Hey everyone,
Much to my utter shock and amazement, the Illinois Woman’s Press Association, an organization for which I have served on their Board for three years, nominated me for and awarded me their highest honor, the Communicator of Achievement (COA) award for Illinois.
I will be competing with other state and regional COAs for the national COA title from the National Federation of Press Women (NFPW), the outcome of which will be announced in June. While I don’t expect to get far competing with people who have decades and decades of experience as professional communicators, I am extremely honored to get the chance to do so.
To say that I was surprised when the IWPA President called me last Saturday night is an understatement. I rushed together a packet of materials by Tuesday—an 1,800-word narrative, a short biography, endorsements, and a whole lot more—and by Wednesday morning, the following announcement was live: I was Illinois’s COA.
With 70 published articles, separately from dozens and dozens of blogs; a TEDx talk; twenty First Place entries in the IWPA Professional Communications Contest since 2017; nine placements in the national contest from the NFPW as of 2023; and three years of service as the IWPA High School Communications Contest Chair, including as a judge for the state and national competitions, I keep wanting to deflect praise and not take credit for my accomplishments, but I do deserve this honor; I just never thought anything close to it would happen at this point in my career, at age 35. The IWPA’s other Board members must think I’m pretty outstanding to qualify at this age.
My English teacher for three years in high school commented on social media that I deserved it, and he remembers how sloppy I was with assignments and deadlines back then, so that was very nice to hear. To be honest, a lot of people are telling me how much I deserve this award, and I’m just stunned. I don't know what to say.
I don't know how else to say this: I never thought I could get this far, even with so much hard work and determination. I am beyond honored.
Lots more news is on the way, but this honor is the biggest one I’ve received in my whole life, so it most definitely merits its own post.
Thank you for reading and celebrating with me,
Josh Friedberg
congrats!
Congratulations Josh! Well deserved indeed and so happy to see you honored here. Thanks for the 90s music book tip (Harvilla) - it was a quick read and took me back to my high school days!