2020 Honors from Missouri Professional Communicators

Yesterday afternoon (18 May), I checked my mail at home and found a large vanilla envelope addressed to me. After noting the return address label was from Missouri Professional Communicators (MPC) (https://www.facebook.com/MissouriProfessionalCommunicators), I carefully opened the envelope to remove its contents. Clipped together were a cover sheet and four awards certificates from this year's MPC Communications Contest.

Earlier this year, I submitted four entries to the contest, which was open to MPC members. All entries were reviewed by a panel of judges, who then evaluated the entries and gave them awards in their respective categories. I have participated in this contest for three years now, and it has been most helpful for me, not just for the honor of the awards and how they would look for my career in this field, but also for the judges' constructive comments about each entry. I have sought to take these comments to heart in my subsequent work, and the chief judge noted this in her cover sheet.

All four of my entries this year (for work done in 2019) were honored. I earned a First Place in Writing: Publication regularly written by entrant--newsletter or other non-newspaper for The Arch Scaler News, the member newsletter I edit for the Gateway Chapter of the International Plastic Modelers' Society (IPMS) (https://sites.google.com/view/ipmsgatewaychapter/home). The judges noted "The newsletter is well organized and looks clean. For an organization that must be small, it is well-done and easy to read. The writing is very accessible. The minutes are a bit dull, but seem like standard minutes. But the other writing is much more lively." With this First Place award, The Arch Scaler News is eligible for an award from the National Federation of Press Women (NFPW) (https://nfpw.org/) 2020 Communications Contest. Those awards are normally presented at its annual Conference; however, due to the coronavirus pandemic, the NFPW will present the awards virtually early next month. That organization contacted me yesterday for my photograph, which I sent.

Two press releases I wrote last year for IPMS/Gateway earned awards in Information for the Media: News or feature release--single release. the release announcing our club's $500 donation to Toys for Tots (https://www.toysfortots.org/) in Metro St. Louis earned Second Place. The judges noted "It's always wonderful to write a press release about an effort that brightens the lives of children! Again, this release was well-written and thorough. I liked how the release included information about the history of donations from the club and the mission and purpose of the club."

Taking Third Place was my release announcing IPMS/Gateway's Invitational model contest and swap meet held last September. This was praised for being "well-written and thorough."

Finally, a post to this blog from last 22 May earned Second Place in Web and Social Media: Personal blogs. The entry was "Scale Modeling and Soccer: One Saturday in Louisville," and talked about my visit to Louisville on 18 May. That day, I attended the Military Modelers Club of Louisville (http://www.mmcl.org/) model contest, a brief visit to the Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory (https://www.sluggermuseum.com/), and joining the St. Louligans (https://stlouligans.com/) in supporting Saint Louis FC (https://www.saintlouisfc.com/) against Louisville City FC at Louisville Slugger Field. The judges noted "Easy, conversational tone/readability. Detailed, informative chronicle of journey, events, and points of interest with enlightening facts and abundance of photographs. 'I chatted with...' leaves the reading wanting more."

http://bobbyd0702.blogspot.com/2019/05/scale-modeling-and-soccer-one-saturday.html

Needless to say, I am honored and most happy to be recognized by my peers for this work. It gives me greater confidence in my abilities, and encouragement to improve my skills in this field.

Later.

Honors for My PR, Editing, and Blogging

Last Saturday (11 May), I braved the rain to drive to Mike Duffy's Pub & Grill in Kirkwood (http://mikeduffys.com/kirkwood/). This was for the Missouri Professional Communicators (https://www.facebook.com/MissouriProfessionalCommunicators/) Communications Contest Celebration. This event honored MPC members whose work in 2018 was judged worthy of an award.

My friend Linsey Daman (https://linseydaman.blogspot.com/) was there as my guest. We and the other attendees ordered lunch off the menu, and we had some nice conversations. Linsey had to leave to take care of some personal matters, but I did cover her lunch bill and I also gave her money in return for an airplane model kit she wanted me to build for her.

