After more than 30 years as an actor, the sight of the opening night envelope still gets me.

A lot of things happen when a show’s about to open. There’s a sense of excitement when the audience first starts to pour in, a sense of mild panic as you go over your lines one more time, a sense of wonder that someone is finally going to see this story that you’ve put so much work into.

But always, before the first whisper of it starts, there’s that small envelope propped against the backstage mirror.

The director’s thank-you.

It’s rarely long. A few sentences on a card. But it always goes right to the heart, reminding you of what you’ve done well and the qualities you’ve brought to the show – qualities that they were the very first ones to see when they chose you.

It’s a simple act. But it lifts you up higher than Longs Peak. For a few moments, you know you’ve been working for someone amazing.

It’s a feeling we get here almost every day.

LPC and NextLight customers have a lot of ways to leave envelopes against the mirror. Comments on Facebook or Reddit. Online reviews. Even directly seeking us out by email or (in pre-coronavirus times) at public events.  

And when they do – even in the midst of some of the toughest times imaginable – it can make our entire week.

Sometimes it’s come from a NextLight customer isolated at home: “Thank you for keeping me connected! Wouldn’t be able to do my job without you!”

Sometimes it’s an electric customer excited about their dependable service: “Over 20 years and hardly ever an outage.”

Sometimes it’s quicker but not less heartfelt: “Y’all are THE BEST!!!”

We appreciate it all. You’re the owners. The neighbors. The ones who count on us to serve you reliably, even when it means adapting to unusual times.

You’re the ones we’re working for. And so it’s your words that mean the most.

Thank you. Always.

Like that note against the mirror, you’ve given us a lot to reflect on.