GOJO Official Sponsor of the 2013 Bammy Awards

AKRON, Ohio, April 4, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- GOJO Industries, inventors of PURELL® Instant Hand Sanitizer and a leader in hand hygiene and skin health, announced today the company is an official sponsor of the 2013 Bammy Awards.

Presented by the Academy of Education Arts and Sciences International, the Bammy is a cross-discipline honor recognizing educators throughout the education field. The Academy hosts the Bammy Awards to identify, recognize and celebrate what's right in American education -- from teachers, principals and superintendents to school nurses, support staff, advocates, researchers, early childhood specialists, education journalists, school facilities maintenance staff, special needs professionals, school board members, education school professors, parents and more.

"Keeping children and teachers healthy and productive is important to us," said Annie Weitz, GOJO market development director.  "Through the most effective products, like PURELL® Advanced Hand Sanitizer, GOJO hand soaps and our dispensing technology, we are able to work with school superintendents, nurses and facility managers to provide hand hygiene education and critical solutions to reduce absenteeism in schools."¹

GOJO is one of many companies participating in the awards program now in its second year.  The Bammys were created in response to the tremendous national pressure on educators and education leaders to improve student outcomes and the intense scrutiny that today's educators face as a result. The Bammy Awards aim to elevate education successes in the public eye and raise the voices of the many undervalued and unrecognized people who are making a difference.

"The positive response to the inaugural Bammy Awards in 2012 was overwhelming. Clearly the notion of collaboratively acknowledging what is going well in American education is an idea whose time has come," said Errol St. Clair Smith, executive producer of the Bammy Awards. "We commend and appreciate all of the early supporters of this national initiative."

Modeled on the broad scope of national award programs, the Bammy Awards accepts nominations in dozens of education categories, selects nominees for awards and holds a red-carpet event that brings together constituents from the entire education community to recognize the honorees. The nominations and first round of voting will be done online at www.bammyawards.org.

Nominations are made by the public on the Bammy Awards website, and two honors, the Educator's Voice Award and the Bammy Award, will be presented in every category.  Educators Voice Award honorees are selected by popular online vote and will be announced in June.  Bammy Award honorees are then selected by members of the Academy of Education Arts & Sciences and will be announced at the Bammy Awards red carpet event on September 21^st in Washington, D.C., at the Arena Stage Theater.

Nominations may be submitted at http://www.bammyawards.org.

About the Academy of Education Arts and Sciences
The Academy is comprised of a Board of Governors, Council of Peers and the executive committee, and includes a cadre of some of the nation's most prominent educators, education leaders, professors, journalists, activists, visionaries, and pioneers. The Academy also includes the executive directors from the leading national education associations, including the American Association of School Administrators, the National Association for Middle Level Education; National School Plant Management Association; the National Association of School Nurses, the National Association of Elementary School Principals, the National Association of Secondary School Principals, the National School Boards Association, the National School Supply and Equipment Association and the National PTA, among others.  The full list of Academy members is available at http://www.bammyawards.com/index.php/about-us/academy-of-education-arts-and-sciences.

About GOJO
GOJO Industries, Inc. (www.gojo.com) is the inventor of PURELL® Advanced Instant Hand Sanitizer (www.purell.com) and the leading global producer and marketer of skin health and hygiene solutions for away-from-home settings.  The broad GOJO product portfolio includes hand cleaning, handwashing, hand sanitizing and skin care formulas under the GOJO®, PURELL® and PROVON® brand names. GOJO formulations use the latest advances in the science of skin care and sustainability.  GOJO is known for state-of-the-art dispensing technology, engineered with attention to design, sustainability and functionality.  GOJO programs promote healthy behaviors for hand hygiene, skin care and compliance in critical environments.  GOJO is a privately held corporation headquartered in Akron, with offices in the United Kingdom, France, Australia, Japan and Brazil. 

¹Ginan, M., M. McGuckin, and Y. Ali. 2002. "The effect of a comprehensive handwashing program on absenteeism in elementary schools." American Journal of Infection Control 30: 217-220.

SOURCE GOJO Industries, Inc.