I did have a nice weekend, and again, thank you for all your hard work with the Florida Press Club. Too often, that sort of work goes unrecognized. I’ve coordinated some contests myself, and it’s a lot of work. In your case, it was a lot of extra work, because you also carried out your desk duties so well at the same time.

I hope you have a good time at the banquet.

Then today at the monthly staff meeting, I was named employee of the month for my work in the Sports Department! I’m very happy — and extremely grateful to the Sports guys who have been helping me learn all the sports lingo. I’m thinking of doing something nice for them. Bringing in food might be the way to go. … Isn’t it always?

But I am exhausted!

Still, I wanted to share an excerpt of what the Managing Editor of The Daytona Beach News-Journal (the boss of my boss) wrote to everyone:

Also, a special thanks to Sherry Mims, who happens to be president of the press club, who put in untold extra time in recent months to coordinate the organization’s contest and banquet.

Awesome, right?

More soon on our fabulous event — until then, forgive me while I spend the first free moments I’ve had all week — asleep. Good night!

The other officers and I have been very hard at work notifying finalists, promoting the workshop and banquet, coordinating with our awards guy for plaques and certificates, and doing general club maintenance. So, if my blog is not as lively as normal, please give me a pass. (For example, it’s 3:30 a.m., and I just finished a round of emails to our members.)

I’ve never been afraid of hard work. I also don’t mind sharing when I am working hard because I feel it’s equally important to let everyone know the effort involved in doing something like this.

You are your best cheerleader — or should be in this day and age. So, on that note, feel free to click around on my website.

• I am partial to a recent social media post inspired by Poynter: “Social Butterfly Effect.”
• I interviewed my favorite author for this post (whose new book I coincidentally received this week) and wrote about my experiences talking to her in “Kim Harrison mentions Q&A on her blog.”
• My rant against e-mail being changed to email caused a random Twitter user to comment on “AP Style: e-mail is now email.”
• For my favorite older posts, you should click on a blog roundup I did back in February after a friend recommended my blog.

My writing, designing and editing clips are also available, but on a limited basis due to my company’s policy. If you need something, just ask.

Welcome!

—

Mark your calendar for a weekend filled with the two best things about this profession: journalism that makes a difference and the energizing companionship of your fellow colleagues.

The Florida Press Club’s 60th annual Excellence in Journalism banquet will be at 7 p.m., Nov. 5 at the Renaissance World Golf Village Resort and Convention Center in St. Augustine that’s equipped with enough amenities so you can also pretend to be working in a better-paying profession.

Onsite or just steps away you’ll find shopping, a luxury spa and golf — and not just any run-of-the-mill golf. These courses are world-class, including one that Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus collaborated to create. There’s an IMAX theater too.

Rick Wilber, a journalism professor at the University of South Florida in Tampa, will be the keynote speaker at the banquet. He is also a writer who has published two novels, several short-story collections, a memoir, and several college textbooks on writing and editing for some of the world’s largest publishers. A 1 p.m. workshop with Wilber on how to turn your article ideas into books will be included in $45 admission to the banquet. Non-members pay $5.

You can check out the accommodations at Worldgolfrenaissance.com. Rooms start at $119. The special Florida Press Club rate is available if you reserve online and put “Florida Press Club” in the comments box.

Food options are:

• Grilled Flank Steak Southwestern Marinated Skirt Steak with Chipotle Demi glace
• Chicken Castillo Served with Pan Sauce, Topped with Jumbo Lump Crab Meat and Grilled Asparagus
• Vegetable Lasagna Layers of pasta filled with a variety of seasonal vegetables, topped with a marinara sauce.
• A vegan option is available on advance request.

For more information, email fpcbanquet[at]gmail[dot]com.

1. How do we enter the contest?
The website address is https://omnicontests4.com/Default.aspx?comp_id=170. Register in the upper left corner. Please read the RULES and the HELP pages before clicking the ADD ENTRY button. Please fill out and click save for all the tabs. If you are entering a jump as a second document, please label the first and second documents, PDFs, etc., as 1 and 2 at the end of the title. You may upload multiple documents by clicking the + option.

2. What about special sections?
Please email me for details. (See CONTACT page.) You will still fill out all of the information, but you will mail your entry to Sherry instead.