After the luncheon, MPC's Janice Denham presented the awards certificates, with judges' notes on what they were for and what the contest judges thought about these submissions. Yours truly received four awards for my work: A First Place and three Second Place honors. The First Place was for a press release I wrote and distributed on behalf of IPMS Gateway (https://sites.google.com/view/ipmsgatewaychapter/home) about its $371 donation last December to Toys for Tots (https://bridgeton-mo.toysfortots.org/local-coordinator-sites/lco-sites/default.aspx). The judges noted that this release was well-written and organized, and there was nice coverage. The judges also liked how the release detailed how the money was raised and the history of the club's Toys for Tots drive. This First Place honor made my release eligible for consideration in the annual Communications Contest run by the MPC's affiliate, the National Federation of Press Women (https://nfpw.org/).

Another IPMS/Gateway press release--one announcing the club's annual model contest and swap meet in September--took second in the same category as the Toys for Tots release. Judges mentioned in their notes that this release was nice written and organized.

Another Second Place award was for The Arch Scaler News, IPMS/Gateway's monthly member newsletter. The judges praised it for being very nice and packed with information for its intended audience, and for the great deal of work that went into the publication. Additionally, judges liked the live links for websites and emails in The Arch Scaler News, and the nice photos in each issue.

Finally, this blog took second place in the category of personal blogs. This is a fun blog, according to the judges, who especially liked the entry from last October on the Spirit of St. Louis Air Show, with all the photographs in that post. They also thought the slideshow of photos as a nice idea. Judges told me to keep up the good work, and thought this blog looks like a lot of fun. (I agree!)

After the awards presentation, the event broke up. Denham took my picture with the certificates, then I headed to Starbucks (https://www.starbucks.com/) on Kirkwood Road to celebrate with a hot beverage. While there, I chatted with my acquaintance, Glenna Gossett (https://www.linkedin.com/in/ggossett/), who happened to come by. She was very happy to hear of my honors from MPC, and we got caught up on things. I stopped by the nearby Smallcakes Cupcakery and Creamery (https://www.smallcakescupcakery.com/) to get a cupcake to take home.

Later.

IPMS/Gateway Meets

Last night (16 October), right after work, I headed to Calvary Presbyterian Church (http://calvarypresbyterianchurch.org/) for this month's meeting of IPMS/Gateway (https://sites.google.com/view/ipmsgatewaychapter/). We had a pretty nice turnout, though the Model of the Month "Beauty Contest" had only four entries. Several models in progress--including my Fokker D.VII--were on display as well.

The meeting included discussion of some changes being implemented to improve the club's operations. We also had a demo on paint chipping on models, which was very interesting.

I got lucky twice last night. First, I won the 50/50 raffle prize of $21; another $21 raised that night will go to our donation to Toys for Tots (https://bridgeton-mo.toysfortots.org/local-coordinator-sites/lco-sites/default.aspx) in December. Then, the raffle ticket I got for bringing my work in progress was pulled, and I will get to select a new kit at next month's meeting. (The kits weren't there last night.)

Later.

Big Weekend with IPMS/Gateway and Saint Louis FC

Early Saturday morning (8 September), I was at the Holiday Inn St. Louis SW--Route 66 (https://www.ihg.com/holidayinn/hotels/us/en/st-louis/stlsw/hoteldetail/events-facilities#) in Sunset Hills, Missouri for this year's IPMS/Gateway (http://www.ipms-gateway.com/) Invitational model contest and vendor swap meet. This 13th edition of our show was held on a rainy day--it had been raining heavily since the night before--but it was nice and dry inside the hotel. I helped to get the admissions desk ready to go and assisted some vendors in helping find where they were to be situated before the show opened to the public at 9:00 am.

Regina Morris--wife of our club's Marion Morris--and I took the admission and contest registration charges from the public. I asked these people where they heard of our show, and where they were from; this information was kept for survey purposes. It was quite a stream of visitors we had, especially in the first our we were open.

I did briefly venture into the ballroom where the contest, vendor, and raffle areas were to check on things and to enter a model I finished that morning. I also visited the breakout room, where the children's Make & Take model building session took place.

After grabbing a bit of lunch from the hotel's vendor in the nearby atrium, I went into the contest room for the judges' meeting. I was paired with another judge and we judged the Figure Entries. It was challenging for us to go over the entries in the three subcategories, but we were able to select the top three models in each subcategory, plus the best Figure Model of the show. I joined with other judges in selecting the Judges' Grand Award for the Best in Show--which was the Figure model.

