IRVING, Texas -- The air was electric as central station operators at HSM Electronic Protection Services worked tirelessly to help police apprehend three would-be thieves that had broken into a customer's store. Their persistence and dedication to their customer was what earned HSM the 2007 First Line of Defense Award.

AUSTIN, Texas -- deverus today announced Employment Screening Services (ESS) as the Client of the Year for 2006. This high honor is announced annually and is based on growth, innovation, and industry leadership. ESS's formula for success is simple: they leverage technology and focus on delivering the right screening products to HR, and then back it by great customer service.

DALLAS, Texas -- How do you make staying sober 'cool' during America's biggest teen party season? BuzzFree Prom, part of a cause-marketing effort dedicated to teen safety and responsible behavior, announces its successful third year of offering safe alternatives to substance abuse and driving.

AUSTIN, Texas -- High-performance MDS Advertising is among Austin's top dozen creative ad agencies according to results announced Friday in the Austin Business Journal ranking of the top 25 advertising firms in Austin. MDS has been a creative secret weapon for its clients since 1991 when MDS moved to Austin from Los Angeles. But with client ad budgets cresting $22 million in 2006, MDS will take its place among ad industry players in the city.

DALLAS, Texas -- Techway Services, Inc. announces the availability of EBAN (Enterprise Boot & Nuke) mass hard-drive wiping software for computer recyclers. EBAN was developed for Techway Services by Toronto based software engineer Darik Horn, the developer of the highly popular and effective DBAN (Darik's Boot & Nuke) data destruction software. EBAN has two very important features for computer recyclers and IT asset management companies.

DALLAS, Texas -- Leadership inspiration is easy to find, says author Bill Webb, but difficult to apply. Webb, a motivational speaker and national trucking executive, offers practical leadership tips and motivation through short, easily digestible chapters in his new book "Igniting the Blue Flame: Answering the Call to Leadership" (ISBN-13 978-0-9791445-0-9). Webb's search for transformational ideas became the roots for The Blue Flame Project.

HOUSTON, Texas -- Paid in Full Entertainment, Inc. released on Tuesday the new CD from DJ / artist Mista Madd which is being distributed by Memphis based Select-o-Hits distribution. The new CD covers various topics and features Houston notables Paul Wall, Slim Thug, HAWK, Lil Flip, Chamillionaire, Shei Atkins and others.

AUSTIN, Texas -- Perception Software today announced the general release of SymXpert, an EDA librarian application designed to accelerate the creation of high pin count device symbols for any EDA environment. Enabled by proprietary intelligent content extraction technology, SymXpert quickly and automatically imports graphical and text data.

HOUSTON, Texas -- Some lucky author will win a dazzling 1 carat "A Cut Above" princess diamond engagement ring from online boutique Whiteflash.com in an ongoing promotion celebrating the new FOX series The Wedding Bells. "The Perfect Proposal Sweepstakes" is accepting romantic proposal ideas of 500 words or less through April 17.

DALLAS, Texas -- JDP Enterprises Publishing (Linx Payment Systems LLC) announces release of "Surfing Payment Channels" (ISBN 978-0-9788698-0-9), a new book produced by payments expert, James D. Pitts. The book focuses on changes in the payments system as it evolves from paper to paperless. New laws (Check 21), new technology (RFID, contactless, biometrics, mobile devices), and a growing demand for flexibility.