My MVP Award just arrived!

I was happy to take a break from some stone-laying that I was involved with today in order to sign for a package from DHL.  Ah, this must be the “gift” that Microsoft was sending me!  

I was totally unsure what the gift would actually be, so it would be fair to say that I was pleasantly surprised to find that Microsoft had sent me some very high quality items.

When I first opened the package, I was greeted with a nicely pre-mounted paper Award Certificate sitting on top of the interior box. 

The Award Certificate is mounted on a backerboard that has the pre-punched swing-out stand for display on desk or fireplace mantle, and another swing-out clasp for hanging on a wall.  Very Nice!

Once I removed this award, the box below (a box within a box) became evident, and it obvious that there was a very weighty item within.

Extracting the large gift-box within my award package, I found that it wasn’t really a box, but rather one of those 4-sided bands around top, bottom, front and back of a high-quality gift-box. 

The box was one of those impressive felt-interior boxes that the really prestigious awards come in.  It had a felt fabric latch with a pop-button at the end. Very impressive indeed.  And when you opened it, you are greeted with a very impressive etched lead crystal award.

The lead crystal award itself is composed of two panes of vertical crystal embedded in a thicker slab of crystal serving as the base of the award. 

The larger back pane of crystal contains an image of the world globe in the upper left corner. 

The smaller pane of crystal sits in the front, and contains the text: “We recognize and value your exceptional contributions and commitment to the technical communities worldwide.”

This award is very hefty, weighing the better part of four pounds!  However, I have to say that it is incredibly cool looking to say the least!

Also included in the package were a couple of other items befitting an awardee:

• an MVP award card, which, when paired with the secret handshake and secret password, should get me into future MVP-related events.
• an MVP lapel pin, so that I look even more cool at any swank business events. 

Very cool!   Thank you Microsoft!