Sturbridge, MA – A safety incentive program created by All Star Incentive Marketing for Allied Waste Industrial Services, Inc., has been recognized by the Incentive Management Association (IMA) as one of six recipients of the 2007 Circle of Excellence Award.

Allied Waste’s Dedicated to Safety (DTS) Rewards Program will be among five incentive programs nationwide to be showcased at the IMA’s Circle of Excellence Award Luncheon held in conjunction with the 2007 Motivation Show in Chicago on September 25.

Allied Waste, one of the nation’s leading waste management companies, has approximately 20,000 employees for whom safety is a primary concern, including drivers, mechanics, heavy equipment operators and sorters. All Star created and launched the bilingual, online/offline rewards program to reinforce workers’ safety training, improve communication about safety goals, foster a safer work environment and reward employees for safe work practices. This successful program was in effect throughout 2005 and 2006; it was continued and further enhanced in 2007.

In the DTS program, managers reinforced safe work practices and recognized monthly performance with 10- and 25-point safety vouchers redeemable online or off-line. During the two-year period, workers redeemed more than 40,000 safety awards, choosing from thousands of brand name merchandise and travel selections. A comprehensive communications effort kept employees and their families energized and informed through a customized web site, award catalogs, posters, announcements, promotional flyers, thank you cards and surveys.

“Of all the types of incentive programs that we provide, safety incentive programs are the most gratifying because we know that our solutions prevent injuries and in some cases actually save lives,” states Brian Galonek, President of All Star Incentive Marketing.

At the end of 2006, Allied Waste reported a 27% reduction in the frequency of safety-related claims and reduced the number of claims by 2,520 as compared with the previous two-year period, effectively saving the company millions. In addition, more than 93% of workers in the program reported communicating at least monthly with their managers on safety-related topics, a significant increase in safety awareness.

The IMA provides education, training and research services to help businesses effectively use incentive programs to motivate employees and customers. Launched in 2000, the Circle of Excellence Award identifies and recognizes outstanding examples of incentive programs that are successfully used to motivate customers and employees.  An independent panel of judges evaluated each submission’s creativity and overall ROI and selected the winning programs as the best examples of outstanding incentive programs. IMA will recognize the recipients of the 2007 Circle of Excellence Award and profile each award winning program at a special luncheon at the Motivation Show on Tuesday, September 25. In October, a case study of the DTS program will be featured at the IMA’s web site, www.incentivemarketing.org, and at www.incentivecentral.org.

All Star Incentive Marketing, headquartered in Sturbridge MA, is a full-service incentive house and performance Improvement Company focused on the development, implementation and strategic management of national and regional based incentive programs that target client sales teams, employees, customers and prospects. All Star services also include product sourcing, program management, logoed merchandise, and warehousing/fulfillment. In addition to Allied Waste, well-known clients include Gillette/Duracell, MGM, Honeywell, Unum Provident, and more.