Leesburg, VA (USA)

I found out a few days ago that I was going to be honored (by my company) with a leadership award. The catch was that it would be presented at the Lansdowne Convention Center (near Leesburg, Virginia). So, I squeezed in as much work downtown as I could and then departed for my car at 1430. Nicky met me outside the Metro Station (1500) and we drove up to Leesburg (via I-495, I-66, VA-28 and VA-7). As we were passing the Dulles Airport, it began to pour! We'd heard about nasty weather coming our way, but it looked like we might not make it to our destination. It was quite fortunate that we left early from Alexandria - traffic was getting bad and that would be made worse by the weather... In the end, we arrived about 45 minutes early. We met the awards ceremony coodinator (Amy) and relaxed for a bit before the award winner cocktail hour (1700). That event was, in itself, a treat - we met all of the principles from the company (VPs, Directors, etc.). Later (1800), we walked down to the main ballroom and had a delicious dinner (steak and scallops) at a table with the other winners. The awards presentation was also great - they tried to make it seem like a major ceremony (with lights, music). Our company isn't very big, so there was a lot of back and forth with the crowd and presenters. This was also the first time the company had such an event, so there were a few unscripted moments. Altogether, the whole thing was well done and I was very honored to receive recognition. Afterwards, several people came by to congratulate me. We departed the Convention Center around 2100 and retraced our steps to the house. It was a little slow going (weather), but we got home around 2200.