Michelle Mekky, president and founder of Mekky Media Relations Inc., has won a prestigious Stevie Award for Women in Business, receiving a bronze medal in the Entrepreneur of the Year category. She was awarded the prize during a ceremony on Nov. 16 in New York City.
The 2018 Stevie Awards for Women in Business had 90 categories and received more than 1,500 entries from 33 nations around the world. Mekky was honored in the coveted Entrepreneur of the Year category, for Business Services organizations with 10 or fewer employees. She had been named a finalist in October, selected from hundreds of nominated business leaders. Mekky Media client Jessica Zweig, founder and CEO of SimplyBe. Agency, who Mekky encouraged to enter, also was a finalist in the Entrepreneur of the Year category and took home the gold medal.
“Winning a Stevie Award is one of the greatest honors of my life, and I am so proud to have been considered along with extraordinary female leaders from all over the world who have endured brave entrepreneurial journeys like mine,” Mekky said.
“In its 15th year, the Stevie Awards for Women in Business received a record number of nominations. With the new Women|Future Conference preceding the announcement of winners on Nov. 16, it was a day to celebrate the achievements of working women around the world,” said Michael Gallagher, founder and president of the Stevie Awards. “We congratulate all of this year’s Grand, Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Award winners for their achievements.”
“It has taken a lot of blood, sweat and tears to grow my business over the past two and a half years, but it has been so worth it to get to this point and see the exciting results and the hard work paying off,” Mekky added. “I’m so thankful to my team for their creativity and dedication to exceeding our clients’ expectations and for living the core values I created for the company, including passion and authenticity. And, of course, I’m incredibly proud to bring our brand of powerful publicity and hard work to our diverse roster of clients who have amazing stories to tell. They make it all worthwhile.”
Mekky founded Mekky Media in Chicago in June 2016, setting out to establish a different kind of PR agency built on personal attention and a passion for creative storytelling. She entered a competitive public relations field. But her fresh approach and relentless drive to attract new clients and deliver results led to 800 percent growth in two years and many high-profile successes, including being invited to join the Forbes Agency Council, a nomination for a Women Tech Founders Award and a move to new offices in the Wrigley Building on the Magnificent Mile in Downtown Chicago.
