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ERRSS Celebrates 25th Anniversary

This past August, ERRSS celebrated 25 years of service with a week full of activities ranging from a scavenger hunt to an ’80s costume contest.

This past August, EBSCO Reception Room Subscription Services celebrated 25 years of service with a week full of activities ranging from a scavenger hunt to an ’80s costume contest.

“We wanted to celebrate in August because we mailed our first direct mail marketing piece in August of 1980,” said Susie Sims, office manager.

The festivities began Monday, Aug. 15, with breakfast, a scavenger hunt and an ’80s trivia game.

An ’80s theme ran throughout the week to commemorate ERRSS’s first year. The division, which started in 1980, began with General Manager Jack Breard as the sole employee and now has roughly 55 employees.

ERRSS got its start when Chairman of the Board and then President J.T. Stephens asked Breard to start the division in the Dallas office, which Breard managed for EBSCO Subscription Services and EBSCO Professional Partnership Group (formerly Directional Advertising Services) at the time.

“Our first mailing was 50,000 pieces in August of 1980,” Breard said, “In 1985, the business moved to Birmingham, and now ERRSS has mailed over 140 million pieces of direct mail. We have over 165,000 customers who enjoy the savings and ordering convenience that we offer.” Breard said cited ERRSS employees as a key component of its success. ldquo;We would not be the largest provider of reception room magazines in the U.S. and Canada without the team of dedicated people on our staff who make sure our customers get the best service possible and renew their magazines with us year after year,” Breard said. Sims said the ability for that team to work together was a focal point of many of the exercises during the anniversary activities. “We really promoted teamwork during this week,” Sims said. “We emphasized that the reason for our success is that our entire division works great as a team.” Teamwork was matched with friendly competition as teams deciphered clues and scoured the SouthEast building during the scavenger hunt. “We ran around the building, trash-talking and taking pictures,” Henry joked. The week ended Saturday, Aug. 20, with the ERRSS 25th Anniversary Celebration at The Summit Club. Sims presented a special segment called “Remember When” that briefly chronicled the division’s growth over the years and major changes that took place. Dixon Brooke, president and CEO of EBSCO Industries, closed the evening by complimenting Breard on the success that ERRSS has had over the past 25 years. The night ended with employees and guests dancing to music provided by a professional disc jockey.

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