We’re happy that email marketing is naturally green. On the other hand, almost 10,000 pieces of postal mail advertisements are printed, shipped, delivered and disposed of every 3 seconds just in the U.S.

Email marketing is already a step in the right direction for helping our planet. This Earth Day, we wanted to go over some more ways you can make your business and marketing more eco-friendly.

And if your business sells green products, check out the Natural Products Guide at then end for tips on how to market your products online.

1. Ditch the Paper Notepad

If you’re at a conference, on a call, in a meeting, etc. you’ll want to take notes. And luckily, it’s easy to take notes electronically now. Besides the handy Notepad app that comes with every computer, there’s a mobile app called EverNote that lets you easily take and share notes on the go.

2. Download Green Apps

And EverNote isn’t the only app that will help your greening efforts. There are others that are geared specifically for helping you improve your everyday life. For example:
Good Guide – Let’s you search for green products in your area
My Carbon Footprint – Shows how your everyday choices impact the world, and offers tips, badges and sharing options to make it fun

Check out some more here!

3. Make it a Game

A great way to go green and get your audience engaged is to create a game. The My Carbon Footprint app mentioned is a great tool for that, but you can try other things as well. For example, ask Facebook fans to submit what they’re doing to be green and offer a prize for the winner.

4. Use Natural Products

Purchase non-toxic, eco-friendly cleaners and eco-friendly office supplies as well. Natural products are not only better for the environment, but for your body as well.

And some tips from around our office…

How Does This Help Me Market My Business?

People like a company with personality. If you establish your brand as the company that wants to help the planet, that will be memorable. So while you work on making your business a green one, make sure you let subscribers and followers know about what you’re doing.

This will allow your audience to:

• Share what you’re doing with others
• Ask you questions and start conversations about your efforts
• Feel good about the product you’re offering

A green business can provide an all-around positive user experience that brings back repeat customers.

Do You Have Green Tips?

Please share what you’re doing to help the environment!

Get the Natural Products Marketing Guide

Are you a green business in the green products business?

Check out the Natural Products Marketing Guide. Using research from Pure Branding and SPINS, plus examples from our customers, we help you find ways to optimize your online marketing and keep growing your natural products business.

The Fall Potluck is a Thanksgiving tradition here at AWeber, and this year the culinary contributions were more plentiful than ever!

It took three maple syrup glazed turkeys, several bowls of yams and mashed potatoes, a big crock pot of bacon mac and cheese, heaps of cranberry sauce and an overflowing dessert table to feed the whole AWeber crew. And man, are we stuffed!

Check out the pictures of our celebration below. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Eric carves up one of three huge turkeys.

Cameron’s colorful mixed greens salad.

That’s only 1/4 of the dessert table!

Jay – the voice of AWeber’s videos and webinars – is one of the first to dig in.

Developers, designers and some of the Customer Solutions team load up their plates.

Erin digs into the turkey.

Too much deliciousness to fit on one plate!

The team chows down together!

Happy Thanksgiving From AWeber!

From all of us to all of you, have a safe and happy holiday!

And don’t forget our support hours for the rest of the week: we’re closed on Thursday but we’ll be back in the office again on Friday. Have a happy Thanksgiving!

Congratulations to Anthony Acquaviva, currently named the AWesomest team member at AWeber by popular vote.

Anthony’s been working here for almost 1 year now and digging every minute of it. When he is not fully immersed in AWeber goodness, he spends time with his lovely wife and neurotic Shi Tzu. He also likes to solve random math problems and shop for adult-size one-piece footy pajamas.

Here’s his take on what it’s like to work for AWeber…

Before cooking up this blog post, I though to myself, “What is my experience with the word ‘Awesome’?”

Immediately, I thought of the tried and true cheer:
“A-W-E-S-O-M-E…Awesome, Awesome, Awesome are we!”

I certainly like a good rah-rah song as much as the next person and this one definitely doesn’t disappoint.

At this point in time, you’re probably asking yourself, what is the big idea with all of this awesomeness?

Well, I just found out that I won the AWeber AWesome AWard for October 2011!!!

Awesome, Awesome, Awesome am I!

It was at that time that I realized, “Wait, Awesome are WE indeed!” You see, I learned pretty early on that AWeber is one of the most creative, unique, fun-loving companies this side of the Mississippi*.
(*we are pretty great on the other side as well…..)

It’s pretty easy to understand why the company is so cool when you break down the 5 core values and how I’m able to integrate them into my daily activities here at AWeber.

1) Create Remarkable Experiences.

As a Customer Solutions Specialist, I am given a great deal of autonomy and am really allowed to put my own stamp on each and every customer interaction. This contributes to a very customer-centric experience for anyone who crosses my path. This, in turn, leads to really memorable (not to mention remarkable) experiences.

2) Foster Respect and Cooperation.

I can honestly say I couldn’t ask for a better group of people to work with and around. Not only do I get to rub elbows with some of the best and brightest minds but all of this hob-nobbing spills over to my job. Respect and cooperation is never in short supply around these parts.

3) Listen to What People Say About Us. Invite Feedback.

When customers are comfortable with me and the service I am performing, they are able to let their guard down and provide candid tips about our service. I can then move these suggestions along the pipeline. It’s a pleasant side effect of being able to dive feet first into every customer experience and spice things up by being myself.

4) Learn. Educate. Innovate.

This is a nice 1-2-3 punch. I’m a big proponent of learning something new every step of the way. This gained knowledge allows me to teach my newly-found abilities at a moments notice. When you are able to learn, you can then become more confident to present this information, and what you got is….. wait for it…… Innovation. Cool little formula, eh?

5) Don’t Take Ourselves Too Seriously; Have Fun.

Ok, ok, fair enough. You don’t have to twist my arm!

September’s AWesome Award winner is a familiar face on the blog. You’ve probably seen her name attached to many of the posts here as well as in some of your email updates.

What makes Crystal Gouldey on the Education Team so awesome?

I sat down with her to hear in her own words how she makes AWeber and its blog a little awesomer every day.

Why She’s AWesome at AWeber

Crystal started creating remarkable experiences for customers three years ago in Customer Solutions. “I was able to learn a lot about email marketing and what our customers are doing and what they want,” she says.

In 2010, Crystal tackled a project helping customers find “different ways to improve their accounts, monitoring results [from] a lot of split-testing. That was really cool,” she says, “because I was able to see what works and what doesn’t.”

She started writing for the blog around that same time and officially joined the Education Team in April 2011. Many of the case studies she’s written for the blog came from her experiences optimizing customers’ accounts.

Crystal contributes plenty of awesome creative ideas to the blog. If Superheroes Were Email Marketers is her favorite post so far. “That was a ton of fun to write,” she says. “I was able to be creative and have fun while teaching at the same time. She’s also proud of the impact from What Do Teens Really Think of Email?, which sparked tons of shares and conversations on the blog.

Why She’s AWesome Outside of AWeber

Crystal’s worn plenty of hats on the clock at AWeber: “I can answer phones, I can improve accounts and I can write sweet stuff!” But she’s versatile off the clock, too.

“I run a lot, I ride horses and I used to give horseback riding lessons.” She also perfects her gluten-free baking when she’s not training for marathons.

That’s right. Crystal ran a half-marathon in Philadelphia on September 18th and is currently training for a full marathon on November 20th. She may be nervous about the distance – “Thirteen miles seemed reasonable,” but 26 miles is a lot! – but she embraces the challenge.

And that’s a big part of what the AWesome Award means to her. “That’s really cool, to be employee of the month. It makes you feel like you’re contributing something. And it’s given me more drive to be like, ‘Yeah! I need to be even more awesome!’”

Her AWesomest Core Values

Out of AWeber’s five Core Values, which ones inspire Crystal the most? “Create Remarkable Experiences – I think that’s my favorite one.”

“In Customer Solutions, I always went above and beyond helping people. [My] optimization [project] – that was all about helping customers get better and now I try to think of stuff the customers I worked with will appreciate [reading on the blog].”

As far as remarkable experiences she’s helped to create, her optimization work with customer Ron Davies sticks out the most. Crystal’s post on 4 Secrets for Successful List Building details what she learned from working with Ron. He thanked her in a YouTube video for all her hard work.

She’s not all business all the time though. Her second favorite Core Value? “Don’t Take Ourselves Too Seriously. Have Fun.”

“The ‘have fun’ part, I think, is what really sets this place apart from others. Because we really do have a lot of fun and it makes [AWeber] a really enjoyable place to come work. It’s not just the daily grind. Bake sales and parties, company trips to places like Eastern State Penitentiary and stuff like that make it more fun.”

Congratulations, Crystal!

Thank you, Crystal, for everything you contribute to the Education Team and beyond!

Next month, we’ll profile a new AWesome Award winner here on the blog. And check out pictures of past AWesome Award winners on our Facebook page!

The team’s fundraising efforts, including a three-week bake sale and a full company match, yielded a total of $5,700 and the Game Changers team finished in the Top 25 fundraisers nationwide!

Overall, the fourth annual Extra Life event raised more than $1.1 million – more than the event’s first three years combined. Get details and see pictures!

For the second year in a row, we at AWeber are gearing up to put down our keyboards and pick up our gamepads to participate in the Extra Life video game marathon.

On October 15th, our team, The AWeber Game Changers, will be locking ourselves in our game room here at the office in an attempt to play video games for 24 hours straight in support of our local Children’s Miracle Network affiliate, the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

CHOP is the largest pediatric healthcare network in the U.S., with nearly 50 sites that treat children throughout Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware. The Hospital has 430 beds and sees more than 1 million outpatient and inpatient youth visits.

We’ve been raising money for about a month now via an in-office bake sale, as well as reaching out to our friends and family via email and social networks. I’m thrilled to say that we’ve already raised over 80% of our $2,000 team goal.

Help Us Help the Children

With a little over a week left, we’re now opening it up to all of you in the email marketing community, because let’s face it, when it comes to raising money online, no one can top you guys!

If you’d like to help us support a great cause, you can click the “Make A Donation!” button on the widget to the right. On that page, scroll to the bottom and select any of our participants to donate to.

I’m excited to announce that AWeber will be fully matching our team’s final donation tally, so any donation you make will have twice the impact on the lives of some great kids.

Although it doesn’t matter which participant you donate to, the Extra Life site requires donations be made to a specific person. As a fun way to help you choose who you donate to, I’ve asked my teammates to briefly talk about their own gaming history. Here’s what they have to say:

Chase Kramer

While helping the Childrens’ Miracle Network kids is my first priority by far, my quest to save humanity often extends far beyond that. With my trusty Playstation 3 in hand, I’ve been known to thwart evildoers’ mystic conquests in Uncharted 1 and 2, as well as battle terrorists and entire nations throughout the Call of Duty series, and even fend off vicious aliens across the universe in Dead Space. Tomorrow’s digital soldiers need our help today however, so please follow the instructions to support our team and give some great kids a fighting chance!

Mike Smalley

Ever since that magical moment in 1988 when I first powered on my Sega Master System, I’ve been captivated by the capabilities of technology. Over twenty years later, when I’m not working on servers, I still enjoy the competition in multiplayer Halo, the strategy in Starcraft, or outsmarting a rogue AI system in Portal. Extra Life represents an amazing opportunity to contribute toward helping a lot of kids, and I’m thrilled to be a part of such an endeavor. I encourage you to do your part as well by donating to The AWeber Game Changers.

Faina Klyuzman

I’ve dabbled in the world of video games since the days of Super Mario Bros. for Nintendo, and more recently I’ve become rather obsessed with Just Dance for Wii. I also have a fascination for watching the world of Ezio Auditore da Firenze unfold in The Assassins’ Creed series. I am far from a serious gamer, but I’m excited to help the Children’s Miracle Network kids any way I can and hope others support our team for this AWesome cause.

Hunter Boyle

Gaming history, eh? That started with my Atari 2600 on classics like Pitfall and Yar’s Revenge, and real arcade games (Pac Man, Centipede, Space Invaders, Donkey Kong, Dig Dug), before going into remission. Later, there were brief periods with FPS games like Unreal Tournament and Medal of Honor, and plenty more arcade driving game wipeouts, but this is more about CHOP and a good cause than reviving my rusty gaming skillset. And zombies. I definitely want to help kids and take out scores of zombies.

Kim Robbins

While I may be able to convert manna into health restoring food in the virtual world, I have not been able to successfully achieve this in real life. Extra Life is providing me with an opportunity to do the next closest thing by allowing me to put my gaming skills to good use while supporting the Children’s Miracle Network. If you support our team to give some awesome kids a chance, I will promise not to polymorph you!

Mike Littrell

I started my gaming endeavors playing Asteroids when I was 4 on a computer my grandfather gave me. From there I moved onto Sega with Sonic the Hedgehog, to Playstation with the Driver series, to Playstation 2 with, frankly, everything, and eventually made my way back to the computer with the Half Life series, the Counter Strike series (which I played in professionally!), and more recently the Dragon Age series. Video games have taught me problem solving skills (through solving puzzles), social skills (working with an online team to win), eventually sparked my interest in computers which lead to a career, and now can help save a child’s life. Donate and support our team!

Sean Cohen

Being an avid video game fan since the days of the corner arcade means I can play a mean pinball but I have my work cut out for me trying to keep up with some of the newest games. However skill or not I jumped at the opportunity to mix my love of gaming with helping children in our area.

Boris Valerstein

Since getting a Playstation 3, playing FIFA has been more than a hobby for me. But my gaming does not stop there. From animated games like Mario to world conflicts in Call of Duty, and everything in between, nothing holds me back from a fantastic game.

On behalf of everyone here at AWeber, thank you for your support. We’ve been changing the email marketing game for over 13 years and through doing so, we’ve had the honor and privilege of working with some of the most motivated and successful members of the marketing community on a daily basis. Today, with your help, we can all give something back, and really make a difference in the lives of tomorrow’s game changers.

Donate To Help

Come Take A Look!

We have a lot of fun here and we love coming to work each and every day, and we wanted to take a moment to give you an inside look not only at the office over here at AWeber, but into the AWeber culture as well. Check it all out in our Tour Video below!

If you’d like to learn more about the people behind AWeber, come check us out. Or if you’re interested in joining our team, see what openings are available.

Of course we couldn’t have this cool office or this wonderful culture without you, the customer. So thanks for watching our Tour Video and thank you for helping us to create a place and culture where we can not only enjoy ourselves but continue to bring you the best service possible!

How did you like the office? Share your thoughts with us!

As email marketers, you work all kinds of hours.

Some of you market as your 9-5 gig, some of you spend your weekends writing messages and for some of you, email marketing is something you’re constantly managing.

Which means you need our Customer Solutions Team to be available as much as possible. After all, their help has delighted thousands of customers and is a strong point of AWeber pride.

And we wish we could support you every day. We really do. But wishing does no good, with our fairy godmother on vacation and all.

So we’re just going to make it happen without her.

Because You Need Our Love, 7 Days a Week

And currently, you only get it for six days of those days.

Starting next weekend, June 4 & 5, 2011 you’ll be able to get answers and advice from us on Sundays, too. You can get in touch with us during these hours (Eastern Standard Time):

After that, you’ll never have to go a day without talking to us again! (Lucky you. )

Here’s How To Get In Touch

LiveChat
Available every day during the hours listed above. You’ll instant message back and forth with an email specialist, who will be able to send you links to helpful articles or instructions. Just click the green LiveChat button on the AWeber site.

Phone
Monday through Friday, call in and we’ll talk you through whatever problem needs solving. We’re available toll-free in the US at +1 877-293-2371. Outside the US, you can reach us at +1 215-825-2196.

Email
Email us at any time; we’ll just respond during business hours. For email support, just fill out this contact form.

We’re Happy to Hear From You!

As an email service provider, we succeed when we help our customers succeed.

So if there’s anything we can do to help, just ask! We’ll be happy to help.

And if you know any email marketers who could use a service with weekend support, you know who to suggest!

Among other things, we moved into a brand new office, hired even more talented individuals, focused on giving back and worked hard to foster a sense of true community at work through various events and opportunities for recognition of jobs well done.

Yet even though AWeber is constantly evolving, one thing remains the same: our Core Values define the AWeber family. Only they’ve changed a little too, so we want to share them with you and give AWeber employees the chance to explain why they really sum up what makes AWeber an awesome place to work.

AWeber’s Core Values

1. Foster Respect and Cooperation.
2. Listen to What People Say About Us. Invite Feedback.
3. Learn. Educate. Innovate.
4. Don’t Take Ourselves Too Seriously; Have Fun.
5. Create Remarkable Experiences.

Paul Jacobsen

“Regardless of your position here, everybody is treated equally and anybody is easily approachable, much like the Golden Rule. Everybody here follows this particular value naturally. When you work with people that example this, it sets a comfortable environment and tasks get done more efficiently and productively.”

Jay Moore

“Knowing that I can depend on my fellow team members allows us to work as a more cohesive unit; a shining example of cooperation.”

Bill Eshbach

“After many years, I came to the realization I don’t know it all. I don’t have all of the answers. As a result, I have to ask others for input…and without cooperation, I would be an island. I am not. And, no one should be.”

Karl Holman

“While we can’t accommodate every request, at least we can continually encourage our customers to speak out. Of course, while the compliments are better and far outweigh the complaints or suggestions, all forms of feedback should not only be encouraged, but also welcomed as valuable learning tools and blueprints for our future success.”

Robert Murphy

“I feel that the greatest value to a customer is acknowledging that they are as much part of the organization as I am.”

Feedback can also come from interested and engaged employees. Input from team members is incredibly valuable and an instrument of our success.

Chris Hoover

“I implement this by listening to our co-workers. As I talk with them about my ideas, or about ideas/issues they are dealing with, I try to encourage and foster discussion on these issues. As the issues and ideas are fleshed out, I try to see where/how I can help implement the solution in our databases.”

Dan Deming

“When managing one of the development teams here at AWeber, I always keep in mind the proverb that ends ‘Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime’. When another team member here asks me a question, I will not only give him the answer, but point out how he could have located the answer himself using the resources available to him. I view the many different types of questions that are escalated to me from the different departments I interact with as an education opportunity and am always pleasantly surprised at everyone’s willingness to learn.”

Lindsay Valente

“This Core Value means a lot to me personally because I believe that education is extremely important in the success of our company, our customers, and each individual AWeber team member. I find personal success in educating people and giving them the tools they need to execute their goals.”

Ethan McCreadie

“I remember, when I was a child, hearing adults say that they had never stopped learning, and not believing them. If you keep learning, I wondered, why are we only required to go to school until twelfth grade? Now I get it though. One of the things I love about working here is that in exploring new and potential technologies, I am constantly learning.”

Tracey Churray

“We always manage to have fun at work. Right now, the Customer Solutions Department is playing Bingo by completing every day tasks – just to make it fun.”

Erin Carney

“If people can smile, laugh at, or just be entertained by anything I do, I’m happy. And if all else fails, it’s never too late to break out the radio and start a dance party!”

Kelly Madden

“Working in such an open company allows us to be ourselves and show some of our unique aspects that make us, us. We play hard, but we work even harder. Not everyday is a smooth day here, but what I do know is that I leave with a smile each day. We are able to lift spirits, which in turn allows us to help customers in a friendly, positive manner. When you work for a company that wants you to have fun, that shows us that we are valued as not only employees, but as people.”

Jordan Bernstein

“By helping keep our systems running smoothly, and ensuring the systems in our office and data center are running well, my team is able to make everyone’s experience better and in turn get the job done more efficiently. Of course, only when everything’s working right!!! But that’s why we do what we do…the ultimate goal to reach exceedingly higher levels of service and reliability, which in turn results in a better experience for both customers and employees.”

Ben Krein

“The world of a SysAdmin is all about dealing with computers & networking – makes it hard to relate to experiences. But then, that’s kind of how we do make remarkable experiences: we keep things working so people don’t have to think about it (at least that’s our goal). The remarkable experience we offer others is one of reliability and confidence in the tools they need to use everyday. And if something does break, we offer the knowledge and time to make it right.”

Jeff Spencer

“To me, I guess it means going the extra distance in order to ensure that a customer has a positive experience with us. By positive experience, I don’t just mean solving the issue that that particular customer contacted us about, but also making sure that they receive quick, competent, and friendly assistance that they normally would not receive elsewhere. The truth is that pretty much everyone who works here is remarkable and remarkable people will always create remarkable experiences.”

Understanding What We’re All About

Our dedication to providing amazing service has been solid since day one, but without a strong team, AWeber would not be the incredible company that it is today. We continue to progress as a forward thinking company because we constantly reevaluate our Core Values.

Each one of us has a copy within arm’s reach that serves as an everyday reminder that we are a unique company. We want everyone who interacts with us to feel our commitment to their individual success, and we hope that hearing straight from some of these passionate employees gives you a better idea of how things work here at AWeber!

Glance away from the computer screen for a second and look out the window at a tree. (Now glance back.)

96 million of those are cut down every year in the US alone solely for the production of “junk” (postal marketing) mail.

By using our email service to market, our customers protect those trees. This Earth Day, we’d like to applaud them.

And we’d especially like to celebrate a few of those customers who go above and beyond with their own green business initiatives.

Living the Green

At EcoPlusHome, Bryan Kenny and his family are inciting buzz about renewable energy. For the full year of 2010, they demonstrated self-sustainability by living in a house that only used energy from renewable resources.

EPH sends newsletters about sustainable home opportunities, media coverage and government advances on the energy situation. With support from New Brunswick Premier Shawn Graham and Bosch, they’re “saving the planet – one home at a time!”

Check Into Eco Consciousness

And over at Environmentally Friendly Hotels, Kit Cassingham is creating a directory of earth-conscious hotels and resorts. Travelers can search for hotels by region to discover just how environmentally friendly their practices are.

“Lodging properties are huge consumers of resources — electricity, water, chemicals, toiletries, and even food,” Kit says. “It seems to have become a symbol of luxury and care to throw things away, be it water or packaging. By choosing a green hotel you can help cut that consumption and help change the attitudes of hotel management about the luxury of waste.”

Kit uses email to connect with the hotels featured on the site, updating them on the site’s policies, asking for their input and encouraging them to pass the word to other hotels.

So far, EFH has been featured on MSNBC, Newsweek and The New York Times, among other media outlets, and we wish it well as it continues to grow.

It Starts With AWareness

Here at AWeber, we also like to be green. Of course we do the standard recycling (so far no one has tripped on the piles of cardboard boxes we collect), but we also choose to work in an office space designed to be green.

We use daylight harvesting to conserve energy, our floors are made of highly renewable bamboo and we’ve installed skylights for plenty of natural light.

And, of course, we run our marketing through email.

How Green Can You Get?

No matter what the industry, there are ways your business can help the planet.

And once you’ve built an email community, you have people who can support you in your efforts.

What ways, tiny or tremendous, have you been saving the earth? How would you recommend other small businesses get started?

This is a story of growth and success, of how one man’s project became a business powered by a team 63 strong.

This story shows how a start-up business can go from one computer to a large, modern office; from a few contacts to 100,000 customers.

How do you get there, you’re wondering?

You start with inspiration. You factor in friends, affiliates and customers who help you grow. (And whom we’re very grateful for.) And you work hard.

See for yourself.

Act I: AWeber, 1998

The scene: An apartment in Dover, Pennsylvania. Enter Tom Kulzer, college student-turned-salesman, who trips over his bicycle and crams himself between the wall and the bed, facing his computer in the corner.

1998

1998

Tom checks out the site he’s put together and finds a dozen new orders in his email. “I’m going to have to expand this operation,” he thinks.

So he starts expanding…

2002

2004

Customers start email marketing and watch their businesses grow. Many start referring AWeber to others. Affiliates and other supporters spread the word, and the company continues to grow…

2006

2007

As new features are added and customers continue to refer others, more team members are needed. To make room for them all, AWeber moves into a large, airy space with plenty of room for growth.

Act II: AWeber, 2011. 100,000 Customers Later

Scene: A small business complex nestled amid trees in Huntingdon Valley, PA. The building with the AWeber sign has over 50 cars in the parking lot, plus a few bicycles. On the loading dock in back, a few team members eat their lunch in the sun and play ring toss.

Through the glass walls, observers can see developers, designers and marketers click-clacking away in a square path of offices. Unseen are the friends of AWeber who write, tweet and talk the company up across the globe.

In the center of it all, a hive of desks and computers buzzes with activity. The customer solutions team is busy addressing the needs of 100,000 customers.

Over the thrum of voices, some snippets stand out that highlight just how much AWeber has to offer in 2011:

Act III: The Future of AWeber

Scene: The curtain is drawn across a dark stage. Much bustling and preparation can be heard behind the scenes. But for now, observers can only wonder what they’ll see.

Behind that curtain, you can bet we’re making plans. We’re creating some of the most show-stopping numbers of all.

To our customers, affiliates and supporters, we are thankful for you. And we hope you’ll be with us to watch that curtain to rise. Care to join us for the show?