Temecula, CA, November 12, 2012 – Local Temecula businesswoman Heather Petersen, CEO and founder of National Merchants Association (NMA) was announced on Friday (November 9, 2012) as a 2012 Silver winner for the Stevie Award’s Female Entrepreneur of the Year.
The Stevie® Awards for Women in Business, is an international competition recognizing the accomplishments of outstanding women executives, business owners, and the organizations they run. More than 1,200 entries were submitted this year by organizations and individuals around the world for consideration in more than 90 categories. Ms. Petersen, CEO and Founder, of National Merchants Association, was named a Silver award winner in the Business Services Award category for companies with 11-2,500 employees.
Heather Petersen has been a pioneer in the bankcard industry since 2003 as a sales agent, sales manager, and as founder of NMA. Petersen is also a philanthropist, working with several not-for-profit charity organizations through NMA’s “Give It Back” donation program, which allows their members to donate up to 50% of their merchantA business that accepts credit cards for goods or services. fees back to local schools and charitable organizations.
The National Merchants Association (NMA) was founded in 2004 as a payment industry advocacy group for small to medium sized businesses. Currently, NMA is the only association in the United States working on behalf of businesses to eliminate the unnecessary and unreasonable costs associated with accepting credit cards. Since its inception, NMA has become one of the fastest growing Independent Sales Organizations in the payment card industry. Their success is due in large part to Petersen’s leadership and foundational belief that when “you take care of your customers, they take care of you”.
“It is such an honor to be considered as a finalist for this award amongst the hundreds of deserving female business executives nominated. I could not have done this without the entire organization of fine folks at The National Merchants Association. We are a true team! “
The Stevie® Awards for Women in Business are widely considered to be the world’s premier business awards. The 9th Annual Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Award winners were announced at an awards ceremony at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City on Friday, November 9.
About National Merchants Association (NMA)
National Merchants Association, a financial services company, is a nationwide Association dedicated to reducing the unnecessary fees involved with credit card processing. To find out more about NMA and the Give-it-Back program visit their website, www.nationalmerchants.org or call them at 866-509-7199.