I’m both thrilled and happy to announce that my blog here at Growing Bolder has just won a first-place award in the annual communications contest of the Illinois Woman’s Press Association. This yearly professional and student communications contest is a very big deal in Illinois, and the first-place winners all go on to be judged at the national level by the National Federation of Press Women. Woo hoo!!!

While I live in Wisconsin, I grew up in Chicago and have been a member of the IWPA since 2008. Founded in 1885, the organization is an affiliate of the National Federation of Press Women…even though it is about fifty years older than the national group. In fact, the IWPA is the oldest affiliate in the nation! The purpose of IWPA is “to maintain and improve the standards of members in mass communications in Illinois, to promote their interest, and to provide for the sharing of ideas and information.” And a more encouraging and giving group of press women I have certainly never met!

For the “blogging for corporate or for-profit” part of the competition, I submitted two Growing Bolder posts I had written last year: “Home…and where the heart is,” and “carpe diem photography.” Here are some of the very kind things that the judge had to say:

Both of these posts are really beautifully done. “Home… and where the heart is” suggests a relentless humor and ability to adapt, which I think encapsulates the idea of “growing bolder.” “Carpe diem photography,” too, suggests that same adaptability: To learn to appreciate novelties instead of taking them for granted so that we can surround ourselves with beauty.

So now I get to wait until June, to see whether my Growing Bolder posts will possibly place at the national level! In the meantime, I’d like to share that I actually took home three more first-place awards in this year’s contest! One is for an essay I wrote on my Running with Stilettos blog about an old barn I drive past often on the way to work, “Elegy for a Barn.”

Another is for a photo essay I posted on my author website about making an accidental discovery of an abandoned farm when I made an unexpected turn, “End of the Road.”

And the third is for my essay collection, “When the Shoe Fits…Essays of Love, Life and Second Chances.”

I will be on pins and needles until then. But right now, I just want to say how happy and thankful I am to Growing Bolder for inviting me to be part of this marvelous blogging team! Onward!!