In a dramatic turnaround from the way I feel I was treated by a certain individual for the last couple of months (not work related), I was at an awards banquet tonight at which a couple of co-workers won awards. (I do not qualify , as I am not a member of their professional organization.) When one of them was accepting his award, he thanked me and called me the backbone of the department. "Without her, not much would get done." At which my supervisor turned to me and said, "It's true!" A lovely exaggeration, but how nice to be publicly praised.