Kansas City Council of Women Business Owners
NAMED AS FINALIST IN
2004 STEVIE^TM AWARDS FOR WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS
The Stevies were presented on October 22 in New York City

The Kansas City Council of Women Business Owners (KC-CWBO) was chosen from a field of 600 entrants nationwide when it was named a Finalist in the Women's Business Association of the Year category in The 2004 Stevie Awards for Women Entrepreneurs. Nancy Zurbuchen, KC-CWBO co-founder, was present in New York on October 22, 2004 to be recognized as a Finalist. The Stevie Awards for Women Entrepreneurs, www.stevieawards/women, is a new national awards competition recognizing the accomplishments of women small business owners in the United States. The awards are produced by the creators of the prestigious American Business Awards, hailed as the business world's own Oscars by the New York Post (September 22, 2002).

(Scroll all the way down to read the press release and to view the list of Finalists. We are in very good company, and honored to be nominated!)

Woman's Business Association of the Year Five Finalists:
Kansas City Council of Women Business Owners, Kansas City, MO
The Commonwealth Institute, Boston, MA
The National Women's Business Center, Washington, D.C.
Women's Business Counci- Southwest, Arlington, TX
WorldWIT Inc., Boulder, CO

Press Release:

Kansas City Council of Women Business Owners
NAMED AS FINALIST IN
2004 STEVIE^TM AWARDS FOR WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS
The Stevies will be presented on October 22 in New York City

New York, NY -- September 27, 2004. The Kansas City Council of Women Business Owners was named a Finalist today in the Women's Business Association of the Year category in The 2004 Stevie Awards for Women Entrepreneurs.

The Stevie Awards for Women Entrepreneurs, www.stevieawards/women, is a new national awards competition recognizing the accomplishments of women small business owners in the United States. The awards are produced by the creators of the prestigious American Business Awards, hailed as the business world's own Oscars by the New York Post (September 22, 2002).

Winners will be announced on Friday, October 22 at the Marriott Marquis in New York City's Times Square. The master of ceremonies will be Bill Rancic, spokesperson for Advanta which is sponsoring the awards and winner of the hit television show "The Apprentice."

More than 600 nominations from small companies in virtually every industry were submitted for consideration in 18 categories, including Best Entrepreneur, Best Young Entrepreneur, Best New Product and Mentor of the Year. The KC-CWBO was named as a finalist in the category for Women's Business Association of the Year. Nancy Zurbuchen is the co-founder and Executive Director.

The Finalists for the first-ever Stevie Awards for Women Entrepreneurs comprise the most dynamic women in business today. "These entrepreneurs have accomplished innovative and extraordinary things while building their business," said Dennis Alter, chairman and CEO of Advanta. "We congratulate all of them on their achievement."

The Stevie Awards for Women Entrepreneurs are governed by a board of Distinguished Judges & Advisors that features many leading women entrepreneurs and figures in American business, including Carrie Fitzmaurice, publisher for Entrepreneur Media Inc.; Dr. Lisa Krinsky, chairman & president for SFBC International; and Dr. Betty Spence, president of The National Association for Female Executives. The elegant Stevie trophy was designed by R. S. Owens, the same company that makes the Oscar and the Emmy.

Details about The Stevie Awards for Women Entrepreneurs and the full list of Finalists are available at http://www.stevieawards.com/women/.

About The Stevie Awards:

Hailed as "the business world's own Oscars" by the New York Post (September 22, 2002), Stevie Awards are conferred in three programs: The American Business Awards, The International Business Awards, and The Stevie Awards for Women Entrepreneurs. Honoring companies of all types and sizes and the people behind them, the Stevies recognize outstanding performances in the workplace worldwide. Learn more about The Stevie Awards at www.stevieawards.com.

Advanta Corp. (NASDAQ: ADVNB; ADVNA) is the exclusive sponsor of The 2004 Stevie Awards for Women Entrepreneurs, and has been committed to supporting the success of women in business for over 50 years. Founded as Teachers Service Organization, originally providing needs-based loans to teachers mostly women at a time when banks often did not, Advanta is now one of the nation's largest issuers of MasterCard business credit cards to America's small businesses through its subsidiary Advanta Bank Corp.

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