The Bro Award

Last night, I attended the Winona State University Mass Communications Department annual banquet. Those who know me well are probably saying "Huh?" I did not attend WSU (well, just a quarter here and there), and I have no connection with the Mass Communication Department. All that's true. However, at their banquet they give out a number of awards to students who have achieved something in their field (either through GPA or stories or photos published), many named after former professors or people in the field. This year, an anonymous benefactor started an award named in honor of my brother, the Dean Lanz award. This award goes to someone for excellence in coverage of issues of social justice or free expression. I think Bro would have been pretty pleased and honored by this. (Sadly, they didn't name it The Bro Award.) Since this year was the initial award, my parents and I were invited to attend the banquet and were recognized. It was a pretty interesting thing to observe -- a fairly formal dinner and awards ceremony. I'm sure my parents felt a little bit out of place there. While I didn't know anyone else who was there (and there were around 100 students, plus various faculty members and other adults), it was fun just to observe (and I've been to some similar functions, though at the high school level).