During the last few weeks, two notable Joomla personalities have been honored with awards for their achievements.
The first one was Brian Teeman, and just a few days ago Andrew Eddie was recognized for his contributions.
ComputerWeekly.com Open Source Blog of the Year Award
Brian Teeman was awarded the ComputerWeekly.com Open Source Blog of the Year Award. This is a British Award and the winner is chosen by people voting on the home page of Computerweekly.com.
This was the second year that ComputerWeekly.com had run its IT blog awards. There were several categories to reward individual IT professionals, both male and female. Best Open Source Blog was one of the categories.
In total, there were 400 blogs nominated in the blog awards, as opposed to 300 last year. 12,500 voted for their favorite blogs.
I'm happy that Brian gets this recognition. His knowledge of and experience with Joomla, combined with a sharp, clear writing style are some of the reasons why the Joomla community likes his blog so much. Read Brian's reaction upon receiving the award.
Last night I was excited, honoured and suprised to win the ComputerWeekly.com Open Source Blog of the Year Award. But this isn't really an award for me it's an award for you.
Recognition for Outstanding Service to Andrew Eddie
Andrew Eddie has been a central figure of the Joomla Community for years. He's now heavily involved in the development of Joomla 1.6.
At the Christmas party of Software Queensland a few days ago, an inaugral medal was being awarded to an individual that demonstrated an outstanding contribution in the Queensland software industry.
The award was presented by the Honorable Robert Schwarten MP, Minister for Public Works and Information and Communication Technology, and John Vickers (pictured), Chair of Software Queensland. The award was given as a great example of the potential that can be shown by a Queensland on the World stage with regard to Andrews contributions to Joomla.
In addition to this, Brett Hooker of ROARZ computing, another strong advocate and supporter of Joomla in Queensland, presented Andrew with a Certificate of High Commendation from the 2009 Queensland Pearcy Awards. This award was one of three given out to people taking a risk and making a difference in the development of the Australian Information and Communications Technology Industry.
Andrew writes on his blog:
The feeling of amazement as my name was read out as the initial recipient of this medal - I will remember for a long time.
Both of these peer-reviewed awards were an honour and encouragement to receive. The efforts of countless individuals also stand behind these awards so I am very thankful for the support I have received from the Joomla community over the years. My thanks also go to Software Queensland, the Pearcy Foundation and the Queensland Government for recognising that Open Source is making a real and credible difference in the world.
The Value of Recognition
Both of these awards recognize the important contributions these two outstanding individuals have given to the Joomla community. Awards like these are important for several reasons. They encourage people who contributes relentlessly to the Joomla project and keeps them going. The awards also helps highlight the importance of open source as a concept. And, the awards shine some additional lights on the Joomla project itself - making more people aware of this great CMS solution.
These awards are both a recognition of indviduals and, I hope, an inspiration to a community.