On Tuesday, Counselor magazine, an Advertising Specialty Institute (ASI) publication, announced the winners of the 2012 Counselor Distributor Choice Awards.  Awards were distributed to the promotional item industry’s best-performing suppliers as determined by distributors across North America.

According to an ASI press release, Hub Pen, a supplier in Massachusetts, was chosen as Supplier of the Year. “This year’s Supplier of the Year has stayed strong and true to its core mission since 1954, when it was founded by Frank Fleming, who once tirelessly assembled pens by hand,” said ASI president and CEO Timothy M. Andrews. “Today, Hub Pen is a true industry leader, rated by distributors as the very best.”

The ceremony took place during ASI Orlando, the largest promotional items event on the East Coast.  And while Hub Pen took home the top prize, more than 250 other highly valued suppliers were also honored.  ASI reports that “Winners are selected based upon real votes and data from ASI’s Supplier Performance Ratings.”

Want your company to be considered next year?  It’s not easy — to be a finalist, ASI suppliers must have an average rating of no less than four out of five stars by at least 40 distributors.  Additionally, to be considered, a company must have reports on at least 100 transactions.