And the 42 winners are ...

Who are Houston's best marketers? The AMA breaks it down from MFAH to SaintArnold

We won!

Oh, and so did 41 other amazing Houston companies in their respective marketing categories, by the way.

What are we talking about? Well, the American Marketing Association's (AMA) Houston chapter recently dropped the awesome bomb on a boatload of Houston businesses. Forty two lucky ducks were selected as the Best of Category winners for AMA Houston's Marketer of the Year award. These 42 contenders will now go on to vie for the coveted 2010 Marketer of the Year title, to be awarded in a ceremony on March. 7.

And we were one of those 42.

CultureMap took Best Marketer in the Media: Print category. Pretty darn neat, we must say.

"Nominations can be made by anyone," Matt Ross, chair of the Marketer of the Year event, told us via e-mail. "To be considered, a nomination has to identify the company and specific reasons why it is being nominated. The Best of Category winners are determined by a vote of the AMA Houston members and a panel of judges."

Ross continued, "We had 206 nominees, and the tough economy meant that many companies had to push constrained marketing budgets to do more with less."

Yeah, we actually do feel pretty cool now.

Wait! Before you go crazy with the showering of praise, save a few pats on the back, will you? Marketers with moxie at Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Theater Under the Stars, Gexa Energy, Saint Arnold Brewing Company, and Discovery Green (and so many more!) also took home honors in their respective categories. For the full list (because we can't possibly mention everyone!), see here.

Now it's do or die for these 42 dynamo finalists. The last contender standing will be honored as the creme de la creme of the marketing world in Houston.

"The overall winner is determined by four groups of out-of-town judges who review questionnaire responses submitted by each Best of Category winner," Ross said. "Their ratings are consolidated, and the overall high score is AMA Houston's 2010 Marketer of the Year."

So now everyone competes against each other for the big, bad, grand prize — the Marketer of the Year Award.

But with a lineup like this? The future of Houston marketing is most certainly in capable, savvy hands, no matter which company wins.

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no more trips to Colorado

Bill to legalize marijuana in Texas filed by Dallas Democrat

Photo courtesy of Texas Original

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Texas Rep. Jessica González (D-Dallas) has filed a bill to legalize recreational marijuana in Texas. House Bill 1208 would legalize the cultivation, manufacturing, transportation, and sale of cannabis.

The bill would allow adults 21 and older to use, possess, and transport up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana for personal use. Adults could also keep up to 10 ounces of cannabis in their residence, as long as it is stored in a secure location.

Smoking or consuming cannabis while in a public place or in a car on a public road would not be allowed.

Gonzalez filed the bill in mid-November, one in a suite of bills that also included expanding insurance coverage for in vitro fertilization for LGBTQ couples; and requiring landlords to disclose all fees before a rental lease is signed.

Her bill was filed prior to an initiative launched by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick on December 4 to ban THC products in Texas entirely.

In addition to legalizing recreational use, the bill also makes provisions for its production and sale including requiring that the packaging be child-resistent and clearly labeled, so that it's not confused for candy.

Businesses looking to grow, transport, test, or sell cannabis would need to be licensed by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. A 10 percent tax would be imposed on the sale of all cannabis and cannabis products. Some of the profits would go towards funding public schools.

If passed, the bill would take effect on September 1, 2025.

Medical cannabis is currently legal in Texas under the Texas Compassionate Use Program, which allows low-THC cannabis to be prescribed for conditions such as epilepsy, MS, autism, cancer, and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Some cities have also approved decriminalization for the possession of four ounces or less of marijuana, including Austin, Bastrop, Dallas, Denton, Elgin, Killeen, and Lockhart.

politics marijuana