Myself (@mandelsage), @poeticsnake and the whole You Got Snekked community is proud to present the second ever Golden Apple Award.
This award is granted once a month (or so) to a VSP (Very Steemy Person) and the prize is: a generous amount of Steem/SBD (how much exactly depending on contributions) and of course being featured in this ceremonial, prize-giving post.
What is a VSP? Well, essentially, a VSP is an all-round excellent, exemplary Steemian. Things like quality of content, types of comments and replies to comments, general engagement and community spirit, and how votes are used are all looked at. The general focus is on how much effort the person puts into making Steemit a better place for everyone.
So without further ado, it is our pleasure to present this award to:
@penderis
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Congratulations, @penderis!
You are the official 2nd winner of the Golden Apple Award.
🍎 🍏 🏆 🍾 🎇 🎈
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For those unfortunate few who have not yet run into @penderis:
He is a South African Steemian, steeming on since January 2018. Reading through his blog, you'll find that his quirky, out-of-the-box mind leaves you thinking hard, laughing and/or scratching your head in perplexity. Not one to shy away from controversy, his writing is always dead honest - he's not here to pander to anyone.
He is also a key member of @buddyup, a community that seeks to shine a spotlight on excellent content across the platform through person-focused (as opposed to post-focused) curation. Besides his graphic design wizardry, which he employs with expertise, he works hard behind the scenes to keep the @buddyup machine well-oiled.
And then, there's the Welcome Wagon, of which he has become an invaluable contributing member, always ready to help if and when he can. Just ask any of their members!
He is also a cat-person, which gives him extra points in my personal opinion ;P
The point is, he's a true VSP, well-deserving of this award, and I believe he'll continue to be an asset to the platform for a long time yet (no pressure, Pen ;P ). I'll let the messages below speak for themselves on just how much he is loved and appreciated by everyone he has come to know...
"Dear sir pen,
Congrats!!!! You are a man of many words. Brief, short and direct. You dont like too many emoticons or flowery words.. haha.. but to us, You are the Solution and Fixer Man in WW House. You generously share you knowledge to us. We are truly grateful having you around.
Thank you for always looking at our backs and you never fail to give your thoughts on matters that counts. I appreciate everything that you do.
You well deserve the apple! Just don't bite on it! 🍎 🍏 ...!"
"Penderis. To put it straight, this guy should be the leader of Canna Curate. His talk is so blunt. He will hit you smack dayum straight in the nose with his point of view and will not pull those punches. If that makes him sound bad. Ha. That's the best side of him. That he does speak what he thinks and does not try to fill it with what is P.C. B.S.
He has helped myself many times with his tips on formatting and his general conversation. every place I see him go, I see people see him as an asset to their community. If I can in my efforts emulate half the positivity I get from talking with Penderis, I might just end up being twice the person I am."
~ @thehive
"My dearest M&M!!!! hehehehe.. When I first met you, I couldn't figure out if I liked you! LOL Because... well, I just couldn't figure you out! And I like to figure people out!!!
But then I decided. hm. i dont think I like him. LOLOLOLOLOL
And then day by day, you won me over. I'm never wrong!!!! But I'm so glad I was wrong about that. Because not only did I find out that I liked you..... i later realized - i love you! :)
Yep! those fateful words from your post "I love you, Mommy" put all the girls into a tizzy! hahahaha and that's when we knew that your tough exterior was just a front.... and the heart of you was warm, and kind, and gentle, and generous, and talented, and humble. Cuz you are, Pen! I've seen you grow during our BuddyUp times and I'm just in awe of the kind of man that you are. You're such a great friend! And you are so humble! You give at every opportunity. You look for ways to help. When @eveningart started our WW "Burning Questions" channel - I hoped that there would always be answers for our newbies - and oh my goodness. You are 24/7 giving your time and knowledge in that room! Whenever one of us gets there - you've already been there! Already answered. Already helped.
It doesn't go unnoticed. We are so grateful to you for your help - but me? I am personally grateful to you for being a friend. And for being a friend to my friends! For finding ways to come alongside people in your quiet way and making them feel important enough to warrant someone's time.
I love you M&M!!! And there is no one more deserving of this award! I'm so glad that they chose you. and yes - I knew about the show when you asked about it in DM. LOL cuz I was busy writing this :heart: Congratulations my dear Pen! We celebrate you today!!!! Love, Dreemie"
"The many A.K.A’s of @Penderis:
1. Superhero - 'cause he always comes to the rescue when my brain is about to explode with some markdown or some graphics issue.
2. Yoda - ‘cause he teaches me new things all the time.
3. Smartass - self-explanatory.
4. M&M - As @Dreemsteem dubbed him - hard on the outside all gooey and soft on the inside.
You are truly deserving of the Golden Apple Award for all the greatness you bring to the platform. It is truly an honor to get to work with you and learn from you.
You are absolutely the best! XXXOOO ~T"
~ @tamala
"Pen? A Golden Apple? He deserves it and more! I give him the Golden Nugget Kind, generous man who cares about Steem, Steemians and people in general. I say, "Give him Every Award!"
Penderis is an Awesome Dude and many thanks for your generous support of Welcome Wagon, my friend!"
"Pen, Pen, Pen! What can I say! You like that annoying pain in the pupil of my left eye that I would just rather NOT live without! I haven't been around the blockchain for too long, but glad you decided to bother me! Thanks for all the laughs, the sarcasm and the support! Steemit is really a better place with people like you around!! So take a big bite on your Golden Apple and enjoy every moment!!
Much Love,"
"Penderis,
Well... what do I say about a freaking squishy M&M that just can't be bothered? And even though you can't be bothered and HATE just about everything ... you've stepped up and kept our little community going and even seem to be excited about some of the ideas that you have for our growth.
Remembering our first interactions in discord I can't help but laugh to see where we are now. And even after all this time you still don't know the difference between chips and fries!! One day you'll learn.
I know you hate this word but I don't care... you are BRILLIANT Pen. One day you'll see it. Thank you for being you and helping me just about every step of the way. We've gotten close over these past few months and I have enjoyed working on the posts, bouncing ideas off of each other and trying to make our community an awesome place to be.
Thanks for being you and being such a rock star and kick ass buddy! Love ya Pen! ~ <3 Mon"
I would like to thank each and every one of you whom I contacted these last few days. You were all so kind and generous. Without you all, this would literally not have been possible. Besides Snekky and I, the following awesome Steemians contributed to the Golden Apple prize pool:
@movement19, @thomasrobertgent, @artemisnorth, @maquemali, @enginewitty, @anutu, @audreybits, @mimismartypants, @eveningart, @dreemsteem, @tamala and @c0ff33a
Thank you for helping me help the platform by shining a light on someone who works tirelessly every day to make Steemit a better place for everyone!
Also, I recently obtained the account @thegoldenapple and I'm looking forward to developing this idea further... Watch this space ;)
Lastly, 50% of any rewards on this post is going to be donated
to the next Golden Apple Award prize pool.
💚 🍎 Until next time! o/ 🍏 💖