Well done Kathy! I enjoyed judging the contest and found ALL of the entries to be good. Thanks to everyone that took the time to enter and thanks to you Kathy for putting this together. And of course thanks to WooHoo Sally for helping with the judging.

Congrats to all the winners!!!!

Thank You Kathy, Sally and Broker Bryant for finding my Gift of Appreciation an entry worthy of highlighting. Thanks also for allowing me to participate with such a wonderful and giving group of writers. We all won because the recipients of this contest are the many special and gracious members here on ActiveRain that do so much to enhance all of our lives and experiences with ActiveRain. It is a community that we are all very proud to be part of. The recipient of my gift, Gary Bolen, is most worthy of recognition and I am very pleased to have been a part of this effort to recognize one of the many special talented and contributing people here on ActiveRain. There are no lesser and no greater among them as each of them truly represent the best of all of us. I feel very honored for the effort and the result.

Thank you to you all who took your time out to assist us in having fun telling why it is we appreciate someone else.  It is because you guys that my experience with this family has been so wonderful.  You really have a handle on the market of caring.  Please don't stop.

 Kathy this was such a nice concept, it sorts of ties together many of the reasons most of us are here, not just for biz but for the amazing people we meet and form real friendships with. Congrats to all the winners and writers!

 BTW, thx for the mention, you're too kind, the feeling is totally mutual my friend!

This was a beautiful opportunity for all to give back to someone they appreciate and I thank you Kathy...you put a lot of work and effort into this....

The writers also put a tremendous amount of effort into their choices....and I commend all of you for giving your appreciation to others...

Thanks to BB, marti, Neal, Lenn and all who inspired this contest and who are totally giving of themselves to this great community.

WooHoo Sally

Kathy - the contest was a great idea  - Congrats to all the winners!! Love the original two you mentioned - true gems!!

Kathy, I know I suggested it and then didn't enter. You have no idea how many times I agonized over it.  I just couldn't come up with 2 or 3, and that's the truth. I always felt I was omitting someone who had equally been a help.

But, congratualtions to all the winners and the judges.

Kathy, and Judges, great job on a fun contest!

Congrats, to all of the winners, I read all of the entries and everyone was great!

Broker Bryant- I will ditto your comment of Congratulations to all the Winners.....I missed putting that in the Post....LOL :)  So much for proofing before submitting :)

William- I will go the simple route and say "you're welcome".....:)  I think your effort and time was a great gift to Gary, and he will now benefit from the prize....

Wayne- thank you for entering your great gifts as well......this is indeed a great place.

marti- As I said above I do regret that Missy didn't think of this contest before I wrote the Post LOL :)  Anyway, as a Judge I couldn't write about you, Neal, and Lenn again......but I coulod cut and paste my original gifts :)  Congratulations to all for sure......

Sally- you said, "Thanks to BB, marti, Neal, Lenn and all who inspired this contest and who are totally giving of themselves to this great community."  That would include Missy Caulk and Cynthia Tilghman for suggesting and seconding the contest idea ........

And again thank you.....:) :)

Cyndee- Thanks.....I loved your entry as well....and I just read your Post on Mark F.   What you did helping a fellow AR Member, and the spirit in which you did it, shows your true spirit.  Wonderful...wonderful :)  Thank you for entering...

Missy- Some people are the masterminds behind  ideas....and others carry them out.  Both are just as important.  Thank you for suggesting this fun contest...you were right.  Oh, and I do understand....Carole had one heck of a time, as did others..We Judges weren't exempt from the difficulty either :)

Duane- I have corrected an error and put your name up on the Post, along with Liz for the help you gave us in getting this to a successful conclusion.......Thanks for promoting it in your Group. 

Kathy, I'm glad the Group could help! Thanks for sharing with all of us.

Duane

Kathy, sometimes I even strike myself as wierd! Surprise, surprise. I looked at the top slot and my first thought was wow oh wow my buddies won! I didn't get it temporarily...yes, I'm strange. Thank you. That's what it's all about!

Then, I looked through the winners and went "Yes I won!" Yea rah!!!! But, I realized it was Melissa that did that for me. This is quite a twist and I'm more than honored to have been recognized in this competition!

I want to say thank you to each and every person that was involved and where is yours Missy? Thank you to the judges and BB, I think that's the first time you ever read one of my posts! How cool is that? Sally is a doll as always and I think I'm gushing...yes, I am.

I love this place. Y'all are so much fun and I feel we all have a wonderful support group! I agree with Missy about not being able to choose! It's tough.

I will share my chocolate with all of you! Later in the rain~Deb

Congratulations to all of the winning entries and thank you to you, Kathy, and to the judges who worked so hard to choose the winners. Wonderful gifts of appreciation and contest.

