The staff of the Upper Merrimack Valley MRC was notified early in March that their recruitment video had earned high praise from a prestigious international communications organization. The 2005 Dalton Pen Awards (see www.daltonpen.com) chose "Being Prepared Just Makes Sense!" for an Award of Honor, in the category of Writing - Scripts & Speeches.

The judging committee evaluated hundreds of international entries to recognize outstanding projects. Most of the entries in the competition came from world-class Fortune 500 organizations.

The UMV MRC Director, Sandy Collins, and Coordinator Nancy Burns (who scripted the video), will attend the awards ceremony at the Pan Pacific Hotel Ballroom in San Francisco, the evening of April 22. Coincidentally, the annual MRC conference ends that afternoon, in the same city. Commander Robert J. Tosatto, director of the national MRC program office, reporting to the U.S. Surgeon General, will be on hand to represent the MRC program at the gala.

Many of the attendees who are scheduled to attend are world-renowned for their expertise across various fields of communications: Corporate -- Warren Buffet of Berkshire Hathaway, with honoree Rev. Cecil Williams; Broadcasting - Renay San Miguel of CNN and Meredith Viera of The View; Magazines - Nora McAniff, Executive Vice President of Time, Inc; Music - Rev. Al Green, musical artist; Arts & Entertainment - actors Eugene Levy and Catherine O'Hara.

Recognition of the video through the Dalton Pen Award is good news for MRCs nationwide. The accolade draws positive attention to the entire program, on an international scale. Furthermore, it shows what can be accomplished with creative ideas, determination and willpower - all on a shoestring budget.