2009 PMA Acceptance Speech: Community Spirit

Three years ago when I joined Associated Content, I never imagined I'd be winning a PMA, much less one for community spirit, considering how socially shy I was at that point in time. I am proud and extremely grateful to accept the Community Spirit PMA from the Associated Content community.

To me, AC is much more than just another website I belong to or write for. It's become my community, a part of my family. That may sound cliche but it's the truth. A huge thanks goes to AC's founder, Luke Beatty. Without him, none of this would be possible - not this award and not this wonderful site and community of writers.

Many in the AC community have grown close to my heart in the 3 years since I became a member. The number of people I have to thank for helping me earn this award is seemingly endless. Staff and Contributors alike have been awesome. Some have helped me without knowing. Yet others have had a more direct influence. All drove me in some way to apply for the Community Guide program, which has been an excellent way for Contributors to get the guidance and support they need.

I am honored to be a part of that and highly recommend to anyone who wants to (or already does) help around AC to apply. To find out more about what we do as CG's, as well as virtual volunteerism in general, please read "Guide to Virtual Volunteerism: Simple, Unique Way to Give Back." The CG program has helped me reach out to many more people than I could have before joining.

If you knew me before I joined AC, you might actually think it ironic for me to earn an award for community spirit. I will admit that being helpful has always been my nature. However, I have not always been the outgoing type. I owe my attitude toward openness to AC, in fact.

Being a member of this wonderful and welcoming community has actually helped me just as much, if not more compared to the help I offer to fellow Contributors. Since joining AC I have been much less shy and much more open to people, both online and off. Hey, perhaps AC is the latest therapy to treat shyness. Who knows?

Darnell Witt and Brenna Boyce (and most recently Heather) from the AC Community Team have been amazing in helping assist fellow Contributors. The Community Team can always be counted on whenever there's a question we don't have the answer for or an issue that needs resolving. This remains true for other AC staff as well, such as Jelena, the Legal Team, the Tech Team, Partner Content, and more. All of the AC staff plays a vital role in me being able to carry out my Community Guide responsibilities (and just helping others, in general) in the best way possible.

As for Contributors, wow, there are so many I could name for being mentors, friends, and great information sources. All of you have helped me get to this point in some way. I can't name everyone, but I'll randomly name a few. My fellow Community Guides have been wonderful and some of them have become great friends. Dr. Jamie Y. Marable has been an awesome friend and source of inspiration. A.M. Morgan is another inspirational friend. Michelle Devon (Michy) was friendly, supportive, and a great knowledge source from the beginning.

Then, there's great folks (some who are now my friends) who have taught me something through their writing or forum posts like Angie Mohr, theBarefoot, Tsu Dho Nimh, Tamara L. Waters, Marie Anne St Jean, Anita Cameron, David Reinstein, Lisa Carey, Lisa A. Mason, Michael Thompson, Charlotte Kuchinsky, Marilisa Kinney-Sachteleben, Kim Keason, Linda StCyr, and who could forget Sabah Karimi. Alright, so that was a little more than a few. I better stop there.

Of course before stopping, I also must thank my mom, Jaipi Sixbear who also happens to be an AC Contributor. Without her, I wouldn't have inherited the talent for writing so would likely not be on AC. Those are just a few (well a touch over that) and I could name many more. If I left you off the list, please don't take that to mean I'm not appreciative. There are simply too many great people to name all of you. That's how great the AC community is.

In closing, I am so deeply moved by the fact that I have been awarded for having community spirit. It isn't as much the award itself that touches my heart, but the fact that the AC community has deemed me worthy of such an award. Y'all (hey, I'm a Texan now, I have to say y'all) are awesome! Thanks again so much to everyone who played a role in this by nominating me, by helping me, by inspiring me - those who had something to do with this either directly or indirectly. I appreciate you all.

If you have any questions about AC, don't hesitate to contact myself or another Community Guide. We're all glad to help.

Sources:

http://www.associatedcontent.com/community_guides.html

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/2346316/guide_to_virtual_volunteerism_simple.html