Saying "thank you"

seems to be going out of fashion.
It doesn't take much does it?
At a meeting yesterday I did not get the opportunity to say anything very much. I had asked for an item to be put on the agenda and it wasn't - although I had been told it would be there. I don't think this was an oversight. It is much more likely that someone else didn't want it there. She prefers to do things herself.
Unfortunately that meant I didn't get the opportunity to properly thank the people I wanted to thank - in the public way they deserved to be acknowledged. So, once the formal part of the meeting was over, I prowled around and thanked them individually instead. 
Several of them seemed surprised. Yes, they had of course expected some public recognition and they had got it in a different form. But, individual thanks for making an effort to do something which took time and effort? I thought they deserved it. 
"Certificates of Appreciation" are a relatively new innovation in the group. They aren't a bad idea at all but they do need to be carefully used. There is always the risk that someone who has made a very significant contribution will be overlooked or "politics" will mean that a decision is made to award one someone who has made a much lesser contribution. 
So yesterday I made the effort and thanked all those involved except one. I had already spoken to her as I knew she would be away. 
It wasn't the only thing that needed to be said or done yesterday and I didn't get it all done - but I did get the most important thing done.
It was only polite.