Confessions of a Gold Quill Junkie: Claire E. Watson, ABC, APR, IABC/Regina and a past Gold Quill chair, recalls the projects and the passion that have helped her team win 19 Gold Quill Awards.The year is 1995. The late summer breeze bites just a little, a subtle reminder that fall is hovering hov·er intr.v. hov·ered, hov·er·ing, hov·ers 1. To remain floating, suspended, or fluttering in the air: gulls hovering over the waves. 2. . Picture Avonlea, Saskatchewan Avonlea (2006 Population 381) is a village in south-central Saskatchewan, Canada, approximately 60 km southwest of Regina. According to the Canada 2006 Census: tr.v. pop·u·lat·ed, pop·u·lat·ing, pop·u·lates 1. To supply with inhabitants, as by colonization; people. 2. by wooden buildings. In front of the co-op store, three older gentlemen are sipping coffee and deep in conversation. There's plenty of excitement on the street and an air of busyness everywhere. A film crew is ready to shoot a new TV ad for Saskatchewan Wheat Pool, the province's largest cooperative. Bucking its history as a farmer-owned organization, the Pool is getting ready to go public--a controversial decision among those who nurtured the organization from infancy. The director is calling for the crane. The shooter is 20 feet in the air, camera hoisted above his shoulder, waiting for a call to action. A determined communication professional and the president of the ad agency arrive on the scene. The director calls a time-out. Everything grinds to a halt while the client is brought up to speed on the day's progress. An award-winning campaign for the Pool is in the making. "The Future of Farming" campaign will go on to win five IABC IABC International Association of Business Communicators IABC Indo-Americans for Better Community Gold Quill quill: see pen. Awards. Entering that campaign in the Gold Quill competition wasn't the first time I decided to tackle the challenge of measuring the quality of my work against the best in the world. That happened in 1993, when I submitted the strategy for The Agriculture Advocacy Program--another five-time award winner for Saskatchewan Wheat Pool. I felt intimidated in·tim·i·date tr.v. in·tim·i·dat·ed, in·tim·i·dat·ing, in·tim·i·dates 1. To make timid; fill with fear. 2. To coerce or inhibit by or as if by threats. as I sat down at my computer that first time. Research, strategy, work samples and the criteria were strewn strew tr.v. strewed, strewn or strewed, strew·ing, strews 1. To spread here and there; scatter: strewing flowers down the aisle. 2. from one end of my desk to the other. I gave myself a mental scolding: "This is a lot of work. It isn't the easiest document to pull together. Only four pages? I'm wasting my time. I must be crazy to think that my work could be among the best in the world." But I was proud of the work and determined to give it a shot. I slaved away for 25 hours on that first entry, writing and polishing, revising and rewording re·word tr.v. re·word·ed, re·word·ing, re·words 1. a. To change the wording of. b. To state or express again in different words. 2. , trying to find shorter ways to tell the tale without losing the punch. I finally signed the entry form, sighed heavily, whispered a little prayer and called the courier. The months rolled by, and I never really thought much about the entry. Then the impossible happened. I got word that my entry had been sent to the Blue Ribbon blue ribbon denotes highest honor. [Western Folklore: Brewer Dictionary, 127] See : Prize Panel! A few weeks later, another letter arrived: "I am pleased to inform you that your entry, The Agriculture Advocacy Program, has won a Gold Quill Award of Excellence." Normal was over for me. I had won the first Gold Quill awarded to a Saskatchewan resident in a decade. After that, there was no turning back. Nineteen Gold Quills and counting, and it all comes down to a couple of simple secrets: clear thinking and attention to detail. It isn't that tough. Everything I needed was already in the planning and execution of the project. Rearranging the information is a little like writing a feature story. Give the story context. Describe the environment and align the strategy with corporate goals. Make sure the objectives are measurable objectives, not goals or tactics. Identify the audience, but focus on defining characteristics. Write about why you did what you did, and point out any roadblocks you encountered. Link your results directly to the objectives. Include a well-organized work sample showcasing your project and you're off to the races! job centre offers new career tools Looking for Looking for In the context of general equities, this describing a buy interest in which a dealer is asked to offer stock, often involving a capital commitment. Antithesis of in touch with. a new job? The IABC Job Centre now features a variety of tools for general job search help and resources specific to finding a job in the communication profession. The Job Centre's content library features articles, checklists, helpful links and a self-assessment tool for communicators. And it's all free! Job.iabc.com 2006 Gold Quill Award deadline approaching There's still time to enter the 2006 Gold Quill Awards competition honoring communication management, skills and creative achievement in 26 categories. See how your work stands up next to the best in the world (see "Confessions of a Gold Quill Junkie junkie Popular health A popular term for a person, usually an IV narcotic abusing addict, whose life is disorganized vis-á-vis family and societal structure, whose existence revolves around obtaining–often through theft, prostitution or other illicit ," this page). The early-bird deadline is 2 February; the final deadline is 9 February. Get complete entry information at www.iabc.com/gq. |
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