In
2013 I decided to honor bloggers whose work was filled “with the
breathings of their heart.” I refer
to the bloggers whose sites are small in comparison to the “corporate” blogs
that have an army of writers, resources and capital. These are the good people who feed our soul—who
make us laugh about ourselves or life—and restore our buoyancy
in a troubled world. They champion
freedom of expression.
I chose Paul Revere as the icon for the award because he was an
American patriot whose legendary “Midnight Ride” to warn the colonists of
Massachusetts before the historic battles at Lexington and Concord played a
vital role in America’s struggle to gain independence from Britain.
Paul Revere was not born to wealth—he was an ordinary man who
lived an extraordinary life. Revere was a patriot, a businessman, an involved
citizen, and a popular and well-respected member of his community.
An obituary in the Boston Intelligence solemnly noted,
"Seldom has the tomb closed upon a life so honorable and useful."
Revere is credited
by the Central Intelligence Agency as the creator of the first Patriot
intelligence network on record.
This year’s award is
a representation of Cyrus E. Dallin’s Paul Revere Monument created in 1882. It took 58 years for him to complete the
commission of the statue before it was installed in the shadows of the Old
North Church in 1940 a few years before his death.
The nominations have
been hermetically sealed in envelopes and kept in a mayonnaise jar closely
guarded by my furkid Sophie since noon today.
Each blogger was nominated by his/her peers and will receive a
personalized badge to place on their site if they so choose.
And the
winners are:
