MPC Honors for 2020 Work

I drove to Hacienda Mexican Restaurant in Rock Hill, Missouri yesterday afternoon (22 May). The restaurant's patio hosted the Missouri Professional Communicators (MPC) Communications Contest awards celebration. Six of the eight MPC members who entered this contest--celebrating work performed last year--were in attendance, along with some guests.

After our party enjoyed appetizers and drinks on the patio, MPC co-president Janice Denham announced the winners, in alphabetical order. She mentioned the work these members entered in the contest and where they placed in the contest. Each entrant received a manila envelope with the awards certificates and the judges' comments about each entry.

When it came to me, Denham announced that my three entries had earned a Second Place, a Third Place, and an Honorable Mention. The Second was for a post made on my personal blog, Bob Delaney At Large. The judges liked the blog's listing of what I did but wished I emphasized how I felt and going to a more active voice.

My work editing The Arch Scaler News, member newsletter of the Gateway Chapter of the International Plastic Modeler's Society (IPMS), earned Third Place. The judges felt my writing was clear, but with too many sentences in the passive voice. They also felt the newsletter lacked organization.

Honorable Mention went to a photo I took for The Arch Scaler News of Jim Triola's 1:200 scale USS Hornet at Midway Diorama. The judges liked the lighting and angle but felt I should have either took a closer photo without people in the background or wider to capture the people looking at the model.

All these comments were welcome, in that they should spur me to improve my work. I appreciate these comments as much as the honor of these awards, a point I told Denham and the other co-president, Deb Reinhardt, after the program ended.

I went home after that event, before taking my mom to Rich & Charlie's Restaurant in Mehlville for a belated birthday dinner. Mom turned one year older five days ago.

Later.

Links to entities mentioned in this post:

Hacienda Mexican Restaurant--St. Louis Mexican Food | Hacienda Mexican Restaurant (haciendastl.com)

Missouri Professional Communicators--Missouri NFPW affiliate | Missouri Professional Communicators | Clayton (moprocommunicators.org)

Gateway Chapter, International Plastic Modelers' Society--IPMS Gateway Chapter (google.com)

Deb Rinehardt's New Blog, Three Women in the Kitchen--Comfort Food Recipes | Three Women in the Kitchen

Rich & Charlie's Restaurant--Rich & Charlie's Italian Restaurant (richandcharlies.com)

Second COVID-19 Vaccine Shot Done

Last Wednesday (19 May), I was on the road to BJC HealthCare's Clayton Avenue Building in St. Louis' Central West End. Three weeks before, on 28 April, I got my first shot of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine. I was coming back for the second and final shot of this vaccine.

I arrived at the clinic with plenty of time to spare to check in and wait in line to get my shot. Before long, I got my shot and then sat in the waiting room for at least 15 minutes, to make sure there were no bad after effects. There were none in my case and I left the clinic.

Having had the second shot makes me feel better about myself. With more people getting vaccinated, various places (including restaurants, bars, stores, and sporting events) are opening up more to near normal conditions.

After the vaccination, I drove to Belleville Screen Printing Company, where I picked up a new St. Louligans t-shirt I had recently ordered. The navy blue and pinkish red color scheme echoes that of St. Louis City SC, which our group will support when it begins play in Major League Soccer in 2023. I think this shirt looks good.

Later.

Links for entities mentioned in this post:

BJC HealthCare: BJC HealthCare | St. Louis, MO

Belleville Screen Printing Company: Belleville Screen Printing Company

St. Louligans: Saint Louligans – Supporting Soccer in the St. Louis Area – St. Louligans – Supporting St. Louis Soccer (stlouligans.com)