I send a lot of greeting cards to a lot of people. But I have just realized that I rarely send anniversary cards. I don’t know why…

There are certainly enough reasons to send anniversary cards. Everyone celebrates an anniversary of one form or another. Think of all the different reasons you can send an anniversary card: wedding anniversaries, anniversaries of moving into the perfect home, anniversaries of finishing paying for the perfect home, the anniversary of the day your pet joined your family, or even the anniversary of the day you passed the BAR exam (or insert your professional exam in place of BAR).

But do you ever give much thought to sending employee anniversary cards to someone in order to commemorate how long they have been working in a particular company? Admittedly, I probably would never have given this topic much thought if I didn’t work for The Gallery Collection…a company that manufactures corporate greeting cards (including anniversary cards).

When I received my first anniversary card from The Gallery Collection (hand signed by our company’s President and the Chairman of the Board), I was truly delighted…and shocked. This occurred just a week after receiving a birthday card from The Gallery Collection (again, signed by both the President and Chairman), which had shocked me as well. I had never worked anywhere before where the company (as opposed to just the people who worked around you) would acknowledge a birthday, and certainly not an anniversary. Since we manufacture business greeting cards, I suppose you could say that commemorating how long we have worked here is part of our corporate culture. But I think it might be more than that.

Receiving a card that acknowledges an anniversary shows that you are considered an important member of the team and that your contributions are valued. When I received the first of many employee anniversary cards here at the Gallery Collection, especially since at the time I didn’t work in the office but at various vendor locations, it gave me a sense of belonging and made me feel that I was appreciated. I couldn’t believe how good it made me feel. And I returned to work the next day looking forward to my second anniversary at The Gallery Collection.

Anniversaries are a milestone whether personal or business. Sending business anniversary cards is a wonderful way to recognize the importance of your employees. Design #401AR, Anniversary Balloon Wishes Card, is a light-hearted card. Pastel balloons and streamers float along glossy paper stock with good wishes for a Happy Anniversary. This design is sure to bring joyous feelings to employees on their special day. Making someone feel special is a great way to show employees you care.

Design #401AR - Anniversary Balloon Wishes Card

A “Happy Anniversary” sentiment-filled banner, accompanied by bright stars of varying colors makes design #634AY, Anniversary Wishes Card, the perfect design for your business anniversary cards. The variegated nature of the foil will show slight differences in each card. This design is both classic and joyful suiting the tastes of all recipients. We often have a hard time determining whether the card we want to send is appropriate for a man or a woman. This thought does not need to cross anyone’s mind that selects design #634AY for their employees. The smooth ecru paper stock compliments this design. Anyone would be happy to have the day they started with the company remembered in such a tasteful way.

Design #634AY - Anniversary Wishes Card

I love anniversary cards! And, business anniversary cards are the best! I’ll tell you why. If you’re someone who’s blessed with loving family, caring friends, and congenial co-workers, you may find yourself just a bit jaded about receiving lots of birthday cards and Christmas cards, and even get well cards when you’re ailing.

If you’re married, you pretty much expect to exchange anniversary cards with your mate. But, how many wedding anniversary cards are sent to you every year? Odds are, if you’ve been married for over a year, unless you’re celebrating a special anniversary such as your 25th or 50th, you are receiving few or none outside of your own household. However, that’s not the only type of anniversary you might be celebrating!

For instance, a wonderful realtor helped me to find my current home. I hope to live in this house for the rest of my life. I remember the realtor’s name but don’t know which agency she may now be working with. I’d be pleased to recommend her to others. If she had thought to send me business anniversary cards each October to note my happy purchase, not only would it make me feel great, it would also let me know where to send my house-hunting friends.

Employment anniversaries are something of a big deal where I work. That’s probably because it’s such a great place to come to every day that it’s common for employees to stay for decades, and for them to work so conscientiously that they are encouraged to stay. One means of encouragement is the business anniversary card each employee receives annually to mark their date of hire. These cards are proudly displayed by each recipient. Not only is there a hand-written note in each to denote which anniversary is being acknowledged and to whom, but all of the company’s executive officers along with the recipient’s department managers writes his or her own personal note and signature. This seemingly small gesture means a great, great deal.