3. Do we have to pay through PayPal?
Although PayPal is our preferred method of payment, we realize some news organizations can only pay by check. Please email Sherry Mims and Megan Stokes to let us know as soon as possible. Otherwise, omniCONTESTS will not let you finalize entries. We have to manually submit your entries for you, so our eyes will be the last ones to look at your entries. No changes will be allowed after entries are submitted.

You can also pay by debit card or credit card through PayPal without actually having PayPal. After clicking on PAY NOW, omniCONTESTS will take you to check out. Select the “Don’t Have a PayPal Account” option to pay this way. Paying online is preferred because you will be able to finalize entries. Remember to go back to VIEW ENTRIES afterward. If you see the incomplete after payment, click on incomplete, and your entry will be submitted (accepted).

4. Are the Serious and Light Feature Writing categories different?
Yes, despite the descriptions on the initial Call for Entries, Serious Feature Writing is the category for serious news features or in-depth profiles. The Light Feature Writing category is for lighter articles (holiday, travel).

5. If I am submitting entries for multiple people, what do I do?
If you are entering for two or more people, you can use your name as usual. On the second tab, it will ask you for Entry Information. Put names the way you would want them to appear on the certificate. (This option is required for everyone, not just for multiple entrants.) When you review the totals, you will notice you are only charged one $20 membership fee. This is incorrect if you are submitting entries for two or more people. There is a fee discount set up to allow lone entrants to pay $20 once. By all means, pay the total through PayPal (or see No. 3, above, about checks), but then send us an email telling us the names and email addresses of the people whose entries you are submitting. Again, please email this information to both Sherry and Megan, but you will only send payment to Megan. We will be going through entries, and we will disqualify any contest entries from people who did not pay the $20 membership fee. If there are multiple names on a byline, all people must be members in good standing. The $20 per person fee is good until the 2012 Excellence in Journalism Contest.

Because omniCONTESTS’ software is new to us, we recommend finalizing all entries BEFORE the AUGUST 15 deadline. We cannot fix entries if it is past the contest deadline, and we will not refund entrants for disqualified entries. This is to be fair to everyone who submitted on time.

Please let us know if you need any help. We’ve had great feedback so far, so feel free to email any of us.

If you have a question — say about paying by check — CC Megan, our treasurer on the email to me. I also need to know when the entry is ready for submission. (Otherwise, you won’t be able to submit because the system will say you haven’t paid.)  That’s why we would prefer credit card payments online, but we’ll work with our members. My contact details can be found here.

Please be patient with us as we learn this new software. A big “thank you,” too, to the members who have already submitted entries. Your support ensures we can have workshops, networking and fun banquets!

Stay tuned for more details. Someone (guess who) won a joint employee of the month prize for work done in May.

Within the next day or two, I will give you a long post to satiate all you readers out there. I’m not exaggerating when I say I’ve been busy the entire month!

So bookmark sherrymims.com and then enjoy some pictures of cats under newspapers.

I worked Christmas Eve and Christmas, so my “holidays” were just random days. Random works, especially this hectic time of year. It’s been really nice to catch up on all the things you mean to do but don’t have time for normally (cooking, setting up appointments, Florida Press Club planning — and yes, hanging out with friends).

My graphic designer friend Monica, her husband Kurt and I all went to St. Augustine. (Amir had to catch a plane.) We ventured over to The St. Augustine Pirate and Treasure Museum, where a former co-worker of works as the vice president of media and marketing. (Isn’t it interesting how many fun, creative types you meet when you work in journalism?)

Unfortunately, she wasn’t there, but we enjoyed the museum. It had been moved up from Key West because the town’s more of a partying destination than family one I think it was a wise move. The museum was certainly packed and even had its own pirate! I especially liked how interactive it was.

We also went to Castillo de San Marcos, the Spanish fort; toured two art galleries; ate at Pizzalley’s, my favorite pizza place anywhere; and took in the St. Augustine Nights of Lights. Altogether, it was a great day, and a great balancing act for working all of today!

But onward! My Cambridge-based BFF with 12,273 words provides motivation. We keep each other accountable. After all, this is the most progress I’ve made since 2004 when I finished my vampire novel (before their popularity returned, naturally) because of NaNoWriMo.

As much as I’m committed, though, reality also intrudes. My (work) to-do list includes: