It is hard to believe that I am about to do this for the 11th time 😱. An idea I hatched in 2014 to highlight some of my favorite entries from the past 12 months eventually became an annual tradition I coin “The Big Blog Post.” At the end of December, I recognize 10 blog posts from the past year that I feel stand out.

But what “stands out”?

Good question! The posts I choose for inclusion in this prestigious list are entries that stand out to me. A spot on the countdown is not earned from analytics, reader comments, or social media reaction. Rather, I curate this list based on posts that exerted special effort in their production and/or ones that I wouldn’t mind reading again 10 years from now.

In 2024 I wrote 187 entries, an output that trumps my previous year’s yield for the fifth consecutive time (2019: 165 posts, 2020: 172 posts, 2021: 173 posts, 2022: 180 posts, 2023: 185 posts). With more blog posts to choose from since 2018, it was a challenging task to signal out just 10.

With that said, I still managed to do it. Here we go…

10. Back In The Office…Literally (October 2) – When you switch jobs, a lot of things change. What an understatement when it came to my most recent career move! Just transitioning from a strategist to a director position was a handful, but there was something else that really took adjusting. You see, I went from a primarily work from home arrangement to an in-person assignment. This blog post was a thoughtful look at what changed with the transition. From the commute to packing lunches to attending meetings, I had to re-acquaint myself with the face-to-face professional world. This post was fun because it resonated with other professionals who were going through the same transition as me and it also highlighted what didn’t change.

I returned to the office on a permanent basis in 2024.

9. Annoying My Front Seat Passenger (April 24) – Sidney and I have different approaches when it comes to operating a motor vehicle. When we are driving solo, to each their own! But when one of us is relegated to the passenger seat? Well, the one not behind the wheel can sometimes get a little annoyed. In this brief blog post, I mention a handful of things I do while driving that irks my #1 front seat passenger. From using the horn to blowing hot air at face level to turning all the appliances off upon reaching our destination, things can get a little tense between the two of us. This post made the countdown because I genuinely enjoyed writing it and mostly because I think other couples can relate. Speaking of driving, toward the end 2023 I received a speeding ticket. In 2024 I took a driver safety course to get the infraction removed from my driving record. During that class, I learned a lot. Buckle up everyone!

Sidney isn’t always smiling when she is driving with me. I explained why in one of my top posts from 2024.

8. Our Leavenworth Summer Vacation (August 11) – How can you deny a blog post filled with so much happiness a spot on this countdown? Well, you can’t. In August, my family traveled to Leavenworth for the first time to enjoy several sunny days in the Bavarian-themed town. The post covered 10 themes from the trip that ranged from big picture to mundane. But it is perhaps those “mundane” themes (i.e. family time in hotel room) I pinpoint that brought the most joy to a fabulous vacation.

We had an amazing time in Leavenworth.

7. Managing A Hall of Famer (September 23) – Earlier this year, Monte from the University of Montana was inducted into the Mascot Hall of Fame. This accomplishment was noteworthy to me because I managed the popular grizzly bear during my first job in higher education. More than 10 years after I left the UM Athletics Department, I was able to reflect on my time as Monte’s boss and share some of the behind-the-scenes triumphs and struggles from overseeing a highly touted mascot program. This post connected me with past Monte performers (both before and after my time at UM) who appreciated my perspective.

I wrote about what it entailed to manage a hall of fame mascot in one of my top posts of 2024.

6. Hoopfest 2024: All About Family (July 1) – How special is Hoopfest? My post related to the event in 2023 took the top spot in that year’s countdown and my 2022 post—surprise—ranked sixth…just like this one. There is just something special about the camaraderie that develops over a Hoopfest weekend and it was definitely evident again at this year’s tournament. For the first time since 2015, I was a court monitor. Just like that tourney nine years ago, Sidney was once again at my side to keep score. But I had some additional “helpers” this year. Sloan joined us for the whole weekend and Beau tagged along on Sunday. This post captured how special it was to have my entire family volunteering for an event that is dear to my heart. I sure was happy to document the relationships we made with the teams assigned to my court and the fun we had when I wasn’t monitoring the action.

Hoopfest 2024 was such an awesome weekend! My family and I volunteered together to make the event better.

5. Presenting With My Wife At Engaged Encounter (March 4) – In 2024, my wife and I completed a couples goal. After preparing for eight months, we worked together to deliver numerous presentations over the course of a weekend. We did this through Engaged Encounter, a Catholic ministry program for engaged couples that culminates in weekend retreats. As a “presenting couple,” Sid and I offered six presentations dealing with marital cornerstones to 13 engaged couples. This blog post addresses the preparation, teamwork, community, and faith that characterized our blessed experience. In fact, after reading this entry, it will probably come as no surprise that we ended up presenting at the May Engaged Encounter retreat as well.

Sidney presenting at the March 1-3 Engaged Encounter weekend while Fr. Pat Kerst and Joe Schroeder look on.

4. 2024 EWU Holiday Video: Leveraging the Brand (December 9) – At one point earlier this month, I mentioned to someone that I had served as marketing director at Eastern Washington University for 4.5 months. They responded by saying it must feel like 4.5 years! Indeed, I became an Eagle at a very busy time. Among other things, I helped with our brand evolution launch and the kickoff of the public phase of our fundraising campaign. But perhaps nothing was as fun (and taxing) as embracing producer responsibilities for our 2024 holiday video. In this post I detailed the pressure of creating a higher ed holiday video but also the joy of working with my team members on something that proved to be very popular. In the end, our strategy to use our holiday video to leverage our brand positioning turned out to be the perfect call.

A celebratory photo of our crew after filming wrapped on November 6 (L-R: Luke Kenneally, Sean Nelms, Me, Ginny Baxter).

3. Most Rewarding Video (January 2) – From a holiday video to a cherished personal video! In 2023, I set a goal to create a 1 Second Everyday video. After sitting on the sidelines for years and watching other people do it, I finally put in the effort myself and it was 100% worth it. In this blog post, I wrote about my inspiration for doing it. I was frank about the challenges and intricacies of undertaking such an ambitious project. I also addressed the beautiful result and how I shared it with my family and friends. At the same time, I also encouraged others to not take as long as I did to attempt #1SE. I truly believe this blog post is a great testament to the charm of #ISE and there is no doubt that my enthusiasm shines through. To watch my 2023 video, tap here.

Our Reser Family #1SE is a little over 6 minutes long and can be viewed on YouTube.

2. My Top 10 Favorite Moments Working For Washington State University (July 23) – When I left WSU in July of this year, I commemorated my time as a Coug extensively through this blog. I detailed the main theme during my employment at WSU (expect the unexpected) and I also gave a heartfelt thanks to all my colleagues who made my time on the Palouse such a pleasure. But my favorite “goodbye” piece was a list that counted down my top 10 WSU moments. Just like choosing my top 10 blog posts is difficult, identifying my top Coug moments was certainly a challenge. Even though I had done a similar exercise when I left the University of Montana and Coastal Carolina University, narrowing down those special moments never gets easier. With that said, once my list was finalized and published, I couldn’t have been more happy and proud of my time at WSU.

Working at WSU was a pleasure and the top 10 moments I enjoyed during my tenure as a Coug prove that.

1. Thirty Years of Fun (September 18) – Perhaps this wasn’t the #1 blog post you had on your bingo card, but like I mentioned, this list isn’t determined by most views. This particular post just meant a lot to me. In 1994, my family installed a basketball goal in our driveway and when the 30th anniversary rolled around this September, the hoop was still standing strong. By that time, a new generation had laid claim to the Reser family landmark— my kids and my sister’s kids. I can’t overstate the importance of the hoop to the street I grew up on nor can I even imagine how many baskets have went through the cylinder. This blog post traced the history, detailed the antics, and explained the competitive spirit that epitomized “Reser Court.” Throughout the entry, photos are featured that range from the hoop’s beginning to its heyday to its current peaceful existence as a refuge for young grand kids. In one photo, Beau is shown placing his hand in the hand print I made 30 years ago when the hoop was installed. I like to think the words and images collaborate to bring to life a blog post that will hold a special place not just in the hearts of my family but all people who know the magic that can happen on an ordinary driveway.

My family stands underneath the basketball hoop we installed in 1994. The entry I wrote to commemorate its 30th anniversary is my top post of 2024.

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That will do it for this year’s countdown. I humbly thank you for your interest in Don’t Blink and the results of this specific post. Although I make a big deal about the control I reserve over these rankings, I would still love feedback about whether your favorite post made the final cut. Once again, I appreciate your dedicated readership. Don’t Blink.

Past Annual Top Blog Post Entries
My Top 10 Blog Posts of 2023
My Top 10 Blog Posts of 2022
My Top 10 Blog Posts of 2021
My Top 10 Blog Posts of 2020
My Top 10 Blog Posts of 2019
My Top 10 Blog Posts of 2018
My Top 10 Blog Posts of 2017
My Top 10 Blog Posts of 2016
My Top 10 Blog Posts of 2015
My Top 10 Blog Posts of 2014