I had just celebrated my ninth anniversary with my company. I was so happy to receive business anniversary cards acknowledging my years of service that I proudly displayed them on my shelf at work. A few days later, I was nice enough to allow a friend of mine to borrow my car to run a few errands while her car was in the shop. Meaghan was dropped off at my office to pick up my keys and was going to pick me up after my work day had ended. I was busy assisting a customer with an order when she arrived so she quickly busied herself by looking at all the knick knacks, decorations, and photos I had displayed around my desk. She picked up one of the anniversary cards on my shelf and began to open it with a puzzled look on her face. She caught my eye and mouthed “who sent you an anniversary card at work?”

I had completed the call at that point and explained to her who the card was from. The card has been signed by both of my managers and the president and owner of the company. The brief but thoughtful comments made by the people I work with even brought a smile to my friends face. She couldn’t believe that the company took the time to send personally signed anniversary cards to all their staff members. “What a morale booster!” Meaghan stated. She quickly asked for a catalog she could bring into her office the next day. She wanted to show her human resources department the cards. Meaghan couldn’t think of a better way to recognize an anniversary with the company and come to think of it, neither could I.

This morning Melody B. was greeted at work by a business anniversary cards signed by our Chairman of the Board, our President, the managers she reports to, and myself – her supervisor. Twenty years in a company is certainly a milestone! It shows years of dedication and loyalty. Melody has been a customer service rep at our company for twenty years today. Of course, we will be celebrating her anniversary, along with the other three employees that are also celebrating their 20th year, at a party given by the company in the spring. At the party, Melody, along with the other three employees, will be inducted into the Dinosaur Club, a very prestigious club here at The Gallery Collection. All members of the Dinosaur Club have been with the company for at least 20 years. The club has grown quite large since its inception. We now have a total of 38 dinosaurs – 24 that are still working!

Melody was excited to receive the business anniversary greeting cards, and we were as thrilled by her anniversary as she was. We will also be having goodies later today to celebrate this great day. Our company is special in the way it treats its employees. Our employees show their appreciation by their loyalty, dedication, and service to our customers. Melody and the others that handle our customer calls every day epitomize what The Gallery Collection means when we say that customer satisfaction is our primary objective.

It is a pleasure to listen to Melody when she speaks with her customers. In this day when service to customers is so rare, callers are surprised when they experience her warmth and sincerity. She receives many complimentary letters and notes from our customers. Because we are a seasonal business, we hire many seasonal employees later in the year. Sitting new seasonal employees near Melody is a training experience in itself. They quickly learn that our customers are very important to us and we want them to show the same warmth and caring to their contacts that Melody shows to hers.

It’s been such a pleasure knowing Melody and working with her for the past 20 years. She is a delight…always smiling and her wit makes every day a new experience. She is our pet laureate and song write extraordinaire. Melody usually writes a song for all our celebrations and events, which includes our Dinosaur Club parties. Happy Anniversary, Melody! Thanks for choosing The Gallery Collection for that job interview 20 years ago. It’s been a great tip!

Today I received a few anniversary cards. Getting greeting cards always cheers me up. Oh, the greeting cards weren’t for my wedding anniversary though; they were corporate anniversary cards recognizing my first day of work for the best greeting cards company ever! I know I sound like a cheerleader, but I think it’s important to cheer for the good things in life. One of the best things is greeting cards!

I think I mentioned I love sending greeting cards, but that means I also love receiving them. When we get anniversary cards at work, they are signed by the company chairman/owner, president and department manager. I think giving corporate anniversary cards is one of the greatest morale boosters. The gesture tells people that they are recognized for their importance as valued members of the company. The anniversary cards are followed by a personal visit and congratulations on the anniversary. How fabulous to work for a company where you can feel appreciated.

I was surprised when I first started working here. During the first week, everyone greeted me by name and encouraged me to join in with different activities. I thought it must be a front – everyone can’t possibly be this friendly or this nice. All these years later, I still am amazed to feel that every day when I come to work. Consequently, I am happy to go to work every day. How many companies can say that their employees are eager to come to work? Not enough! Maybe we can give lessons. Giving employees greeting cards is a start!

Anyway, Happy Anniversary to me and I hope to celebrate many more.

Whether people have just started on their career paths and are working at their first jobs or if someone has actually been in the workforce for almost forty years (like me), it’s always great to be able to say that one works for a great company and for great people. Happily, I can admit to that!

