November was QUITE an exciting month around the 'ol Greenie house! To kick off the month, I flew away to Orlando, Florida, for the Annual Society of Women Engineers Conference (or "WE10" as we call it). WE10 was held in one of the largest convention centers in the world! And SWE only used HALF of it...that place was HUGE! Each day, I swear, I walked 2 miles just from my hotel and back!
As a Region Governor (of which I oversee NM, AZ, So.CA, So.NV, and UT), I get to attend many of the "exclusive" events and get to hang with a few celebrities! Including the SWE President, Siddika Demir (this photo was taken at the Region Governors meeting):
Over the 5-day conference (Tues-Sat), I attended multiple meetings, a few technical presentations, walked the career fair (and picked up my share of freebies), ate some fabulous meals, hung out with all of my SWE-pals, gave a presentation on "Arsenic Removal for Municipal Water Treatment," and....I received an award! That's right, I was selected for SWE's "Distinguished New Engineer" for 2010. This prestigious award is given to up-to-five recipients each year and it's QUITE an honor to win! But the best part? Matt and Carter flew all the way to Florida to be with me when I received my award!
Landing in Orlando with 8 minutes to spare, they made it, were decked out in their finest, and met me for the pre-awards banquet reception:
At the dinner itself, we had rock-star seating and were placed at the very front table (Carter went nuts shortly after the ceremony, so we ducked out and missed the final awards - and well, being at the front table, we didn't mind having the eyes OFF of us for a bit...):
And here I am receiving my award (again, with Siddika):
(And quickly, a funny story... In true Greenfelder fashion, Carter poo'd his pants RIGHT BEFORE my name was called. So where was Matt when they were calling my name and I was going onstage? He was changing a diaper! Sure, I was a little saddened that he missed it, but you know what, I'd give up everything to have a husband that changes poopy diapers any 'ol day! Plus, Matt has been THE most supportive "SWE husband" (keep reading...) and I KNOW he's proud of me... And now, looking back, I actually just sort of roll my eyes and say, "Hey, that's just how the Greenies do it!")Anyway, a few more shots of me and my award:
The recipients (three of these gals work for Boeing and the gal in the middle-right in blue works for Disney... So some pretty prestigious company, eh? And again, that's SWE President, Siddika, in the other blue dress):
The billboard outside the banquet hall - had to kneel down since my photo was on the very bottom (and the pose is showing off the photo that was used in the SWE magazine article... yes, google me, I'm famous now!):
The next day, the boys and I went across the street to the infamous Peabody Hotel. Apparently, every day at 11AM they have a "parade" of ducks that come into the hotel and get a snack in the lobby fountain. The parade is led by a conductor, complete with the red carpet and music. For some reason, I assumed the parade would be lengthy and we'd get to see it all. Silly me... Those ducks pretty much hauled tail and went right for the snacks in the fountain! I think the whole thing took 30 seconds!
Anyway, Carter loved it, so I'm glad we went. Here's a shot of the parade:
And up close - here are the ducks:
For the final event of WE10, a "Celebrate SWE!" event is held. This event is a let-your-hair-down, have fun, and really, celebrate the fun times with SWE. In the past, the regions have "competed" against each other and performed short little skits highlighting their SWE-skills (which sometimes involves singing, dancing, wearing red gowns, etc.). The "winner" won a prize and carried the prestige throughout the year.Well, the Region Governors decided to do things a little differently this year. We decided to have a "game show." We called it "SWE Know It or Show It" and it was a sort of truth-or-dare type game that involved answering SWE trivia questions or performing silly challenges. And which lucky husband got to help with the "game show"???
That'd be mine! That's right, Matt hand-made a 4-foot diameter, 6-foot tall game show wheel (complete with clicker!) that was hauled all the way from Albuquerque to Orlando to play the game. I can't believe how talented he is, not to mention creative, and the "wheel" (as we fondly, er, used to fondly, call it) was amazing! The "contestants" had SUCH a blast playing the game and the wheel was SUCH a hit!
To top it off, I got to test my comedic skills by being a game show emcee and received rave reviews for my witty sense of humor (does that mean I can quit my day job?).
Here's a shot of me onstage with the wheel:
The other emcee, Jeanne, and I right before the gameshow started:
Here's a shot of the contestants, but most importantly, that's ME on the big screen being projected to the 1500 attendees:
And finally, some mid-gameshow action:
Matt was all-too-thrilled to see the wheel carted off to a local SWE section in Orlando. My guess, if the wheel disappears and doesn't show up next year (in Chicago!), he'll be a happy, happy camper!All in all, the conference was a success and I had a blast. Next time, though, when I make it to Orlando, I sure hope the weather is warmer than the 50 degrees I experienced every day!
Up next....HARRY POTTER!!!
~kerrie
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