The Power of Recognition by Your Peers

Today at work I was met with an unexpected and very nice suprise. During our annual employee pancake breakfast, which traditionally marks the official kickoff of the holiday shopping season for the retail outfitter for which I work, I was given a special employee recognition award by my management team. This honor is awarded once a year to one employee from each location and is based on nominations by fellow employees, with the final recipient being determined by the management team for that store. In addition to the knowledge that both my peers and my management team feel that I represent the best of what our company stands for, I also received a very nice Vectronix watch and will be flown out to our corporate office in Seattle next summer for a week-long gathering of all the award winners from various locations around the country.

Given how rough a year this has been on so many levels, my exepriences today have had a profound affect on my attitude and my outlook on my current status and things to come. Though money is tight and the future may be somewhat unsure, there is obviously much to look forward to, both in my career and in my personal life and activities outside of work. As I have discussed previously in this blog, it is easy to become overwhelmed with the day to day chaos of life, work, family and all that vies for our attention. In the midst of such frenzied lifestyles which we all lead these days, it can be very difficult to take an objective look outside of our personal maelstroms and reconnect with what is important and viable around us. Today, for the first time in quite a while, I am truly looking forward to 2010 and what it has to offer, at work, in my personal life and here at 2oldplay. I hope to see many of you at the Penny Arcade Expo in Boston next March and even more at the annual 2old2play LAN in August. Though we are separated by distance, I feel a special connection to this community and our members. We may come from widely variant backgrounds, socio-economic standings and status, we all share certain common traits, goals and accomplishments. It is via these commonalities and by supporting each other, in and outside of our gaming pursuits, that we will move forward to continue the growth and development of 2old2play as a community. I look forward to working with each of you to shape the future of our community and to bringing more like-minded, over the hilll gamers into the fold. May you leave any troubles behind you with 2009 and enjoy much success in teh coming year.