The hotel and restaurant industries have Mobil Travel Guides and AAA to paste them with stars. Siskal and Ebert made movie critiques nearly as famous as movie-going itself with a thumbs up or thumbs down. Forbes has its list of the world's richest people, and each year People Magazine publishes magnificient pictorials of the world's sexiest men alive (Dare I say, There ain't nothing wrong with that!).

While I'd like to say that Inside Self-Storage was going to follow in the footsteps of People's photographers, I can do only what my publisher allows. And so, sometime long ago (in the '90s), we created the Top-Operators List for the self-storage industry. It's nowhere near as scintillating as the sexiest men alive, but it sure stirs the pot in the storage world.

This year's Top-Operators List is currently in the works, slated for an April Inside-Self-Storage publish date. Who will make the nation's top-100 multi-facility operators in the world of self-storage? Well, that remains to be calculated (by square footage) and determined. But I wanted to remind or alert any readers who'd like to participate that the time is now: Fill out your Top-Operators List Form immediately. And then stay tuned for the great unveiling in the April issue if ISS. It's sure to get a thumbs up, five stars ... or at least a nod of approval from my publisher.