On Tuesday, 15 March 2011 the WAA held the inaugural Awards Gala. (For the record, it’s pronounced gah-la. Not gay-la.) It was a wonderful event – a chance to spend time with the lovely people in this industry, and make new friends. The Gala was, in my opinion, a hugely successful experience – I can’t wait to attend the next one.

As a part of the Gala, the WAA handed out the very first Awards of Excellence. The categories were:

Client/Practitioner of the Year
Most Influential Agency/Vendor
Most Influential Industry Contributor
Web Analytics Rising Star
Innovator/Technology of the Year

I myself was so incredibly humbled just to be nominated for the award of Web Analytics Rising Star, let alone become a finalist. Those two alone seemed to good to be true.

Imagine my shock to win …

So, from the bottom of my heart,  thank you.

Thank you first and foremost to the kind soul who even thought of nominating me. Thank you for the WAA members who kindly voted for me to be a finalist. And thank you to the Awards judges, who made such a difficult choice from an amazing list of finalists, who are all so deserving.

I have been working in web analytics for a few years, but really only got involved with the community last May. I have loved every minute I’ve spent getting involved with the WAA, the Analysis Exchange and #measure. I learned more in six months than I had in years prior.

So all I can say is thank you. I really, truly love this community of amazingly smart people. Thank you for welcoming me so generously into it. Thank you for letting me learn with you and from you. Thank you for the time we’ve spent discussing, debating and encouraging each other.

Congratulations to the award nominees, the award finalists and the award recipients. You are what makes this community such an amazing thing to be a part of. I am humbled and grateful for the award, but more thankful still to be a part of such a wonderful community.