Happy Birthday Melcrum
It's official. Melcrum is 11 years old. Long trousers at last.
Please join me in wishing all the staff, contributors and extended Melcrum family a very happy birthday.
It's enough to bring a tear to the eye. Humbling to think that in 1996, two 27 year-olds with nothing to lose, had a crazy idea for a publication called Strategic Communication Management and borrowed a tiny 10,000 pounds and blew the lot on two Apple Macs, a fax machine and the print run of a glossy sales brochure. And sat back waiting to see if anyone would actually subscribe. I can still remember waking up at 3am head on desk to the rumble of a fax machine with the first order from Lise St. Arnaud from Kraft Canada (now at Bombardier). Thanks again Lise. Your credit card helped pay for the very first issue of SCM all those years ago!
Most of those subscribers are still with us today. So thank you for your support. You know who you are. People like Rodney Gray, Angela Sinickas, Bill Quirke to name but a few.
Here's to the next 11 years. Any guesses where internal comms will be in 2018? Right next to the CEO's office clearly.
Robin
Congratulations, Robin. I remember those early issues of SCM. In fact, I'm pretty sure I wrote an article for one of those early editions.
So all the best to you, Victoria and everyone at Melcrum. Looking forward to another eleven years.
Posted by: Neville Hobson | August 30, 2007 at 10:59 PM
Had to laugh at the long trousers bit. I keenly awaited those days when I was 10 and still in shorts at school.
Happy birthday Melcrum!
Posted by: Alex Manchester | August 31, 2007 at 08:15 AM
It's great to see we're celebrating our 11th birthday.
We've come along way since the first Strategic Communication Management Subscription, with Robin sleeping further away from the fax!
Happy Birthday Melcrum and all the 'Melcrumites'
Posted by: Alex Garforth | August 31, 2007 at 03:17 PM
Wahoo! Happy birthday Melcrum!
Mmmm, I'm yet to see the first ever edition of SCM, must dig it out!
Rob, Tor, what's been your most memorable Melcrum moment of the last 11 years??
Posted by: Sona Hathi | August 31, 2007 at 03:38 PM
Or what are your 11 most memorable moments from the last 11 years? Happy birthday and congratulations everyone!
Posted by: Annie Waite | August 31, 2007 at 03:44 PM
So, eleven years of Melcrum...I just wonder where you thought the company would be eleven years after you received that first SCM subscription? Did your supernatural foresight envisage offices in three countries and a wide range of products and services?
Either way, eleven years is a great achievement, let's hope for at least eleven more!
Posted by: Daniel Gregory | August 31, 2007 at 03:44 PM
It just shows that taking a chance can really pay off. Here's to the next eleven years! I'd quite like to see the first edition of SCM too- must be around somewhere?
Happy birthday Melcrum!
Posted by: Emma Congdon | August 31, 2007 at 04:08 PM
Yes perhaps we should frame that first issue or even re-print and reminisce about how much simpler things were back then?!
Either way - happy birthday Melcrum, here's to another 11 years...
Posted by: Katrina Andrews | August 31, 2007 at 04:13 PM
Bear in mind, this was before Facebook or Big Brother came along. Way back then, 20-somethings had time on their hands and actually did things with their lives ;-)
Favourite moment? Hmm. Tough one. Having a full page article about us in the Financial Times is right up there. But I'd have to go with closing the office for a day and taking the whole company to a theme park after we hit every single target one quarter.
Happy days.
Posted by: Robin Crumby | August 31, 2007 at 04:30 PM
I never knew about the theme park trip, Rob! Maybe we're in line for another one sometime soon..?
Posted by: Daniel Gregory | August 31, 2007 at 04:56 PM
Well that’s interesting! I never realized that I actually contributed, in my own small way, to the start-up of this wonderful and very professional publication. All I remember is that when I received the invitation to subscribe, I looked at the list of collaborators and thought I could not reject this offer. Since then I've had the opportunity to participate in some of your "research" activities and even contributed to one article.
Happy 10th Anniversary to the whole team! May you continue to enlighten us for many years!
Posted by: Lise St-Arnaud | August 31, 2007 at 10:45 PM
Happy Birthday - I thought that I would celebrate it by joining the Communicator's Network at last.
Posted by: Ronna Porter | September 03, 2007 at 03:49 PM
HAPPY BIRTHDAY - Its such a nice feeling to be a part of such an enterprising set of people criss-crossing global boundaries.
Its been almost 6 plus years being a part of it but became a part of Communicators network only recently.
In whatever way it may be it is very exciting, educative and thrilling all the way.
HERE'S WISHING US ALL MANY MORE SUCH HAPPY DAYS IN THE YEARS TO COME.
AND
THREE CHEERS FOR THOSE (ROBIN & TEAM) WHO GAVE SHAPE TO SUCH AN EXCELLENT NETWORK - HURRAY!!!!!!!!
Posted by: Dr. Madan M S Aulakh | September 04, 2007 at 04:12 PM