One of the small but meaningful ways my company shows its appreciation is by presenting me with a beautiful, embossed anniversary card on my anniversary date of employment. Company anniversary cards may not seem like anything special; however, this anniversary card has not only been given each and every year I have been employed at The Gallery Collection (nine years now), but the greeting card is personally signed by each and every one of the top executives of the company. In addition, several of those executives even come around during the day offering their congratulations in person.

All of the recognition I get with company anniversary cards makes me feel so wonderful that I have taken it upon myself to send an anniversary card when one of my friends or family members is celebrating an occasion. Not only have I made the recipients happy, but I feel great too having brightened someone else’s day. “You can never do wrong doing the right thing” is an adage I have embraced.

It seems that each year my wife and I keep buying more anniversary cards to send out to friends, family and clients. I think we sent out around 15 anniversary cards last year and this will only increase over the next couple of years.

So to alleviate the stress of having to find the perfect greeting cards each time we need to send them, we decided to place a bulk order for 25 business anniversary cards. While these business anniversary cards are normally used in a corporate environment, we liked them because the greeting cards were elegant yet simple. When placing the order, we purposely did not include a personalized imprint on the inside of the anniversary cards. By doing so, we are now able to personalize each greeting card by writing our own little note to the individuals it was being sent to.

Buying business anniversary cards is very convenient for us, as it has saved us on time and stress. In fact, I have a funny story on how the convenience of the anniversary cards affected my own personal life. A few weeks ago, my wife and I celebrated our anniversary. I was so focused on finding the right gift that I totally forgot about buying greeting cards. I remembered this at the last second and reached for one of the anniversary cards we recently purchased. I figured this greeting card (along with a personal note) would be better than no greeting card at all.

About an hour later I gave my wife the anniversary card and was eager to see her reaction. When she opened it, she started to laugh hysterically. When she finally gained her breath, I asked her why she was laughing. She then reached behind her back and gave me her greeting card…it was the exact same one!

I really don’t need gifts, but is it too much to expect anniversary cards? I receive business anniversary cards from my company, The Gallery Collection, commemorating the wonderful day I first walked through the door. Well, not really. It’s more about the anniversary of when I started working on a regular basis because I had worked on a seasonal basis for several years before becoming a regular employee. Yes, I know it’s a greeting card company, but that doesn’t mean that they have to send me an anniversary card.

You would think that my husband would remember that he was lucky enough to marry me 35 years ago. Ok, so maybe the fire distracted him. Well, is that really a good enough excuse? Didn’t he think about getting me an anniversary card before our anniversary?

Oh, you want to hear about the fire? On my anniversary, I received a call at work from my son. With a slightly hysterical tone, he says “THE GARAGE IS ON FIRE!” It seems my husband and son were having a leisurely lunch when someone knocked on the door and said “You have to get out – the garage is on fire.” Well, what good would it do for me to go home and stand outside and watch, especially since I have asthma? So I stayed at work and kept getting updates from my husband and son.

When I went home at my usual time, I walked into chaos. It seemed the whole family was there plus the neighbors, the firemen, the police, and assorted unknowns. The garage was burned, wet, and smoke damaged. The siding on the back of the house was melted along with the neighbors siding and all the patio furniture. How it didn’t damage the car in the driveway is beyond my comprehension. Everybody hung around until almost ten o’clock and had pizza (which I paid for) and nobody even wished me a Happy Anniversary. Okay, maybe they were preoccupied.

After the last person departed, I sarcastically asked my husband, “Is it really too much to expect an anniversary card?” Hopefully he’ll redeem himself in a few months by giving me some fantastic birthday cards!

When do you expect to get an anniversary card? Wedding anniversaries? Sure. Personal milestones? Of course. But how about an anniversary card for the date you started your job? Business anniversary cards were never anything I had even considered – that is, until I got one!

I couldn’t imagine why I was getting mail from my office but was pleasantly surprised upon opening it. Inside the deckled-edged envelope was a magnificent anniversary card, signed by the company executives and thanking me for my hard work and devotion. It reinforced my feelings of being appreciated and valued at my job, and I surely was happy to go to work the next day.

But think about the opportunities. If business anniversary cards can make your employees feel valued, then imagine how they can make your customers feel. Why not send clients or vendors anniversary cards to observe the day they began working with your company? And in the same way these cards might encourage your employees to look forward to going to work, which after all is a good thing, business anniversary cards might make your customers look forward to giving you some extra business!