Fourteen Years Ago … A Company Was Born
As hard as it is to believe, 14 years ago today — on July 14, 1996 — Greystone.Net was “born” as a new company dedicated to and focused upon helping healthcare organizations and hospitals understand this new-fangled thing that Al Gore had invented — called the Internet. There were more than a few people in the industry who thought John Eudes, Bob Noel and I (the original co-founders) were more than just a little crazy to move away from a general healthcare marketing practice to focus on Internet applications and solutions for hospitals … but we were confident the “Internet” had a big future. Little did we really know.
That said, those early years were a bit lean. We had a handful of early-adopting clients who were both forward thinking and wonderful to work with and willing to partner and experiment in this new endeavor — including MUSC in Charleston, The Methodist Hospital in Houston, Sharp HealthCare in San Diego, UAB in Birmingham, Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia, among others. These hospitals continue to be leading innovators with their Web initiatives and we are proud to have been (and in many cases still be) a small part of their successes. We are more happy to be able to call them lifelong friends.
After the world didn’t fall apart because of Y2K, the business really took off. A corner was turned. The Internet exploded, even in healthcare. Since those early years, we’ve worked with more than 250 hospitals and healthcare systems all across the nation. We are grateful for the faith and trust these organizations have placed in us as advisers.
We’ve also had the joy of sponsoring annual educational programs to help advance the industry on the latest and best practices in the Web-related marketing and operational strategies. We consider it part of our responsibility to give back to the industry and to ensure that the next generation is better prepared.
We’ve seen a lot of change. In the beginning, clients were mostly interested in making sure their brochures were online; now we have clients moving the bulk of their operational and marketing platforms to the Web and their internal ops to the intranet. Years ago, we had a favorite client call and ask us, “what is an Earl and why do I need one?” — a.k.a., a URL. That same client now manages one of the most sophisticated Web platforms in healthcare.
We’ve worked hard, had a lot of fun and its been a pleasure to work with so many varied clients nationwide. So I take this opportunity to thank each and every one for the opportunities they’ve afforded us. We appreciate your trust and support.
At the same time, I must recognize and acknowledge the contributions of all our employees — many who have come and gone over the years and several who have been with us since the start – who helped us become successful. We’ve had many wonderful employees who work hard and are dedicated to producing good outcomes and satisfied customers. We couldn’t have done it without them. Thank you all.
Last night, the NL won the Major League All Star game for the first time in 14 years — hard to believe that the last time they won, Greystone.Net was just a newborn. As an Atlanta-based company, we are proud that Brian McCann, the Atlanta Braves catcher, helped make it happen and captured the MVP trophy. We hope it doesn’t take 14 years for another victory, but we are hoping for another 14 years of success for both us and our clients (and oh yeah, the NL and Atlanta Braves!)
Thanks again. Happy birthday Greystone.Net.