The Northern Monmouth Chamber of Commerce (NMCC) has announced the selection of Sylvia Allen, president of Allen Consulting Inc., Holmdel, N.J., as 2003 Crystal Beacon Business Ambassador of the Year.

Allen, a nationally recognized author and sponsorship sales expert, is an Adjunct Associate Professor of Marketing at New York University’s School of Continuing and Professional Studies. Her marketing and public relations firm produced more than 100 events, many of them in Monmouth County, for its clients last year. Allen is co-author of “How to Be Successful in Sponsorship Sales.” She raised more than $1 million worth of sponsorships for clients in 2002.

The 2003 Crystal Beacon Award winners were announced at the Chamber’s Meet the Mayors dinner on February 11 in Atlantic Highlands. The winners will be honored at a reception and dinner on May 15 at the Oyster Point Hotel in Red Bank.

“Sylvia Allen has been a driving force behind some of the area’s biggest events,” said Patti Baxter, executive director of the NMCC. “In her work promoting downtown redevelopment agencies, business improvement districts and other non-profit groups, she fosters partnerships that improve both business and quality of life in those communities,” said Baxter. “She brings expertise, energy and commitment to everything she does.”

Allen’s firm produced last year’s Red Bank Jazz & Blues Festival on the Navesink for the Jersey Shore Jazz & Blues Foundation, the city of Long Branch’s July Fourth Oceanfest, Highlands Clamfest and all events for the Highlands Business Partnership. She also stages events for the Freehold Center Partnership and the Keyport Business Alliance.

Facilitated by her agency’s full-service planning, marketing and public relations, the events typically generate large audiences and extensive media coverage, giving both Allen’s clients and their sponsors wide exposure to new business.

Allen is a graduate of the University of Minnesota, and holds a master’s degree cum laude in Culture and Policy from Empire State College.

She is a founding member of Women in Sports and Events (WISE), a past president of the Jersey Shore Public Relations and Advertising Association, and has served on the boards of the Monmouth County Arts Council, the National Sports Marketing Network, and Bike New York.

Allen, 66, resides in Holmdel with her husband, Tom Bridges, who is retired. She has two grown children, Tony Costa, of Oceanport, and Michele Costa, Freehold.