Jo

Duane- :)

Debbie-That is funny.....Thanks for sharing the emotions behind seeing the "winners".......because as you realized it was someone else writing their appreciation that provided the winners......you should be gushing...your Post was beautiful......Melissa's Post about you was the 2nd one entered.....way before you wrote yours, and look what she had to say.  Turned out to be quite true.

And what everyone here doesn't know is you are the one that suggested I contact Duane to maybe send a mail out to get more people to enter.....and that really made a difference at the end.  I want to say thank you......that had nothing to do with our decision......and I only had one vote which sure wouldn't get anyone to win without at least one other Judge's..... LOL :)

So, go enjoy your chocolates......you did very well.......we all won because of you !!!!!

Thank you so much for this contest. I am honored to have won with some amazing members. I am also honored that my post was chosen for Deb ! Thank you all so much !

Kathy, It was a wonderful contest to truely pay it forward....Thank you.  I'm sure the judging was difficult but you have some really terrific winners....a huge congratulations to them as well for some beautiful entries.

Kathy,

Thanks so much for the mention...it was totally not nessasary but I do appreciate the thought.I'm not much for contests so don't take it personal. I'd rahter see other people get a chance. I do it because I like it...shush don't let too many hear! And I know Marti and he is a master at marketing. I hope your contest was a success and I know most of the winners. Congrats to them!

Kathy, Sally & Broker Bryant...I'm finally sitting down after a busy Monday and was delighted to have the honor of being able to HONOR some of the folks who have been such a blessing to me over the past year and half. I am humbled by the selection of my post for 2nd place; there were many excellent entries.  Thank You. 

This was a contest through which I was grateful to have been given a few simple words to communicate how Diane Rice, Mark Flanders & Laurie Manny impacted my life and my blogging.  Thanks to you all for taking the time to organize and judge the contest...I appreciate how much work it is. 

And...Thanks to all fellow participants who blessed us all through sharing the spirit of Gratitude. 

Hi Kathy - what a great idea for a contest!  Somehow I missed seeing this one get going, but am looking forward to checking out all the winners!

Ann

Melissa- Congratulations  .....Deb's Post was a wonderfully written Gift to the 3 of you.......as yours was for her :)  Interesting contest......I am still laughing at Debs confusion of "who won" :)  Also interesting was you were the 2nd entry....and as I said to Debbie you were so right about her, evidence this by your "win" :)

Jo-Ann- thank you....and when I said this was hard I meant it.....Carole who wrote about you struggled for over a week with this.  She was so afraid of not offending anyone, and when she finally wrote here entry she picked you, which I knew she would......I remember telling her to just use the "Poof method".......poof, whatever pops into your head is what is supposed to be.   And I was right, and very glad she was able to write it.  I wish I could have given a seperate prize....she would have won for overcoming her fear of not offending anyone :)

Carole- Good thing you are right under Jo for my response.......I am very proud of you for your entry.....and so many of us agree that Jo has been a huge inspiration here.  Judging was indeed difficult.

Neal- No worries my friend, I don't personalize this at all.  This contest, and my original post wasn't about me.....it was about you, marti, Lenn......and all the people that wrote, or were written about ......oh wait....someone wrote about me too :) :)  I'm teasing.  Oh, and when I wrote about you there was no contest......:)  I mentioned you out of respect for all you do for everyone here!!!!

Hi Kathy, Once againa very special  Thank You. Almost without exception, your announcement post like all the others  contest results I have seen should have been featured. With all the effort you all make, beyond the entries, you should get a prize too. For sure? And at least the featured post status so the rest will get a chance to see the results of your efforts. These are good things you have done and AR is better for the efforts put forth by you and the others involved.  If it were me ( regrettably it isn't), I would contact the AR front office and suggest it but by necessity it would need to be done pretty soon to have its best chance as a feature post. Just my 2 cents.

Lola- Congratulations....your Post absolutely highlighted some excellent people, and as always was very well written.  I loved the analogy :)  Now, if you would carry it one step further and let them know of their "win" that would be greatly appreciated.

Ann- I hope you enjoy the gifts as much as we did.....and don't forget to click on the read other entries HERE button at the bottom....I didn't want to make this so long...so I just linked back to the entries......I hope people actually see them.....:)

William- Hi again.....well thanks, and no worries...I just sent a Carrier Pigeon to AR Headquarters....letting them know the Contest is over, and Judged.  It would be great to have more people find these gems, but for the moment I just want each of you that wrote about someone to let them know about this post......and if they won, even more so.  Thanks William for your care and concern. Sally is compiling the list right now for Nicole (I hope) and the rewards will be given soon. 

Kathy -- I appreciate so many people on Active Rain that it would be really hard to pick one to nominate! But you'd be in the top 5 -- that's for sure!

Hi Ann- Why thank you....and yes I too appreciate so many that I am not sure how I would make my decision.  I told Carole to just use the POOF Method....whatever pops into your head at the time is who to write about :)  might not be super accurate, but it will show you who's in your head .....LOL :)

Kathy, well done and congratulations to all the winners and thanks to all the hard work put in by the judges. This was definitely a fun contest to participate in : )

Gary- I read your comments on Liz's reminder Post.....so glad you put your entry in :)  I too liked the concept, it was indeed fun :)  thank you for bring Carole to our attention.

