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)

Continuing to Shelter from COVID-19

It has been about five weeks since I was furloughed from Enterprise Rent-A-Car (https://www.enterprise.com/en/home.html). I was informed this morning by my area manager that I can expect to stay on furlough until early next month at the soonest. I am now using my accumulated paid time off for compensation in the near term.

Last weekend, I checked my credit union account and found that I had received my federal and state income tax refunds, and the federal stimulus payment. I should be financially fine in the near term.

However, I am looking out for other opportunities--both interim and long term. Any assistance others can give me in this area is most welcome.

Except for an occasional walk around the neighborhood or driving with my mom to get lunch or dinner, I have been staying inside. I have been watching TV, playing videos off my DVD player, and watching videos on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/). I have also been active on my scale modeling workbench. This past Monday (20 April), I finished my latest model, the Glencoe Models (http://www.glencoemodels.com/) 1:48 scale Ryan NYP Spirit of St. Louis, the aircraft Charles Lindbergh flew non-stop from New York to Paris in May of 1927.

A little over a week ago, I finished painting a model car body for my friend Mark Catalana. He came by the house to pick up the painted body and the paints he gave me for it. I also gave him a flyer for IPMS/Gateway (https://sites.google.com/view/ipmsgatewaychapter/home) and for the Regional Contest Gateway is hosting this September. In return, Catalana gave me a gift card for Rich & Charlie's Restaurants (http://www.richandcharlies.com/) as thanks for doing this job.

Recebtly, I started work on another model, a ship; specifically, the old Revell (https://www.revell.com/index.php) 1:306 scale USS Fletcher destroyer. I should have this done by mid-May.

Last week, I put out the IPMS/Gateway newsletter for this month. The club's meeting last night was cancelled, due to the pandemic; hopefully, we will be meeting next month at the new venue, Affton Elks Lodge 6235 (https://www.elks.org/lodges/home.cfm?LodgeNumber=2635).

Everybody take care and stay safe.

Later.

Work in High Heat, and Meetings with Friends

Working with my colleagues, I do my part at the rental branch to make sure we exceed customer expectations. We ended a good first full week of July with a good showing.

One week ago (9 July), I went to the Starbucks (https://www.starbucks.com/) in Fenton for coffee and conversation with my friend and Enterprise (https://www.enterprise.com/en/home.html) colleague Melissa Needles. She was a management trainee at the Ellisville branch two years ago; now, she works in field support at our corporate headquarters. Mel and I spent a nice time getting caught up on things. She also brought the dog she and her boyfriend have to the outdoor table we were at. Such a nice dog.

Back to work the next day, and the whole week was a challenge. Not so much due to customers, but to the heat and humidity this past week. By midweek, we hit 100 degrees F (38 degrees C), with heat indexes reaching up to 110 degrees F (43 degrees C). It was a challenge to stay capable under those conditions, but I followed common sense by taking short breaks inside the air conditioned lobby and sipping Gatorade thirst quencher--which I bought in the morning at Quick Trip (https://www.quiktrip.com/) on the way to work--between car cleanings.

Right after work that Monday, I headed to Dado's Cafe (https://www.dados-cafe.com/) in south St. Louis for dinner with the Ethnic Restaurant Fans Meetup group (https://www.meetup.com/Ethnic-Restaurant-Fans/). Six of us had wonderful conversation and enjoyed very delicious Greek cuisine. I went with The Big Fat Greek Combo Platter: Pastitio, dolmades, and spanakopita, with Greek salad. Very nice and I highly recommend the place.

I did flex out Tuesday afternoon (11 July), as I would be working the following Saturday morning. That was most welcome with the heat. I did rest at home and did a little work on a model on my workbench.

Off Thursday, I did my annual eye exam at Crown Vision Center (https://crownvisioncenter.com/) in Tesson Ferry. The optometrist said my eyes were fine, but I did pass on new glasses. The spectacles I got one year ago were fine (apart from having to repair en eye frame) and I didn't want to spend money on new glasses. I then treated myself to a coffee beverage at the nearby Saint Louis Bread Co. (https://www.panerabread.com/en-us/home.html/).

That night, I went to a happy hour at Corner Pub & Grill (http://www.cornerpubandgrill.com/) in Chesterfield, which was put on by our area manager. It was for the Enterprise branches in our area for a great June. It was nice to hang out with my colleagues and enjoy some beer and appetizers.

After work yesterday morning (15 July), I got home to work a bit on my model, then got ready for soccer. I first drove to Smugala's Pizza Pub (http://smugalas.com/smugalassunsethills) in Sunset Hills, where I enjoyed a beer before boarding the Pub2Park shuttle bus for Toyota Stadium in Fenton. There, I joined with the St. Louligans (http://stlouligans.com/) in their tailgate before marching into the stadium with them for Saint Louis FC's (http://saintlouisfc.com/landing/index) against Charleston Battery, the top team in the Eastern Conference of the United Soccer League (http://www.uslsoccer.com/).

It was a hard fought match played before a packed crowd, but Saint Louis FC prevailed, by one goal to nil. It should have been 2-0, but an apparent goal was called off due to a foul. Still, a great effort by the home side and we St. Louligans were so happy.

Today, I spent time getting my model ready for the main painting, which will start tonight. I also met my long-time friend from school, Tim Popp, at Rich & Charlie's (http://www.richandcharlies.com/south-county/index.php) in South County for beer and conversation. Tim's in town for a while, commuting here for a his work part of the month. It was nice as always to get caught up with him.

Later.