AWARDS

Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield's Member Health Index has been honored as a 2007 BlueWorks winner. A program of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, BlueWorks recognizes the innovative ways Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies are working to increase the efficiency and quality of care delivery nationwide. The Harvard Medical School Department of Health Care Policy evaluates submissions from participating Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies and makes recommendations for BlueWorks award winners. Anthem's Member Health Index is a tracking system that incorporates nearly all of Anthem's 2.9 million members in Virginia. The Member Health Index combines more than 40 selected health care measures including screening and prevention, care management, clinical outcomes and patient safety. Using a proprietary calculation developed by a multi-disciplinary team including quality improvement experts, health care economists and clinicians, the Member Health Index tracks the health plans' progress toward improving members' health through education, care management and wellness programs.  Health improvement strategies are then designed to improve each measure based on analysis of the data.

CarMax Inc. has won the 2008 International Torch Award for Marketplace Excellence by the Council of Better Business Bureaus. Since 1996, the BBB has been honoring businesses that demonstrate high ethical standards of behavior toward customers, employees, shareholders and communities and have earned a reputation for noteworthy community contributions. Companies from all 50 states, Canada and Mexico compete annually for this coveted award.

EVENTS

WOW! is a one-day conference being held April 5 to help professional women focus on themselves, energize their careers and celebrate their brilliance. National speakers, such as author Libby Brown, will share their expertise on everything including leading change; managing money; improving professional image; to having more fun in work and life. In addition, four women will be recognized for making waves in their professional lives, through the innagural Smart Woman Awards program. The event will be held at the Holiday Inn Select at 1021 Koger Center Boulevard and costs $199. For more information, call Smokie Sizemore at 804-359-1139 or visit www.smartwomansclub.com.

MARKETING

CRT/tanaka has been retained by Our365.com to promote the launch of the company's revamped Web site in the United States. The site offers products and services to expecting parents, including capabilities that give extended family members the opportunity to view baby albums, order personalized picture keepsakes of newborns and stay up-to-date on their babies' developments. The agency's preliminary responsibility will be launching the Web site with a special emphasis on promoting Our365's Baby Namescape application. With 1.3 million names, it is the largest single source for up-to-date baby names. The application allows expecting parents to search for the most popular baby names in their state, city or even a local hospital, through a unique database that captures this information from its affiliated hospitals nationwide.

PROPERTY TRANSACTIONS

Thalhimer/Cushman & Wakefield recently announced two new property transactions.