Los Angeles, CA (July 28, 2008) – Today at the National Business Travel Association (NBTA) 40^th Annual International Convention & Exposition, longtime volunteer leader Craig Banikowski, CCTE, C.P.M., was honored with the NBTA President’s Award. The President’s Award is presented each year by the NBTA President to recognize the outstanding contributions of an NBTA Direct Member who provides leadership and vision within NBTA and helps to advance the travel management industry.

Banikowski has been a dedicated Direct member and leader with NBTA for 10 years. Currently Chair of the NBTA Global Risk Management Committee, Banikowski serves as an authority in addressing safety and preparedness issues and situations that can quickly affect the corporate travel industry. He has also served as an expert speaker and presenter for several NBTA programs and has attended multiple international NBTA events, including the past 10 annual Conventions.

On a special assignment for NBTA, Banikowski served as Co-Chair of Ground Transportation Task Force, a temporary group selected to provide an education forum focusing on the issues and trends affecting the ground transportation industry. For two years Banikowski worked with other industry experts to share ideas and best practices within the ground transportation industry, helping to develop a Car and Chauffeured Transportation Request for Pricing (RFP) document.

NBTA President & CEO, Kevin Maguire, CCTE, commented, “Craig Banikowski is a shining example of the leadership and dedication that make NBTA strong. For the past 10 years he has been committed to supporting NBTA and the business travel industry. Craig’s expertise and enthusiasm have always been warmly welcomed and have helped NBTA to maintain its position as the world’s leading association for business travel professionals.”

Banikowski has also been active in the NBTA network of local chapters for many years, serving as a liaison with NBTA to provide education and professional development to chapter members.  He has served as President of the Southern Colorado Business Travel Association and the Rocky Mount Business Travel Association and is currently the President of the Los Angeles Business Travel Association.

Maguire added, “Banikowski is truly deserving of this esteemed award, and I could not be happier to present it to him in his hometown of Los Angeles. He is a champion for NBTA and the corporate travel community, and I am proud to call him an admired college and friend.”

Banikowski has been in the travel industry for nearly 30 years, having come to the corporate arena with a background in agency work and travel education.  He is currently the Director of Global Travel Management at Hilton Hotels Corporation. He has previously held positions as Vice-President, Procurement for First Data Corporation in Greenwood College, Colorado and  Global Travel Manager for Janus Capital Management  in Denver, Colorado.

About NBTA
The National Business Travel Association (NBTA) is the world's premier business travel and corporate meetings organization. NBTA and its regional affiliates – NBTA Asia Pacific, NBTA Canada, NBTA Mexico and NBTA USA – serve a network of more than 15,000 business travel professionals around the globe with industry-leading events, networking, education & professional development, research, news & information, and advocacy. NBTA members, numbering more than 4,000 in 30 nations, are corporate and government travel and meetings managers, as well as travel service providers. They collectively manage and direct more than US$200 billion of global business travel and meetings expenditures annually on behalf of more than 10 million business travelers within their organizations. For more information, visit www.nbta.org.

About the NBTA Convention

Widely recognized as the must-attend event for business travel buyers, suppliers, industry leaders and business travel journalists, the 2008 NBTA International Convention & Exposition will be held in Los Angeles from July 27-30.  More than 6,000 travel professionals are expected to take advantage of the convention’s programming, designed to empower attendees to maximize value for their companies, including more than 40 seminars on the most important topics in business travel, more than 460 companies exhibiting in the Expo and countless opportunities for networking with peers. For details, visit www.nbtaconvention.org.

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