Sometimes when you are recognized for honors and awards, you tend to feel a little apprehensive about expressing your appreciation and gratitude about them to the rest of the world. And when I refer to "you," I really mean "me."
Last month, Club Industry received two more ASBPE Azbee Awards, and although neither of them were gold awards this year, we're still extremely honored and humbled by the recognition. The ASBPE West Region awards luncheon was held July 24 at The Bristol just down the road from us in Leawood, KS, and yes, the filet mignon was outstanding.
My profile of Gainesville Health and Fitness Centers founder and CEO Joe Cirulli earned a silver Azbee Award in the individual profile category. And Editor-in-Chief Pamela Kufahl earned a bronze Azbee Award in the editorial/editor's letter category for her First Word column. We entered two columns in the contest, one from February 2012 and the other from September 2012.
The Joe Cirulli profile also was a finalist for the Neal Awards earlier this year. Although we came up short for the big prize, that's still two trips to New York for us in the past three years. We won the Neal Award in 2011 for my profile of Saw Mill Club founder Curt Beusman.
Up next are the FOLIO: Eddie Awards, and Joe's story is getting one more run. We've won five Eddie Awards the past three years, including three consecutive golds. Finalists for the Eddies will be announced soon. I hope we're one of them.