First, let me start off by thanking everyone who participated in the Carnival, either by nominating someone or by voting.  You gave us all a bunch of great posts to revisit, all 'winners' in their own right.  There were 49 posts nominated, and the Rainers whittled the list down to 11 of their favorites. A three way tie for 8th caused us to expand this list from 10 to 11.

No one can accuse us of being a shallow or insensitive group.  When I look at all of the top 11, I see compassion and passion, both about our profession and about our concern for others.  If you are new to ActiveRain, here is a GREAT reading list to get your familiarized with some of the things we've talked about, and some stellar examples of what a blog can be.  You'll find diverse voices here, all delivering compelling messages.

The votes have been tallied and YOU selected Craig Schiller's The Gift of Tears as being the most memorable post of 2006.  As someone who was brought to tears of my own reading Craig's post, I know what William Collins saw when he nominated it.  If you missed it, make sure you have Kleenex nearby.

The other posts you selected as those that touched you in 2006:

• We Need to Charge for What We Know, Not What We Do by Lenn Harley.  Lenn reminds us of what we are reallly selling.  I happened to nominate this post.
• An Example of Plagiarism Right Here on ActiveRain by Kristal Kraft.  Lenn Harley nominated this post because she thought it demonstrated the serious problems we face on the internet.  My editorial:  that particular 'event' rallied the community as we went through it.
• ActiveRainaholics Anonymous by Jay Thompson gave me a belly laugh, and that is why I nominated it.  If you feel out of control, read Jay's post.
• Your Values Are Your Brand: Part 1 by Jeff Turner.  Jessica Hughes nominated this one because she felt this poignant post was profound and demonstrated integrity and values.  We agreed with you Jessica.
• Jeff Turner delivered again, this time with I Promise: Those are Some Strong Words, nominated by Margaret Rome.
• Mary McKnight's Real Estate Blogging Rookie Mistakes.  William Collins picks another winner for a post he felt was one of the most informative and educational.
• Kristal Kraft makes another appearance for her post Circling the Drain, Jessica Hughes second winning nomination. 
• The list would not be complete without something by Broker Bryant, whose So what do you to do justify your high commission elicited lots of feedback from the Rainers.  Bryant knows his audience (us) and nominated this one himself.
• Jessica Hughes had Jeff Belonger in tears for being funny, with Rich Came to Denver.  I spent most of that day laughing, and Jessica had me in stitches.  Apparently many of you felt the same way.
• Last but not least, Jay Thompson nominated How I Spammed ActiveRain by Paul Sullins.  This is the oldest post that was nominated, and Paul was one of the early people instrumental in the growth of the network.  This nomination was seconded by Matt Heaton. 

Congratulations to the bloggers who wrote these posts and shared them with the rest of us.  Big thanks to those who saw something good and took the time to nominate.  And to those of you who voted.

I am hoping that these ActiveRain carnivals are something that the community would like to see continue in the future.  I have had great fun organizing them, but I think it is time to let this evolve and grow under different peoples' direction and creative vision.  I've asked Rich Jacobson if he would be the organizer of next month's carnival and he has graciously accepted the task.  There are others who have volunteered to host in the past, and Rich will pass along the torch to someone else the following month.  I'll be more than happy to advise and assist anyone who wants to organize a carnival in the future.  Believe me, I have some thoughts on the topic!  So with that, I sign out and thank all of you who have participated in the last few months. 

award photo by Scott Beale / Laughing Squid and modified by me. 

P.S. AR has the official poll results, just so everyone knows this was audited.