You’ve more than likely heard those nominated for an Academy Award or some other notable accolade – whether they win or not – saying that it is an honor just to be nominated.
And now I can tell you from personal experience, that whole ‘just being nominated’ thing is the truth.
No, I am not moonlighting as an actress looking for an Oscar. Rather, I had the honor recently of being nominated for Citizen of the Year in Oakdale through the annual Chamber of Commerce Awards Program. They don’t tell you where the nomination comes from; I have some suspicions but they are being neither confirmed nor denied.
Initially, there were six nominees – one withdrew as he was emceeing the event on March 11 and also was a previous recipient of the title.
It was an unexpected honor and the best part of the night was getting to sit down and enjoy a dinner and evening of celebration (many other awards, for Junior Achievement, Community Service, etc., were presented) with the majority of my work family in attendance as well as my daughter, son-in-law and granddaughter.
While my name was not the one announced as the recipient of the honor, that would have been icing on the cake anyway, and I just felt so blessed throughout the night that I really was already a winner.
It was a little unusual to provide the autobiographical information for the program; writing about yourself for someone else to read in front of an entire roomful of people was a bit daunting. Never having done it before, I thought I kept it pretty succinct, touching on some of the highlights of what I do in the course of my work and some of the ways I volunteer in the community. But sitting there listening to it, made it seem pretty long-winded. Even so, when it had been read and I had to stand up so people could see me, my support entourage came through with arguably the loudest round of cheers and applause of the night. Another win in my book.
It was a night of recognition for several deserving people and organizations; not only those going home with the plaques but those in the running as well. I would suspect the other ‘non-winning’ nominees feel the same as me, honored to be considered, especially when that nomination comes for doing something you love; something you can’t imagine not being a huge part of your life.
So as we finally begin to really emerge out of the pandemic, we can start looking forward to getting back to near normal – already we know that the Oakdale Rodeo is returning to its traditional second weekend in April date (April 9 and 10); the Chocolate Festival returns to downtown Oakdale in May, also back to its normal time, and we anticipate the Escalon Park Fete resuming its traditional July dates. All these events were held in 2021 but all were delayed; it will be nice to have each of them in the right month this year. I look forward to getting the opportunity to promote them ahead of time and cover them when they occur.
And back to the awards night; I was also the recipient of a couple of bouquets of flowers, some cards and plenty of well-wishers stopping by our table that helped make the event even more special.
Plus it certainly didn’t bother me that I had the chance to show off my granddaughter, introducing her to several of those in attendance that I knew. And as former co-worker – and last year’s Lifetime Achievement honoree Melinda Owen – put it: a new granddaughter and a Citizen of the Year nomination, 2022 has so far been a great year.
Marg Jackson is editor of The Escalon Times, The Oakdale Leader and The Riverbank News. She may be reached at mjackson@oakdaleleader.com or by calling 209-847-3021.
