Georgia Trend has been named one of the top three business magazines in the country by the AABP, the Alliance of Area Business Publications, a national association of business magazines and newspapers.

Georgia Trend won the bronze award in the in the AABP’s Best Magazine category. The honor was announced in June at the organization’s summer conference in Providence, RI. Contest entrants came from all over the country.

Here’s what the judges, made up of faculty members from the University of Missouri journalism school, had to say about Georgia Trend:

“This magazine excels at providing the big picture of the state’s business community. The content is well served by the expertise that has evolved over more than two decades of publication: strong news by region, sophisticated insights into the state’s economic activity, and informative business data.”

In the same AABP competition, Senior Editor Jerry Grillo’s story on Aflac CEO Dan Amos, “The Duck Stops Here,” (May 2010) won the top gold award for Best Personality Profile, Magazine Division. Judges noted, “A revealing blend of personal and financial details shows how the CEO connects with his workforce to create a culture of creativity.”

At the June awards banquet for the Green Eyeshade Awards, sponsored by the Society of Professional Journalists, Jerry Grillo won a silver in the Best Magazine Feature category for stories on immigration, mental health reform and the music business. Entrants came from all over the Southeast.

In May, Georgia Trend was awarded a silver from the Magazine Association of the Southeast for Best Single Issue for the September 2010 25th Anniversary Issue. Entrants came from throughout the Southeast.