I also had a chance to briefly look at the kits being raffled off; proceeds from this are going to the US Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots program in Metro St. Louis (https://bridgeton-mo.toysfortots.org/local-coordinator-sites/lco-sites/default.aspx). I also browsed a bit among the vendors; however, I had neither the time nor inclination to shop from them.

Around 3:00 pm, the contest results were announced and trophies were presented. The sole model I entered--a 1:144 scale Vostok Rocket--was the only entry in the Real Space subcategory of Space & Science Fiction, so it took First Place. It may not have been the best model by far in that category, but I was happy with the win nevertheless.

Afterward, I helped to clean up and pack my things before leaving the hotel. Overall, it was a great show, judging from the feedback from attendees.

After coming home and bringing in my things, I changed clothes and headed to World Wide Technology Soccer Park (https://www.saintlouisfc.com/SOCCERPARK) for that night's United Soccer League (https://www.uslsoccer.com/) match between Saint Louis FC (https://www.saintlouisfc.com/) and Reno 1868 FC. I joined in the St. Louligans (http://stlouligans.com/) tailgate before the match, then we marched into cheer on the home side. We ended up happy, as Saint Louis FC ran out 1-0 winners. The team serenaded us after the match, as they do when they win. With only six matches remaining and the team just outside of playoff position, points are precious to Saint Louis FC. They are on the road for two matches this week.

The next day (9 September), 15 IPMS/Gateway members and guests attended the club's annual picnic, held at Deer Creek Park in Maplewood, Missouri (https://www.cityofmaplewood.com/79/Maplewood-Local-Parks). We talked about our show the day before, other modeling topics, and other matters. IPMS/Gateway President Chris Merseal cooked burgers and bratwursts on the barbecue grill, the club provided beverages (beer, soda, and water), and attendees brought side dishes. (I brought some cookies I bought at the store on the way over.)

We found out that our show was attended by 234 persons (including two Adult Building Course students on complementary tickets), and the contest had 253 entries from 59 contestants. Merseal said these were average figures for our show. Our survey showed that 11 of those attendees heard about our show from the segment we did the week before on "Fox 2 News in the Morning" on KTVI (https://fox2now.com/). We'll be back at the Holiday Inn St. Louis SW--Route 66 for our next Invitational on 14 September 2019.

Back to work today, and a usually busy Monday. Things did go well, though.

Later.

Heading into Labor Day Weekend

This past week was quite busy at work. Besides the usual traffic from repair shops and business travelers, we had customers getting their vehicles for Labor Day Weekend. The end of this week was lighter than usual for a Friday, as many customers already had their rental vehicles for the holiday weekend. I'll be working tomorrow (Saturday) morning at the branch, then we're closed on Monday.

After work Tuesday (28 August), it was off to Bill Wagner's house for this month's IPMS/Gateway (http://www.ipms-gateway.com/) (https://www.facebook.com/IPMSGateway/?ref=aymt_homepage_panel) business meeting. We discussed final plans for our Invitational model contest and swap meet next Saturday (8 September). This show will be at the Holiday Inn St. Louis SW--Route 66 (https://www.ihg.com/holidayinn/hotels/us/en/st-louis/stlsw/hoteldetail/events-facilities#) in Sunset Hills. I outlined plans to produce and distribute a special issue of our club's newsletter, The Arch Scaler News, to go out to our members this week, spotlighting the Invitational and the club picnic the next day (9 September).

On my off day Wednesday, I worked on that newsletter--a four-page item, instead of the normal 10-page documents--and sent a proof copy to the board members for their feedback. I also got my laundry done and got some needed rest.

After getting a couple of corrections from the board members, I made the few minute changes needed before sending this newsletter out to our members early this morning.

Tomorrow morning, at approximately 7:25 am Central Time (1325 GMT), two IPMS/Gateway members will appear on "Fox 2 News in the Morning" on KTVI, Channel 2 in St. Louis (https://fox2now.com/). They will talk about our club, our show, and the raffle at that show, which raises funds for the United States Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots program (https://bridgeton-mo.toysfortots.org/local-coordinator-sites/lco-sites/default.aspx) in Metro St. Louis.

