FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Bella Novitch
Marketing Communications Specialist
Meetings Today
Arabella.novitch@tradepress.com
Meetings Today’s The Z Column Wins National Azbee Award of Excellence for Regular Print Department
Wauwatosa, WI, June 11, 2026—"The Z: Planning for the Industry’s Next Generation,” a recurring Meetings Today column discussing the business events industry’s newest and youngest professionals, won a coveted Azbee Award of Excellence from the American Society of Business Publication Editors (ASBPE), taking home the National Bronze Award in the Print – Regular Department category.
The national Azbee Award comes on the heels of the magazine winning the prestigious FOLIO: Eddies Award for Best B2B Magazine Issue in late 2025.
The Azbee Awards of Excellence honor “the best in B2B media,” recognizing outstanding work by business, trade, association and
professional publications across 59 categories. One of the most competitive awards programs for B2B media, the Azbees highlight editorial, online and design excellence within print media, email newsletters and digital publishing.
“I’ve received nothing but support for The Z since I published my first column at the start of 2023. To see what The Z has turned into in three short years is something I never could’ve imagined,” said Taylor Smith, author of The Z and content manager, destinations for Meetings Today. “For this column that started out as a passion project to be recognized on a national level is something out of a dream, and I couldn’t be more honored and humbled to be named a national Azbee Award winner in 2026.”
The Azbee Award for Regular Department is a specific Print division category honoring exceptional editorial content, taking into consideration the total package, from the copy itself to its print design. The category allows only one submission per department, requiring entries to showcase a minimum of three regular installments per department from the award year.
ASBPE received more than 740 entries for the 2026 Azbee Awards of Excellence competition, which were judged by 83 experienced B2B editors, freelancers, designers and journalism professors.
“Receiving this award is such an honor,” said Scott Easton, senior brand designer and lead designer for The Z. “Each month, Taylor and I put our heads together and surprise each other coming up with unique ways of visualizing her thoughts on the page and bringing The Z’s creative concept to life. It’s truly a collaborative effort that I look forward to each issue, and it sets the department apart from other generational-themed spreads.”
This recognition of “The Z” further solidifies Meetings Today’s position as a leader in the next-gen business events space, one in
which the brand continues to expand and develop through initiatives, including its mentorship program in partnership with the University of Iowa’s event management certificate program, now in its third year of running, as well as the launch of Meetings Today’s new Trendsetters of Tomorrow awards program.
“Fostering the next generation of meeting professionals is a top priority at Meetings Today, and we believe it should be a high priority for any organization involved in the business events industry,” said Tyler Davidson, vice president and chief content director, Meetings Today. “From our mentorship partnership with the University of Iowa that brings students to experience and actually work onsite at our Meetings Today LIVE! hosted-buyer events—we even hired a past mentee to work at Meetings Today—to new recognition programs such as our Trendsetters of Tomorrow program, Meetings Today is proud to be a leader in this very important initiative that will make the meetings industry even more relevant to future generations.”
The digital versions of the award-winning column are available at: https://www.meetingstoday.com/gen-z.
The full list of 2026 National Azbee Awards of Excellence winners can be found at: https://asbpe.org/news/2026/05/14/2026-national-azbee-awards-winners.
Meetings Today, available online at MeetingsToday.com, is a division of Wauwatosa, Wisconsin-based Trade Press Media Group.
About Meetings Today
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