REDONDO BEACH, Calif. (September 27, 2004)
Campaigners, Inc. and founder, Melissa Orr, were named finalists today in the “Best Entrepreneur – Service Business” and the “Best Overall Company – Service Business” categories in The 2004 Stevie Awards for Women Entrepreneurs.

As an industry pioneer, leader and visionary in the development of outsourced sales teams, Orr founded Campaigners, Inc. in 1997. With over 3,000 field representatives as “Feet on the Street”, Campaigners provides sales and marketing solutions to clients in the US and Canada. The company has earned a reputation for excellence by executing effective sales campaigns that deliver positive results for their Fortune 500 clients, including Motorla, Fujifilm, and Heineken.

The Stevie Awards for Women Entrepreneurs, www.stevieawards/women, is a new national awards competition recognizing the accomplishments of women small business owners in the United States. The awards are produced by the creators of the prestigious American Business Awards, hailed as “the business world’s own Oscars” by the New York Post (September 22, 2002).

"It is exciting to be a finalist for the Stevie Awards!” said Orr. “Our objective is to increase sales and mindshare for our clients, and it's gratifying to receive this type of national recognition for our efforts."

“The Finalists for the first-ever Stevie Awards for Women Entrepreneurs comprise the most dynamic women in business today. These entrepreneurs have accomplished innovative and extraordinary things while building their business,” said Dennis Alter, chairman and CEO of Advanta. “We congratulate all of them on their achievement.”

Winners will be announced on Friday, October 22 at the Marriott Marquis in New York City’s Times Square. The master of ceremonies will be Bill Rancic, spokesperson for Advanta which is sponsoring the awards and winner of the hit television show “The Apprentice.”

The Stevie Awards for Women Entrepreneurs are governed by a board of Distinguished Judges & Advisors that features many leading women entrepreneurs and figures in American business, including Carrie Fitzmaurice, publisher for Entrepreneur Media Inc.; Dr. Lisa Krinsky, chairman & president for SFBC International; and Dr. Betty Spence, president of The National Association for Female Executives.

More than 600 nominations from small companies in virtually every industry were submitted for consideration in 18 categories, including Best Entrepreneur, Best Young Entrepreneur, Best New Product and Mentor of the Year. Details about The Stevie Awards for Women Entrepreneurs and the full list of finalists are available at http://www.stevieawards.com/women/.

Advanta Corp. (NASDAQ: ADVNB; ADVNA) is the exclusive sponsor of The 2004 Stevie Awards for Women Entrepreneurs, and has been committed to supporting the success of women in business for over 50 years. Founded as Teachers’ Service Organization, originally providing needs-based loans to teachers – mostly women – at a time when banks often did not, Advanta is now one of the nation’s largest issuers of MasterCard business credit cards to America’s small businesses through its subsidiary Advanta Bank Corp.

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About Campaigners, Inc.
Campaigners, Inc. is a sales and marketing agency that specializes in retail sales programs, product demonstrations, events and promotions, and sales force training. The company is built from the ground up to deliver reliable, quantifiable results, and has developed hundreds of campaigns for Fortune 500 companies including Fujifilm, Intel, Samsung and AOL. Headquartered in Redondo Beach CA, Campaigners has satellite offices in the San Francisco Bay area and New Jersey, and has a field staff of more than 3,000.

About The Stevie Awards
Hailed as “the business world’s own Oscars” by the New York Post (September 22, 2002), Stevie Awards are conferred in three programs: The American Business Awards, The International Business Awards, and The Stevie Awards for Women Entrepreneurs. Honoring companies of all types and sizes and the people behind them, the Stevies recognize outstanding performances in the workplace worldwide. Learn more about The Stevie Awards at www.stevieawards.com.

About Advanta Corp.
Advanta Corp. (NASDAQ: ADVNB; ADVNA) is the exclusive sponsor of The 2004 Stevie Awards for Women Entrepreneurs, and has been committed to supporting the success of women in business for over 50 years. Founded as Teachers’ Service Organization, originally providing needs-based loans to teachers – mostly women – at a time when banks often did not, Advanta is now one of the nation’s largest issuers of MasterCard business credit cards to America’s small businesses through its subsidiary Advanta Bank Corp.

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