Relaxing at home now. Watching "Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie" on DVD. Funny.

Later.

Christmas is Near, and Winter is Here

I joined with two others from the Single in the City Meetup Group (https://www.meetup.com/STLSingleInTheCity) for a tour of the Brewery Lights (http://brewerylights.com/) at the Anheuser-Busch Brewery in south St. Louis Sunday night (17 December). It was my first time going through this display and the three of us had a wonderful time admiring the light displays, posing by one of the Budweiser Clydesdales (http://www.budweiser.com/en/clydesdales/history.html), and sampling beers along the way. Our wristbands had five numbered tabs that we would remove, one at a time, to redeem for a free cup of beer. It was nice trying out the various beers from the AB InBev (http://www.ab-inbev.com/) family. One of those I tried is Budweiser 1933 Repeal Reserve (http://www.budweiser.com/en/our-beers/1933-repeal-reserve.html), an amber lager brewed for a limited time and based on a recipe last used just prior to Prohibition (1920-1933). I really liked this beer. Overall, it was a very nice night.

It was back to work at the rental branch bright and early Monday morning, and it was one busy morning. Perhaps, the busiest in my time with Enterprise (https://www.enterprise.com/en/home.html). We had a line of customers in the lobby at times, waiting to either pick up or drop off their vehicles. It was a scramble, but we of the branch got it done and kept our customers most satisfied.

Great news came on my computer that night, as the St. Louis Post-Dispatch website (http://www.stltoday.com/) approved my press release and Julie Vaughn's photo from Friday morning's IPMS/Gateway (http://www.ipms-gateway.com/) check presentation to the Marine Corps Reserve in Fenton for this year's Toys for Tots (https://bridgeton-mo.toysfortots.org/local-coordinator-sites/lco-sites/default.aspx) campaign in Metro St. Louis (http://www.stltoday.com/pr/lifestyles/gateway-chapter-ipms-donates-to-toys-for-tots/article_e63d9d82-e28b-11e7-8cee-5cb9017bb5c0.html). I also posted the story on Mehlville Patch (https://patch.com/missouri/mehlville-oakville/gateway-chapter-ipms-donates-661-toys-tots) and on IPMS/USA's website (https://news.ipmsusa3.org/news/gateway-chapter-ipms-donates-661-toys-tots).

After another busy day Tuesday (19 December), it was off to Calvary Presbyterian Church (http://calvarypresbyterianchurch.org/) for this month's IPMS/Gateway meeting. It was a busy meeting, as we discussed the proposed revision to the Constitution and By-Laws (C&BL). After much debate, the members decided to not vote on approving the C&BL until the February 2018 meeting, to allow more time for members to study and discuss the changes. We did have elections for next year's executive board (eboard), and I was selected as Secretary by acclamation. (I was the only candidate left for the office. Members also voted for the Bob Stroup (Member of the Year) Award, which will be presented at next months' meeting. We then had our annual recognition contest, in which we had to guess the subjects of images projected on the wall. I got 15 of 25 correct, a low score by my standards. (I usually win or are in the top three finishers in this contest.) Finally, we had our big raffle of kits and some hobby knife holders. I had the last ticket drawn, so by default, I got one of the knife holders, made at home by our outgoing president, Bill Wagner.

Plenty of work yesterday at the branch, as we and our customers looked ahead to Christmas this weekend. Looks lie the same for tomorrow. Yesterday, by the way, was my fifth anniversary at Enterprise. During the week, I received brief congratulatory emails from two higher ups in the organization, which I was very honored to receive on this occasion.

Off work today--the Winter Solstice here in the Northern Hemisphere (Summer Solstice in the Southern Hemisphere)--I did my laundry, helped remove leaves from the front lawn, and made my last deliveries of newsletters and cookies to my colleagues. After delivery to the area office, I stopped by the Manchester car sales location to give its manager a newsletter. I now feel I have accomplished my mission of spreading holiday cheer among my colleagues. I then did a bit of Christmas shopping before coming home.

Later.