So it’s time for my globetrotting blog editor, Jude Stewart, to head off to her home-away-from-home, Berlin. Her husband, a music professor, is on sabbatical this year, so Berlin makes a great home base for his work (and hers). Both of them fell in love with the city back in 2005, when they each scored grants to work there as researchers; now they go back every chance they get. Jude’s a big “cultcha-vulture” – but hey, she probably wouldn’t mind if I outed her deep fascination with non-stop Bier und Bratwurst.

To give you a feel for the place, Jude suggested we run this cool image of a Berlin icon, the Brandenburg Gate. The new U.S. Embassy is just next door to here, and the Siegesäule, or Victory Tower, where Obama gave his speech recently is directly across from here, in the heart of Berlin’s Tiergarten, their answer to NYC’s Central Park.

This blog simply could not exist without Jude’s efforts.  Over the past couple of years now, Jude and I have worked out such a smooth way of collaborating to produce this blog, that I can honestly say we don’t miss a step when she is trekking around the globe, or parking in Berlin for a spell.  I find that pretty neat, as I’ve never before worked so closely day-to-day with someone so far away geographically.

Effectively editing a blog for a brokerage firm CEO requires a special talent, and Jude fits the bill perfectly.  She’s a great writer, and she REALLY knows this business.  We first worked together when she was part of the Corporate Communications department at Quick & Reilly in the mid-90s.  Jude later focused on the SureTrade business line as we grew, and then moved on to various roles with Datek, AmeriTrade, and E*Trade before I was lucky enough to get her back on my team shortly after we launched TradeKing.  

Deep experience in online brokerage like Jude’s is hard to find, and I know I’m lucky to have her help here, and, if you enjoy this blog, so are you!


[image: Brandenburg Gate by Wolfgang Staudt on flickr]
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