Why NASA needed us.
Our role in ensuring folks had a front row seat to the Solar Eclipse. Plus, how we helped empower Latinas in Philly.
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On today’s edition of Up To Speed Live:
- Your best pics from yesterday’s once-in-a-lifetime celestial event,
- Showing up to support the Hispanic community in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,
- An award all of us can appreciate,
- And, another award – for the hardest working IR team in the biz!
🌞 Looking back at the eclipse: no eye protection required!
If you were one of the lucky folks who happened to be in the path of yesterday's eclipse, and were in an area where the weather cooperated, you were witness to one of nature’s most spectacular sights: a complete solar eclipse.
Where were you? Depending on where you were, you might have heard cheers, music playing (in Texas’ capital, they blared Bonnie Tyler’s “Total Eclipse of the Heart”), or even heard a few firecrackers as the sky darkened for a four-minute light show that even the best Fourth of July show could never compete with. (In this author’s neighborhood, occlusion was accompanied by the sounds of confused doves cooing furiously as the sky darkened).
If you were at a Verizon store: We delivered an awesome experience for our customers, giving away the all-important eclipse glasses at more than a dozen Verizon store locations throughout the weekend leading up to the big day.
The one universal sight (other than the corona): phones held high in the air, furiously snapping pictures and capturing video of this breathtaking event. What an amazing use of our equipment and our network, as customers scrambled to share what they captured with friends, family and the world.
Playing with the big kids: We weren’t just involved at the local level. In maybe the coolest news ever, Verizon Business partnered with NASA to provide a network solution that enabled their live broadcast of the solar eclipse. The broadcast combined multiple video feeds from across the United States, including telescope views and broadcast commentary. We helped them share the experience with eclipse-watchers from around the world.
▶️ Watch the recap: And see pictures from our watch parties at stores along the eclipse’s path. We had folks in Buffalo, New York; South Burlington, Vermont; Cleveland, Ohio and three stores in Texas. Plus, learn all about our NASA participation at [00:43].
👆 Check out our social feed: Head over to LinkedIn for more great eclipse pics and vids, sent to us by employees who viewed the event live!
Start your planning? It’s going to be a long wait until the next eclipse– there won’t be one viewable in North America until 2044. But, if you’re willing to do some traveling, or happen to live overseas, you can head over to Spain in 2026 – while using Travel Pass, of course!
📍 Closer to home: Our Hispanic community event in Philly [01:17]
Our commitment to reaching out to and supporting Latinos continues to grow as we partner and create events to serve this vibrant and thriving Hispanic community.
The Event: Our Walnut Street store in Philadelphia hosted the second event in our Latino “Connected By Culture” series: Poderosas en Filadelfia – which translates to powerful women in Philadelphia.
The guests: The event featured a panel discussion with some of the city’s top Latina leaders, moderated by Adriana Dawson, Director of Community Engagement for Verizon. Other participants included Latina changemakers from across Philadelphia and the discussion amplified the panelists' stories, career journeys and their impactful work transforming the Latino community in Philadelphia.
Giving back: Our on-site photographer took over 20 free professional headshots for those in attendance, and we celebrated the combined $70,000 in new Verizon donations to benefit local Latino-serving organizations that boost digital inclusion, education, youth empowerment and small businesses.
Some of these organizations include: the Greater Philadelphia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Xiente, Congreso de Latinos Unidos, Concilio, and Latino Partnership Institute.
🏆 Awarding our extraordinary company culture [02:19]
What we won: The Gallup Exceptional Workplace award, our fourth time winning this particular honor.
What we won: This award celebrates companies that put the engagement of their people at the center of their business strategy. Gallup identified three attributes that exceptional workplaces have in common:
- They integrate engagement into every stage of their employee and manager lifecycle.
- They promote well-being, demonstrating that they care about the individual at work and in life.
- They prioritize transparent communication and listening strategies.
Special Honors: Verizon also received Gallup’s top prize as a Winner with Distinction, which celebrates organizations that place employee engagement at the center of their business strategy. These organizations have particularly compelling engagement stories and are committed to engagement within their culture and every stage of the employee life cycle.
Congratulations to our Human Resources teams and every V Teamer for making this possible!
🥇A special award for a hard-working Investor Relations team [02:59]
Congratulations to our Investor Relations Team for taking home the award for best in the sector at this year’s Investor Relations Magazine Awards.
More congratulations are in order for Brady Connor, who was nominated in the Large Cap category for Best Investor Relations Officer.
🗓️ Speaking of IR, it’s time again for Quarterly Earnings: mark your calendars! [03:25]
The big day is April 22. We’re looking forward to seeing you at our Quarterly Earnings Webcast, so mark your calendars!
