One way we measure ourselves against our quest to deliver fresh and interesting new content is by regularly submitting our work to associations that judge us against business-to-business peer publications. The result is the list of our awards that appear on the masthead of our magazine. We are proud of these awards because they highlight the depth of talent that we plumb to produce a magazine that you tell us is worth reading month in and month out.

We recently learned that the number of Azbee Awards we will receive from the American Society of Business Publication Editors in 2019 will exceed the number of awards we received from them in the two previous years combined. In addition, FE&S’ sister publication, restaurant development + design, is a top 10 finalist for Magazine of the Year for the third time in six years.

I share this for two reasons. One, I am unabashedly proud of our team here at Zoomba Group. And two, this level of quality represents a fulfillment of our brand promise as original content creators. Because we are advertising based, the magazine is absolutely free to qualified subscribers: those who buy, sell, or recommend foodservice equipment or supplies.

Hopefully, you will agree with me that free is a pretty good deal, but there is one small catch.

Occasionally, as an engaged reader, we lean on you for opinions relating to important industry matters. Now is one of those times. FE&S’ 2019 Best in Class survey is in the field right now, and I implore all those who receive the survey to take the time to fill it out. We have drastically shortened the time that it will take to complete the survey.

This year’s survey will focus on heavy equipment and next year’s (2020) survey will focus on light equipment, tabletop and smallwares. Here is the great news: Working with an outside research firm, we were able to condense this survey into two, 20-minute surveys (part 1 and part 2 — please fill out both surveys) and still obtain the data we need to make appropriate observations for an industry that is hungry for accurate information.

Please allow your voice to be heard; your opinion matters.