Bryan and Sean of Triangle Red Sox Nation are the Meetup Organizers of the Week for November 5 - 11

Have you ever had the satisfaction of knowing its all come together - your hard work, coupled with the outstanding efforts of forces beyond your control - culminates into an almost once-in-a-lifetime event? Such is the case for our Meetup Organizers of the Week.

This Meetup came to my attention via a news article in the Triangle News & Observer. Little did I know the pleasant surprises I'd find beyond this article. Not only does this Meetup provided an outlet for a large community in their area, they go the extra mile to utilize the power of their group to help out those less fortunate.

After I contacted the Organizer, he graciously asked include his Co-Organizer to take part in this interview, which is par for the course. They do everything right, from how they treat their venue owner and staff, how they grew the membership of the Meetup, the fun events they incorporate to keep their members coming back for more and reaching out to the community where they can. How could I say no?

I'm quite proud to introduce you to our Meetup Organizers of the Week for November 5 - 11 a truly Dynamic Meetup Duo - Bryan and Sean of Triangle Red Sox Nation

Thanks Guys! :)

1. First of all, I'm sure your Meetup is pleased with the outcome of this year's World Series - looks like the curse is truly reversed! Tell us a bit about your event plans during the series was it tough to find a venue to handle such a large group? Did you plan anything special?

   We are obviously having a great week, Boston's World Series win was so much fun for all of us. What a thrill ride! For the post season, we stuck with the places that catered to us through the entire season, we tried to be loyal to the folks that had taken such good care of us throughout the year and drive more business their way.

   On the morning before game 3 of the World Series, our local newspaper, the News and Observer ran a front page story about the success of our group. Our membership grew by 150 people in three days just from that article, to a staggering 730 people. (That's currently the largest Red Sox group on Meetup.)

   As for space, we actually outgrew a few places we like, but our friends at our favorite large venue, the Fox & Hound Restaurant & Pub at North Hills, were fantastic to us regarding space for our 170 and 188 people who attended game 3 and 4.

   We didn't plan anything special for the World Series. We figured the games themselves were a big enough draw. However, during the ALCS, we did have a few shirts sent to us by a website that sells Boston sports related gear. We ended up creating a trivia game with the top scores receiving a t-shirt as a prize. A lot of businesses are beginning to take notice of us...

2. How did you originally hear about Meetup.com and what prompted you to start the Triangle Red Sox Nation?

   Sean came on board early this season and brought his energy and enthusiasm to the group, but Bryan was one of the ones who started TRSN. Bryan was looking to find more passionate fans to watch the game with in the Raleigh/Durham area. He searched a few websites to get our group started and to put the word out, such as Yahoo groups and Myspace. But the settings Meetup provides (such as the message board and the calendar and the photo section) makes using the site a no brainer... even for guys like us. :)

3. Were you surprised to find so many other Red Sox fans down in North Carolina? Did you employ methods to advertise your Meetup other than the site itself?

   We were shocked to find this big of a fan base. When we first started, we viewed it a success if 10 people showed up to an event. Early in the 2007 season, our numbers were still small. But the last few months have been amazing. Now, we were close to the 200 people during the World Series.

   We employ several ways to advertise our group. We started with business cards with the website on it and we would hand them out to people we saw wearing a Red Sox cap or stick them under the windshield wipers of a car that had some sort of Boston licence plate tag.

   We also have our own t-shirt with the website on the back, we give a portion of the proceeds from the sale of each one to the Red Sox favorite charity, the Jimmy Fund, to help the Dana Farber Cancer Research Institute. Both the shirts and business cards have been instrumental in growing the group. The shirts broadened our base, and the article in the local paper really helped take us to the masses.

4. You must have a few really great tales of triumph over the past few years. Please share with us your favorite Meetup moments so far.

   We would say there were three. One was the first time we went to Fox & Hound, they reserved seats for us with balloons and place holders saying this space was reserved for the Triangle Red Sox Nation. It felt like we mattered.

   The second was the time we turned the corner and started giving. We have done a lot of things for local charities, and we have contributed quite a bit of money to the charitable arm of the Red Sox Foundation, the Jimmy Fund. When we realized we could harness some of the power of the group and use it to accomplish good things for folks that need help. That was a watershed moment and made us proud.

   The third is when we passed New York City for the largest Red Sox fan club outside of New England. It felt like we were truly successful! We couldn't believe that we had passed a metro area twenty times our size!

5. Has organizing Triangle Red Sox Nation changed or enhanced your lives in specific positive ways?

   Absolutely, positively without a doubt YES!!! Many folks in our group believe that the people we have met are like extended family. We have made lifelong friends from this group. Bryan and Sean have become good friends, but there are dozens of folks in our lives now because of this that will be in our lives forever. Sean is thrilled to have met so many cool people through the group, people that he spends time with regardless of whether there's a game on, and Bryan says that it's in his top 10 best things he has ever done!

6. Are you fans of the Patriots as well?

   Yes, we are. Many of us are Celtics, Bruins and Boston College fans, too. There is a Pats Meetup here in Raleigh too...But with such a long baseball season, it's nice to hand over the reigns to someone else. Organizing events well can take a lot of energy.

7. What sort of events do you plan on the off-season? Does attendance drop off at all?

   We had an event this weekend where a form Red Sox Player, Jim Rice was in town signing autographs. That was a thrill for us, meeting a childhood hero. Next week we have a co-ed softball game where Sean and Bryan will captain opposing teams. (Bryan is talking a lot of smack about how his team will win, but Sean is simply smiling a lot and displaying a quiet confidence.)

   We'll have some sort of food for everyone who comes. We will have gatherings for other Boston teams, such as when the Bruins come here to play the Carolina Hurricanes (in hockey). We have a spring training trip in the works for March. We also have a spring golf tournament that we will get underway before the 08 season starts. We also have a spring through fall co-ed softball league to give people the chance to keep the rust off those gloves.

   Attendance will vary depending on the importance of the game. As in all sports, a post season appearance or games against your hated rivals will always bring a bigger crowd.

8. Finally, what's your vision for the future of Triangle Red Sox Nation?

   We see our group continuing to grow well into the future. We have a few ideas up our sleeves that might put us onto the national radar screen such as more visits from former/current players in a TRSN "Speakers Series", road trips to different cities that the Sox are visiting, different levels of memberships allowing special access to major events, and different opportunities that will keep people excited and proud to be members, and enjoying themselves when they come join us to cheer on our 2007 World Series Champions! GO SOX!!!

   Wanna send Bryan and Sean your congratulations? Do it in the Organizers' Forum.