Receiving 2023 Honors from MPC

Saturday morning (13 May), I drove to Julie's house in Florissant to pick her up to take us to Mike Duffy's Pub and Grill in Kirkwood. We were there to attend the Missouri Professional Communicaitons (MPC) gathering for presentation of the 2023 Communications Contest awards for work MPC members performed in 2022. 

There were eight of us there--Julie was the only guest--and we had soft drinks and appetizers as we socialized early in the program. Then, MPC co-president Janice Denham announced the contest results. Most of the members present, plus two who could not make it, received awards for their work.

When my name came up, Denham said that I had really taken to heart the judges' comments from my submissions in previous years. I had won three First Place awards and one Second Place for my four 2022 submissions. One of my Firsts was for editing The Arch Scaler News, member newsletter of the Gateway Chapter of the International Plastic Modelers' Society (IPMS). The judges cited the consistency with styling job titles, phone numbers, dates, and times, as well as the close-up photos and the clean and clear layout. This entry was in Editing for Print or Online Publications; newsletter/other publication--nonprofit, government or educational.

The next First Place award was for running IPMS/Gateway's Facebook page, in the category of Web and Social Media: Social Media Presence; nonprofit, government or educational. The judges liked the good use of photos and the clear and informative writing.

The final First Place winner was for my press release announcing IPMS/Gateway's 2022 Invitational contest. This was entered under Information for the Media: News or Feature Release; single release. The judges mentioned that it received two very prominent placements and that it was clear and basic.

Additionally, this blog earned Second Place under Web and Social Media: Blog, personal. I submitted the post Grand Day in South St. Louis from last August. The judges liked the basic blog post, but wished I could pump up the writing.

My three First Place winners are eligible for awards from the National Federation of Press Women (NFPW) at its National Communication Contest. (MPC is a state affiliate of NFPW.) Those awards will be announced at the conclusion of NFPW's Communications Conference late in June in Cincinnati. They asked me this past week for my photo, which I sent them, as at least one of my entries may be a winner. That would be nice. (By the way, St. Louis hosts next year's NPFW Communications Conference.)

Denham then had a lucky number type drawing for a cloth book bag from the St. Louis Artists' Guild, and I had the lucky number. A nice added gift for the day. 

After the gathering broke up, I asked Julie to take my picture with the First Place awards, and she did.

I was most proud of my efforts, as you might expect, and very happy to receive these awards and the judges' comments, which I plan to take to heart in my work this year. Also, I was happy for my MPC colleagues with the honors they received for their work. Julie enjoyed the gathering and chatted with Denham and the other attendees.

After this gathering, I drove Julie back to her house, as she had an appointment that afternoon. We kissed and hugged, promising to see each other again soon.

On my way home, I stopped by Oberweis Dairy in Oakville for an ice cream cone, as a celebration for my awards, then drove to Schnucks in Oakville to shop for Mother's Day. I got a box of six cupcakes, a greeting card, and a gift card for Bob Evans Restaurants. After paying for my purchases, I waited inside as it was pouring rain. After the rain lightened up, I walked to my car and drove home.

Later.

Websites of Entities Mentioned in This Post:

Mike Duffy's Bar and Grill, Kirkwood:  Kirkwood | Mike Duffy's Pub & Grill (mikeduffys.com)

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

IPMS/Gateway: IPMS Gateway Chapter (google.com)

National Federation of Press Women: Home (nfpw.org)

St. Louis Artists' Guild: St. Louis Artists' Guild (stlouisartistsguild.org)

Oberweis Dairy: Oberweis Dairy

Schnucks: Home | Schnucks

Bob Evans: Bob Evans | Breakfast Near Me Delivery | Breakfast Restaurants

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.

Recognition for My Volunteer PR and Blogging

Last Saturday (14 April), I was at Mike Duffy's Pub & Grill in Kirkwood (http://mikeduffys.com/kirkwood/) for the annual spring luncheon of the Missouri Professional Communicators (http://www.mpc-nfpw.org/cpsiteframepage.lasso?-token.lpuserref=113815.113118). About 12 of us members and guests attended. After a nice lunch--in my case, the Reuben--the awards for MPC's annual Communications Contest were announced. Several members were honored for their work, including yours truly.

Two press releases I wrote and disseminated for IPMS/Gateway (http://www.ipms-gateway.com/) (https://www.facebook.com/IPMSGateway/) took first and second places in the category of news or feature release--single release. The winner was for the club's donation to Toys for Tots (https://bridgeton-mo.toysfortots.org/local-coordinator-sites/lco-sites/Default.aspx) in Metro St. Louis last December. The judges noted how much respect I showed for a volunteer assignment and for the release's multiple placements.

Taking second place was the release for IPMS/Gateway's Contest in September. The judges' comments also applied for this release.

My work editing IPMS/Gateway's newsletter, The Arch Scaler News, earned second place in print publications regularly edited by entrant--magazine, newsletter or other non-newspaper publication. The judges noted the good placement of the headline and logo, and being very clean. They thought I should use italics to break up the heavy font, and to try another font for headlines for variety. I believe I will try those suggestions in future issues.

Finally, this blog received honorable mention in Blogs, personal. It was a very thorough chronicle of one person's life, the judges noted. They also liked the blog title. A suggestion by the judges, which I am going to try here now, is to go towards briefer entries focusing only on highlights. Let's see how this goes.

It was a great afternoon that I finished with a personal celebration at the Kirkwood Starbucks (https://www.starbucks.com/), where I enjoyed a coffee beverage and coffee cake.

Later.