Kathy, I'm so glad you had such a large turn out! I'm stunned yet happy that those three ladies won! Lissa, Ricki and Liz are all such doozies. There are so many wonderful people up there including your smiling face! Glad to be here. Later in the rain~Deb

Hey Deb.....the only one of your 3 ladies I don't really know is Liz Carter....I was fascinated that her profile picture is really her....so now I need to read her blog.  What's great is when someone like you brings good things to the rest of us...now don't forget to tell them about your entry :)

Kathy, you will love Liz. She is also in the makeover2takeover contest. She's gonna be a tough one to beat. She's also a lady with a big heart and soul. I will let them know. They'll be by! Later in the rain~Deb

Kathy, This was a nice contest. I think the original gifts ( Marti and Neil ) and the moderators of this contest  including you ,should get gifts in form a few points as well.

Thanks Kathy...oh I forgot to mention Lenn..maybe because I always mention her. I have no problem helping if I can...time sometimes is a factor but I don't mind because it's the theraputic part of writng for me.

Hi Kathy,
I'm looking forward to reading these entries.  Congratulations to everyone and thanks to the judges for their time and their efforts with such a difficult task. 

Deb- she does sound like someone that I should check out....what is the makeover contest?

Gita- Thanks you for saying that, but if we got points then it would take away from our gift to the community.  Remember, true  giving is with no expectation of reward :)

Neal-writing can indeed be therapeutic....it can fulfill many different needs....look at Jason Saridi :)

Cynthia-Wow friend, thatsounded like the most "canned" response I have ever read from you.....hope you don't get mad I said that....but it didn't "feel" like you....is that because you couldn't break through that difficulty so many were having to choose just a couple people to write on?  Or because you were swamped and didn't get back to this......or am I just reading too much into your quick comment.....let me go get a coffee :)

Congrats to all the winners and kudos to all who entered!

Kathy McGraw rocks!

And that's not a "canned" comment Kathy:-))

Jason- I adore you....and that's not a canned comment either :)  Thanks for supporting the winners :)

Kathy, I'm sorry that I was too busy lately to have been involved with this contest, but do appreciate all that you, Sally, and Bryant did to make it a success.

Congratulations on a great contest and to all the winners.

Sorry to have missed this contest, what a great way to thank all those who have been so generous in their time and spirit.  I'm looking forward to reading the winning entries.

Brian- We all give in our own ways....and coming here to say Congratulations to the Winners (the Gifts ) is just as important.  Thank you.

Lisa- I am sure the people that are mentioned here would love to hear from you......thank you for supporting them.

Kathy,
All the above and my little one and I both have a stomach virus.    You are right, it was a canned comment and calling me on it was the right thing to do!  I'm counting on you to keep me in line.

Kathy....thank you for the great post and tallying all the results for us.  Congratulations to all the winners and for their participation!   Kathy you rock!

Oh...That's neat.  I didn't understand that we were to notify the individuals who we nominated.  I'd be delighted to do that!  I'm glad I returned and got that clarity.

Thank you so much!  Deb Brooks is the kindest person I believe I have ever met.  Her wonderful giving spirit touches all who know her.  She is one of the most special ones with a heart of gold that shines through it all.  There is nothing hidden with her.

Ricki, see why you're so sweet and kind??? Aren't you something. I am okay. You are the sweet one. Thank you for coming by and reading the post. It really is my gift to you. I hope you are doing wonderfully and I want you to say hello to Don for Scott and me. Call me sometime. I would love to visit with you! I keep your smiling picture on your business card on my desk so I say hello everyday!

Later in the rain~Deb

Awesome Kathy, simply awesome!!

Thank you! This contest is the epitome of many of the pillars of ActiveRain......you captured them so well!!

Cynthia- I'm sorry you guys aren't feeling well....chicken soup and crackers :)  Anyway no worries....I will always tell you what I really think, just as I hope you do also :)  Hope you feel better soon.

Pam, so happy you came by....and hope you actually go to the Posts...there are some great people that were written about. Laurie Manny is one of my all time favorites........when I saw her name, a flood of memories came back.

Lola- Perfect....:)

Ricki- I think I would have to agree with you, Debbie has always been a wonderful member of this community. Living in CA I missed your big BBQ, but one day maybe I will meet her too.

Bob- Thanks...we really do have some wonderful people and I loved seeing who people wrote about.. thanks for supporting the contest :)

Kathy, this was a great contest.  It is so important to show our appreciation for members that give so  much and I think you did a great job of doing just that!

Kathy,

Great job on thanking those that do so much here at AR!  Ok, and I LOVE your customized header.  I'm working on mine but haven't quite gotten there.