The American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) & The Center for Association Leadership has awarded the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) International two Awards of Excellence in the first round of its 2009 Associations Advance America (AAA) Awards program. BOMA International received two awards, one for the BOMA 7-Point Challenge and one for the BOMA Energy Efficiency Program (BEEP). These programs are now in the running to receive a Summit Award, ASAE and The Center's top recognition for association programs, to be presented in ceremonies at ASAE's 10th Annual Summit Awards Dinner at the National Building Museum on September 29. BOMA's 7-Point Challenge encourages commercial real estate companies to work in coordination with building management, ownership and tenants to achieve seven critical goals, which include decreasing energy consumption by 30% across portfolios by 2012 as measured against an "average building" measuring a 50 on the Energy Star benchmarking tool; benchmarking energy performance and water usage through the Energy Star tool; and providing education to key building personnel. BOMA's call to action has elicited universal acceptance throughout the industry, with more than 100 companies and organizations endorsing the challenge. BEEP, developed with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), is a major educational initiative that teaches no-and low-cost building operating strategies for optimizing equipment, people and practices. BEEP has been embraced industry-wide as basic training in all aspects of energy efficiency, and to date more than 14,000 industry professionals have benefited from the program. "We are honored to be recognized as an association that is advancing America," said BOMA International chair and chief elected officer Richard Purtell, portfolio manager, Grubb & Ellis Management Services, Inc. "BOMA strives to create innovative solutions that benefit our members, their buildings and their communities. BEEP and the 7-Point Challenge exemplify BOMA's leadership position on sustainability initiatives for the commercial real estate industry." Now in its 19th year, the AAA Awards Program recognizes associations that propel America forward—with innovative projects in educations, skills training, standards-setting, business and social innovation, knowledge creation, citizenship and community service. "BOMA International's programs truly embody the spirit of the AAA campaign. It is an honor and an inspiration to showcase these activities as an example of the many contributions associations are making to advance American society," said 2008-2009 AAA committee chair Janet Gibbs, chief financial officer for Feeding America. For more information, visit www.boma.org.