We'll be at Arena Park* from 3:30 to 6:30 on Thursday, May 10th grilling brats & burgers and showing our appreciation for YOU - our awesome clients! Stop by for a free dinner, and sign up to win fabulous door prizes. 

We're giving away one 20" Widescreen LCD monitor, two packages with 3 months of Free Hosting and a couple of $25 gift cards to Jones Heritage Farm.

Hope to see you there, and thank you so much for being wonderful clients!

*Shelter 1, across from the entrance of the Arena Building

If you have not already joined the SELECT PAYMENT PLAN, it is NEVER TOO LATE to sign up.  Your company can have the recurring hosting payment deducted automatically from your current checking or savings account each month.

Here are a few ways the SELECT PAYMENT PLAN will help you save time each month:

• Fewer checks to write.
• Helps meet your commitment in a convenient and timely manner – even if you’re on vacation or out of town.
• No lost or misplaced statements, your payment is always on time–it helps maintain good credit.
• It saves postage.
• It’s easy to sign up for, easy to cancel. 
• No late charges.

The SELECT PAYMENT PLAN is dependable, flexible, convenient and secure. To take advantage of this service, contact our billing department (billing@element74.com) and I will be more than happy to send you an authorization form to get your company setup. Then, just sit back and relax once your SELECT PAYMENT PLAN is in place.

This week, we're giving away a copy of Dale Carnegie's famed book, How to Win Friends & Influence People. This book has been name dropped countless times, and while I haven't had the chance to read it, I knew there must be something to the chatter that's been around longer than my Grandma!

To make sure this was a Great choice I sent an email out to my co-workers and asked if they thought this book would qualify as a Great Thinking giveaway.

DC, our Network Administrator who hails from Sri Lanka, replied with convincing remarks:

"This book was certainly life changing. I read it when I was about 13, and it inspired me to come to the USA! I extremely admired the leaders that Carnegie wrote about and wanted to be in the same environment that brought them to be."

If this book can inspire someone to move across oceans, then I think it's something we should all (me included!) take some time to indulge in.

To accompany the book we're giving the lucky winner a pack of Thank You cards as I've been told one of Carnegie's principles is to "Give Honest and Sincere Appreciation."

So how can you win this self described "action book" and thank you cards?

Tell us one thing that you can do today that you had not planned to do at the beginning of the day. Add something to the list and ultimately to your accomplishments. Whether it's to take your dog on a walk, learn to say hello in German, print out a recipe for sushi or call a friend!

Whatever it is add it to your list & make it happen today! And to be entered into the contest share your item on our Facebook wall (if it's something personal you can make something up to post on our wall).

Everyone that posts something on our Facebook wall before this Sunday, April 29th at 5:00 PM CST time will be entered to win the book & thank you cards. We'll draw a winner first thing Monday!

Face fungus. Soup strainer. Cookie duster. Misplaced eyebrow.

Call it what you will, but the moustache has been a popular facial accessory for men for millenia. The countenance caterpillar has graced the faces of royalty and common man, and knows no prejudice. With that in mind, we celebrate the upper lip plumage this week with a fantastic giveaway!

Many Great Thinkers throughout time have sported excellent fluffy facial flair. The celebrated and eclectic artist Salvador Dali sported a well-oiled "vanilla bean" moustache. Albert Einstein's moustache was complemented by his shaggy mop and his brilliance. Magnum P.I. used his moustache and quick wit to solve crimes and win the girl. Would Sam Elliot be the iconic cowboy-personified without his walrus-esque wall of fuzz? The great academic Friedrich Nietzsche has the kind of moustache about which the amateur grower can only dream. Great Thinkers all, and so we take inspiration from them for this giveaway.

"What is my role in this moment in moustache memoir," you ask? It's easy. Now through this Thursday, April 12th at 6pm CDT, we want you to visit our Facebook page. Like the page, if you already haven't, and then post your best ORIGINAL moustache picture. Like the moustache, we won't discriminate; ladies are welcome to post pictures of creative moustaches as well. The idea is to get your wheels turning and pay photographic tribute to the timeless lip tickler.

Rules are that you may only post one contest entry on our page during the giveaway period, and the photo you post must be your own original shot. There are far too many awesome moustaches floating around the internet to let you simply grab someone else's revolutionary 'stache.

Here's an example from our own Toni Eftink (credit to Arevalo Photography):

"How can you possibly judge the best photo, when we all know that every moustache pic will be awesome," you query? We've got that covered, too. In fact, we've brought in independent counsel to take on that difficult task, but he is not without experience. 

Meet Dr. Moustachio*. Animal control officer, pizza delivery guy, World of Warcraft priest, adult furry fiction writer... A true man of the people. As a padowan to a Jedi, so was Dr. Moustachio to the Most Interesting Man in the World, and his training is never-ending. We're just fortunate that he could take time away from his global pursuits to judge our exciting competition. Once the contest has closed, he will study each of your entries and we will post our winner on Friday, April 13.

The winner will receive this excellent print, framed and ready to hang in your den, bar, study or wherever you feel you can appropriately show your love for the greatest of all points of physiognomy.

Great thinking begins with your creativity, so get the wheels spinning and the cameras snapping. We are looking forward to seeing what wonderful lip wigglers you come up with!

*Name changed to protect privacy and to keep fan clubs from popping up on Facebook