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Five Reasons I Love the Excellence Awards

By Terry O'Neill

1. The Location

What’s not to love about a more-than-a-century-old brick boilerworks turned into a romantic and warm gathering place. Sitting on an island in the middle of the Mississippi River with fabulous views of the Minneapolis skyline, Nicollet Island Pavilion is warmed up with linen-clad tables and lots of fabulous food and beverage stations (more about those later).

2. The People

I know I’ll be mingling with more than 200 editors, designers, and other publishing professionals who love magazines as much as I do. We’ll get to see winning entries and either whistle in admiration or secretly gloat over how we could have done the piece even better. I’ll enjoy sharing a glass of wine—or two—with old friends and new acquaintances.

3. The Food

Last year’s spread was great, and I’m guessing this year’s will be even better. Loved the food and drink stations scattered around the room. And those meat skewers, the noodle station with my favorite pesto, the mini desserts—yum! Best of all, there was more than enough to slake the appetites of even hungry hippos like me.

4. The Entertainment

The food stations and the silent auction were entertainment in themselves. But of course, the highlight of the evening was emcee, Jason DeRusha. This year we’ll have a new guy—Jason Matheson, local Fox TV entertainment reporter and mytalk 107.1 radio personality. He has a tough act to follow, and I’m betting he’ll be great.

5. The Suspense

Okay, this is probably the best part. Sitting at our tables with our colleagues, noshing on munchies and sipping beverages, and waiting to hear if our magazine will be singled out for an award. Even more, waiting to hear if we’ll be singled out for THE award—Magazine of the Year. You know you deserve it. I know I do—but who will win? You won’t know unless you sit there biting your nails with me on November 3.

Reserve a spot for you and a table full of colleagues.