lezlee Hustad, South Minneapolis, MN; April Rose and Isaac Jackson, Oklahoma City, OK; Dawna and Al Kelly, Detroit, MI; Pat Lakatta, Baltimore, MD; Meghan and Donna Link, Collingswood, NJ; Gertrud Luer, Minneapolis, MN; Kim and Ryan Nubel of Atlanta, GA; Susan Parker, Montgomery, AL; Krista Roberts, Northern New Jersey; Charla Stuart of Greater Metro Houston;  Sue Walia of Northern Virginia.

Annually, Abrakadoodle generates a list of its top performers based on the annual gross revenues reported to headquarters. These high achiever awards given during conference included:   Abrakadoodle’s 2015 Silver Splat Award to Lezlee Hustad of South Minneapolis, MN. Receiving the 2015 Silver Splat and a Half Award was Charla Stuart of Greater Metro Houston, TX, Gertrud Luer of Minneapolis, MN, and Krista Roberts of Northern New Jersey. The 2015 Gold Splat and a Half Award was awarded to Erin Bakker & Teri McGinnis of Destin, FL, and Susan Parker of Montgomery, AL. The 2015 Platinum Splat Award was given to Sue Walia of Northern Virginia. Abrakadoodle’s 2015 Platinum Plus Splat Award was given to Al and Dawna Kelly of Detroit, MI, whose program reaches more than 10,000 children at charter schools, Catholic schools and their Abrakadoodle studio in the Detroit area. Al and Dawna were also recognized with the 2015 Abrakadoodle in the Media Award for their efforts in creating awareness for Abrakadoodle’s educational programs on a national level.

Abrakadoodle presented the 2015 Rising Splat Award to Barb and Steven Gray of Golden, CO, for their impressive start in launching their business.

April Rose Jackson of Oklahoma City, OK, was awarded Abrakadoodle’s 2015 Splat Award for her creative promotion of the Abrakadoodle brand and for making a positive difference in her community.

Abrakadoodle’s 2015 Community Service Award was conferred upon Bridgett Jones Smith of Hagerstown, MD, for her remarkable support of numerous community organizations, including the Scouts, the local Arts Council, the NAACP, Character Counts, Habitat for Humanity, Breast Cancer Awareness and the United Way.

Krista Roberts of Northern New Jersey was honored with Abrakadoodle’s 2015 Mentor Award for her enthusiastic support of her franchisee colleagues, as well as her leadership and contributions during Abrakadoodle webinars and teleconferences conducted throughout the year.

Abrakadoodle conferred additional awards, including: The Art with Heart Award to Nancy Delasos of Montgomery County, MD, who continually demonstrates her love for the curriculum and how it can positively impact kids; The Braveheart Award to Yolanda Smith of Loudoun County, VA for overcoming a number of personal and professional hurdles with positivity and a can-do spirit; The Dedication Award to Joy Davis of Northwest Arkansas for her tenacity and patience in working through such obstacles as a major construction project at a key partner site; The Hometown Advantage Award to Miggy Ortiz of Queens, NY, who is building her business by building quality relationships within her franchise territory; The Perseverance Award to Cecilia Hazelton of Bowie/Annapolis, MD, for facing challenges in her business but remaining focused on building a program that meets the needs of her community; The Pioneer Award to Eileen and Troy Moore of Prince William County, VA. who are committed to delivering Abrakadoodle’s award-winning art classes and programs to children in their community;  The Poised for Growth Award to Eric and Jamie Rodrigues of Northeast Georgia, who as new franchise owners, demonstrated vision and drive by finalizing business  as they finished initial franchise training; The Powerful Planner Award to Ceneetra Anderson of Cincinnati, OH, for making use of her considerable business skills to develop a strong business plan that is sure to lead to great success with her new Abrakadoodle franchise; The Community Outreach Award to Gina Bennette for her impressive efforts in working with a local school district to establish programming to reach children with beneficial art programs.

Last but not least, Abrakadoodle values the leadership and contributions of its Franchise Advisory Council, which helps to guide the franchise system and work with corporate headquarters on key initiatives. For their dedication to Abrakadoodle, the 2015 FAC Awards go to the following individuals. Incoming Chairperson: April Rose Jackson of Oklahoma City, OK; East Coast FAC Rep: Sue Walia of Northern Virginia; Southeast FAC Rep: Kim Nubel of Metro Atlanta, GA and West/Central Rep: Dawna Kelly of Detroit, MI.

We are proud of Team Abrakadoodle!