Convention 2013 Awards Night & Announcements

It was an exciting awards night for the Song of My Heart demonstrator team at the annual Stampin' Up convention in Salt Lake City this year!! We'd been celebrating since we arrived, with various recognition waves and walks, but Awards Night has a whole different level of glamor. Plus, there was the promise of a to-die-for party afterwards, and we were NOT disappointed! Thanks to several different demo friends for these pictures… my camera battery died just at the crucial moment, wouldn't you know.

Right off the bat we got to cheer our heads off for Lynn, one of only FIVE demonstrators in their first full year to acheive a very lofty set of sales and recruiting standards. It was an enormous accomplishment, obviously! Lynn earned not only a bonus and a beautiful star necklace, she also gets to go on an exclusive "Rising Star" retreat at the Stampin' Up home office this fall. We are all so proud of her. Lynn is my second SOMH Rising Star team member–Allana was one two years ago.This year was exciting for everyone as well, because for the first time ever, there was a male Rising Star. There is now a beautiful watch as an option instead of the necklace ; )

One of my dear friends, Alanna Wharf, pictured here with another dear friend Dena Renkow, was honored with the Artisan Award Design Team, our highest stamping-related honor. To let you know how tough this competition is, most people do not even manage to complete all the required projects to even enter, let alone win. Congrats to all ten winners–can't wait to see what you come up with all this year!

Next I got to walk the stage with a fellow Wisconsite SU-family member of mine, Wendy Fassbender, as we both earned the Acheiver's Bonus for our sales and recruiting efforts this year. We all got gorgeous fresh flower lei's instead of a boquet or corsage this year–that was cool!

I said to Mom when I got back to my seat, "I wonder if the lei's are a hint as to where the next incentive trip will be?" And guess what??? They WERE!!! The next Getaway Weekend we can work for is a trip to Washington, D.C., and the next Grand Vacation is to Oahu, Hawaii!!! I about died. AND the dates are mid-May instead of early May, so hopefully it will work out for Mike to attend, if I earn it. So you KNOW what I'll be working my tail off for this year!! Wish me luck!

Next up was the Founder's Circle announcements. I was honored to be among the Top 100 Demonstrators of the Year for the third time. Things had been tough this year and I had prepared myself to not hear my name called–but it was!! I kept peeking at the screen to make sure it was still up there because I could hardly believe it! So I get to go on an exclusive retreat in September, too! And I got a great purse which I love, to boot.

While I was up on stage getting a Founder's Circle hug from Shelli, she asked me how to pronounce my last name. I didn't think anything of it, because people are always asking me that (Zwoh-LA-neck), but it did strike me as an odd moment to ask. I soon found out why she needed a refresher on the pronunciation, though!

I still can't believe it as I'm typing this even now, days later, that this happened! I have been selected  to serve on the six-member Advisory Board for Stampin' Up. It is the highest business honor the company can bestow. There is no way to earn it, you have to be appointed to it. There are several additional duties at Leadership and Convention, and an extension of the Founder's Circle retreat in September for the members to work on whatever topics they assign us.

I am SO excited to serve the one-year term, as I dearly love this company and would do anything in my power to help them in any way they see fit to ask me. Other board appointees cry when they find out, but I was grinning from ear to ear as I hurried up to the stage from back in the boonies where my very proud Mom sat in her wheelchair listening to a crowd of six thousand people cheer, and whispered, "That's my girl."

All I said to Shelli when I finally got up there was "Bless your heart!" and "Thank you so much!" but as I thought about it afterwards, what I wanted to say was, thank you for believing in me. Thank you for appreciating how seriously I take this, how badly I want each demonstrator to develop their wings and FLY just like I have been able to with the opportunities that are available to EVERY one of us with Stampin' Up. This company has been such a God-send to me and my family, and it has made a difference in each the lives of my seventy team members and their families as well. I can't wait to help out on the Advisory Board! The hard part will be keeping my mouth SHUT about new things in development. I will have to sit on my hands many times this year, I'm sure!

This pic is me and my momma at the after party… this post is already too long, though! Will save that for another day.