We are in this business to foster the receiving of the absolute best present in the world–the one gift your family, loved ones, friends and co-workers want most–your recognition, appreciation, love, and respect. This is your opportunity to celebrate people you care about.
Who started this …
Joan Breiner and Susyn Reeve founded CelebrateAHero.com and www.self-esteem-experts.com. Both are successful entrepreneurs and best friends. Both women knew from first hand experience not only how difficult it was to make a memory book but also how gratifying it was to receive one. Collecting entries and contributions from family and friends who were spread out across the country was so difficult they decided there had to be a better way. Research soon revealed that no easy solution existed in printed or electronic form. CelebrateAHero.com was formed to fill those gaps.
Their story …
It all started in when Joan Breiner was about to turn 50. To celebrate, she and her husband invited 22 friends and family to a resort for her birthday. Susyn Reeve, one of Joan’s closest friends, wanted to make the event very special for Joan. Joan had always been there for Susyn, through good times and bad, so Susyn decided she would give her the “best present anyone could think of…” She decided to give Joan a book, with personal tributes and messages from everyone who came to the party.
Creating such a book turned out to be a challenge. Working furiously at her computer and the local copy store, Susyn created its pages, complete with appropriate graphics. After acquiring special paper and a suitable cover, she spent hours duplicating, pasting, arranging, laminating and assembling the book. Now everyone would be able to tell Joan, in their own words, why she was special to them. To aid guests who might not know how to begin their entries, Susyn incorporated leading statements at the top of each page: “My birthday wish for Joan is”, “When I think of Joan I”, “My funniest experience with Joan was”, and “What Joan has taught me is”. When she presented the journal to Joan, Susyn knew she had done the right thing.
For Joan, receiving the book was a powerful, positive and life-renewing experience, and Joan understood immediately that Susyn and her other friends had given her–in written form–what every human being wants most: love, recognition and appreciation. At that moment she had a vision: “Everyone in the world should have a book like this.- It makes people feel special.”
Knowing the value of receiving such a book, Joan wanted to give the same present back to Susyn for Susyn’s 50th. She asked Susyn for a list of her friends who should to contribute to the book. They included 35 people who were spread out across the country. Many of these people would not be at Susyn’s party. Then the idea came to Joan: the Internet would be the perfect way to gather everyone’s comments.
Hence CelebrateAHero.com was born!