Key Item People (KIP), a division of OTC International Ltd., Long Island City, N.Y., has been named as a Sears Partner in Progress for 2002. This prestigious award is presented annually to a select group of vendor companies that supply Sears, Roebuck and Co. with quality products and services. The winners are selected from nominations submitted by Sears’ employees who purchase goods and services for the company. More than 10,000 sources competed for the 2002 award.

KIP founders and jewelry industry veterans Basil Cohen, Mandy McKee, and Elian Schlesinger were honored on April 8, 2003, at an event hosted by Sears chairman and CEO Alan J. Lacey at Sears headquarters in Hoffman Estates, Ill.

KIP was founded five years ago by Cohen, McKee, and Schlesinger and later joined forces with OTC International Ltd.