Class Wins Next Generation Leader Award

In 11 years at Barnes Dennig, marketing director Michelle Class has helped the firm grow in size and scope, served on the boards of numerous professional and charitable organizations and established herself as a leader within the company and the community. For that, she has been honored with multiple awards.

The latest is courtesy of LEGACY, an organization of young professionals in Northern Kentucky and Greater Cincinnati. Class won the Next Generation Leader Award in the field of Public Relations, Advertising and Marketing.

In all, LEGACY selected 14 winners in 13 professions, from a pool of 170 nominations.

“Young professionals are the future leaders of our community and now more than ever we need to be recognizing and supporting them,” said Diane Bielo of SD1, co-chair of LEGACY’s leadership and professional development committee.

Class was recognized among Cincinnati’s 40 Under 40 in 2007, she was named Volunteer of the Year in 2005 by the Association of Accounting Marketing, and in 2002 she was elected president of her class of the Leadership Northern Kentucky program.

As marketing director at Barnes Dennig, Class determines how the firm markets its numerous services and staff expertise to clients and prospects in Greater Cincinnati. With her help, Barnes Dennig has grown to more than 50 CPAs and 100 employees, making it one of the largest accounting firms in the area – and the largest firm to be located solely in Cincinnati.

As a community volunteer, Class recently helped raise $700,000 during an 18-month campaign as Chair of Hospice of the Bluegrass. She also is a member-at-large of the national board of the Association of Accounting Marketing and authored a chapter in AAM’s most recent book, Bull’s-Eye! The Ultimate How-To Marketing and Sales Guide for CPAs.