The Golden Apple Award - The 2nd Winner - Congratulations, @penderis!
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
~•~
Congratulations, @penderis!
You are the official 2nd winner of the Golden Apple Award.
🍎 🍏 🏆 🍾 🎇 🎈
~•~
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
"I don't know @penderis on a personal level but the stories about him are great! Always willing to help and answer questions and working hard on the project he lays his heart in! People around him talk highly about him and I believe that is one of the great signs of spotting a GREAT Steemian. Penderis, I hope to get to know you better and I wish you nothing but happiness and amazing progress on the platform."
"Penderis has a way with words. He confuckulates things like no one else can and keeps me laughing with his literal satire. He is also a fantastic graphics artist and supports many things across the chain. I'm happy to know him and call him friend."
"Dear @penderis, it is the first time ever in my life I feel not so comfortable with words. It is hard to put my thoughts in order as I thought I should refer to what I know about you, which is not a lot. On a lighter note, I realised that it's not about brains this time, as all the things you've done so far from me are kept in my heart. Remember those blasted days when this place was quite freaking me out and you appeared with the most calming solution? I'll be straining to find an explanation of how is it possible a person to be so devoted even in the most busy hours. Your presence by my side in such gloomy days reminds me of the patient care of my family and my teachers when my hand was uncertain and stomach like a knot. I am so thankful for your polite attitude and easy approach to my kind of "The Spaghetti incident". This means that I may feel free to bother you anytime, yet I feel quite OK with this too knowing that you won't mind. All of a sudden I understood that I know you just enough to be a part of the surprise you have just opened. Love all possible manifestations of your refined sense of humour. Keep rocking! With love,"
"Pen, you're a bit of a personal hero... You're always there, always helping, always generous. Thank you for being such a brilliant support to so many people."
"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"
~ @anutu
"To my comrade Penderis: You are golden boy now and take this moment to proudly shine above everyone - they tried to stop you with HF... but we know better than that, shine my beautiful friend! and remember this never give in to customers crazy fights, and obviously never give up till they rot while you shine once again. =D"
"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 was very impressed with @penderis politeness and inquisitive nature at the after-show of my new partnership Witness with @sapphic. He was already fairly knowledgeable about the workings of Steem and witnesses, and had good questions and ideas. He would make a good witness should he ever decide to make the jump from a regular Steemer to Witness Level."
"Congrats @penderis! You deserve this award for all the amazing things you do quietly in the background to make Steem a better platform."
"While I have not had the opportunity to interact with Penderis, I do know through friends on the Steem blockchain that he is an exceptional individual that is always keen to help anyone out. Through the WelcomeWagon discord I have seen him regularly help out members when they have issues posting, and of course is graphical skills are excellent as you can see through the WelcomeWagon logo he created. A very worthy winner of the Golden Apple Award, congratulations @Penderis"
~ @c0ff33a
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/ 🍏 💖
Thank you!
Took me a bit waiting for mana but mostly trying to figure out how to say thank you without sounding like a smuck to get around to making this comment.
I always call those people on tv idiots when it comes to them accepting awards, then they say odd stuff like it is great to be noticed or how warm and fuzzy it feels because they did not think it is such a big thing yet maybe it is and I think you get the drift.
Thank you to everyone who took the time to write a message anutu says it nicely when he says giving your time to someone is the most thoughtful gift of all.
As for helping with things I may not know all the answers so I apologise if I lead you down a wrong path but the fact that you ask means a lot in the first place we are all in this together so freely exchanging ideas and knowledge is a must for any sort of growth in ourselves and our individual "blogs" on the platform but not limited to.
Thank you to those that don't really know me but feel that I have contributed something of worth, not knowing me that well ain't so bad since I work best in small doses ;)
Obviously, Mon, Tam and Dreem,Kchitrah, Svemirac we mostly chat in @BuddyUp and it has been fun finding my way on the platform step by step and being able to meet you for a pitstops before we all continue our journeys and even more so being able to go home to @BuddyUp and know a person can goof off before pretending to be serious again :)
Thank you to @Mandelsage and @Poeticsnake for this honor, it is a great initiative which can help someone just be a bit more sure of the fact they are doing something right, I will be sure to assist where I can to the @TheGoldenApple and hope many more do.
Obligatory list of names :)
@maquemali , @TheHive, @EngineWitty, @Ravijojla, @EveningArt, @DreemSteem, @Anutu, @Svemirac, @Tamala, @BluefinStudios, @MimismartyPants, @Monchhichi23, @Underground, @ArtemisNorth, @C0ff33a, @Movement19, @ThomasRobertGent, @Audreybits, @Kchitrah.
From your gifts to thoughtful messages, it takes a lot to make me be quiet in that silly oh gosh darn it way but you all succeeded and I am ever grateful for this.
I know funds are involved but won't taint this with my inability to properly accept gifts, but I did power up after deliberation and it felt pretty damn good :)
Hahahahaha i was waiting for this..
You did well as always sir pen. 😊
Posted using Partiko Android
Lol just the right amount of emoji!! Glad you revelled in the powerup!! One step closer to minnowhood for you!
P. S. You spelt my handle incorrectly again!
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Hahaha... I love that first image ^.^
Thank you for this most graceful and eloquent reply. And don't worry, your "silly oh gosh darn it" silence is quite understandable, at least to me, who is just as, if not more, awkward when it comes to these sort of things. I'm much, much better at this "words" thing if I have the time to write it all out and edit properly first ;P Just like you, it seems!
But that's part of what I've come to love about Steemit: That people like us are finding cool people to be friends with and stuff, forming "communities" that are actually pleasant to be a part of, and so we get to improve ourselves through each other.
And thank you Pen, for already sending 12 Steem as a contribution towards the next Golden Apple prize already! I promise to put my all into making it one of the most prestigious awards on Steemit, recognised as a way to give back to the under-the-radar, special, truly deserving peeps who give of themselves to others without expecting anything in return.
And a message that only Pen will understand, but is for him and everyone who helped me make this possible:
;P
Wow!! Congratulations @penderis!!
Can't think of a more deserving winner. It was such joy reading all these wonderful things about you. Every word ringing so true.
Thank you @mandelsage I am so happy for this award and such a wonderful choice.
@penderis has such a capacity for kindness and love, it is no wonder he sometimes has to put up a gruff front. He just doesn't realize we see that golden heart despite those things veils of deception.
Much love Pen xx
Great job done here on this exceptional award!
Brilliant!