The National Alliance names winners of the outstanding CSR award

Each year, a group of exceptional insurance professionals are chosen by The National Alliance for Insurance Education & Research to represent their states and compete to become the National Outstanding CSR of the Year. This award, regarded as the foremost national award of its kind, recognizes the contributions and commitment of those who serve clients within the insurance industry.

To qualify for the top state honor, the 2010 candidates submitted an essay, and entrants must have demonstrated commendable service to their agencies, their industry and their community. The only eligibility requirement for this award is that the candidate must be an insurance customer service representative, or have primary responsibility for insurance customer service duties.

Each state winner receives a framed certificate and is eligible to compete for the national honor, which carries a $2,000 cash award, a gold and diamond pin, $1,000 cash award for the nominator and a scholarship for the recipient's employer to any program offered by The National Alliance.

This year's winners include:

Alabama- Lori L. Barber

Alaska- Dana Steininger

Arizona- Kami Ishikawa

Arkansas- Kelly Garber

California- Shelley Blubaugh

Colorado- Terrel Borgstedt

Connecticut- Christine Walker

Florida- Josephina Browne

Georgia- Elizabeth Kimberlee Fain

Illinois- Ruby Garcia

Indiana- Tammy Harris

Kansas- Maria Dressman

Kentucky- Amanda M. Williams

Louisiana- Bethany Chiasson

Maine- Danielle Belanger

Maryland- Deborah D. Long

Mass.- Nancy D. Melbourne

Michigan- Michelle Muir

Minnesota- Nicole Coty

Mississippi- Angie Berry

Montana- Patricia Jo Kercher

Nebraska- Edith Sue Stromberg

New Hampshire- Sandra A. Anaya

New Jersey- Malena Farrell

New Mexico- Audrey A. Bone

New York- Stacey Holley

North Carolina- Kelly Whitener

Ohio- Sandi Kesterke

Oklahoma- Kristina Donaldson

Oregon- Robin Jones

Pennsylvania- Barbara Golden

Puerto Rico- Luis Sabathie

South Carolina- Denise Perkins

South Dakota- Nancy Garry

Tennessee- Kim Pace

Texas- Leslie Bockmon

Utah- Leslie Shelton

Virginia- Jennifer L. Mulcahy

W. Virginia- Karen Terry

Washington- Neely Lorimer

Wisconsin- Wendy Gerken

Wyoming- Rhonda Smith