Third Rail Chapters

BToto920

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Mar 19, 2014
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I wanted to announce something that came up on the Facebook group.

We are looking into having official chapters and how that plays into our incorporation. We will be making an announcement on that in the coming weeks.

That being said, we can have rationalized bars where people want to meet up. As long as you follow the Third Rail Code of Conduct, there shouldn't be any issues. Speak to the bars and see if they will give TR members discounts and will host viewing parties during games. We can then create a list of "pub partners".

Once we find out the legality of creating chapters, we can then turn those pub partners into official chapters with logos and everything.
 
Hmmm.... A good idea for sure but I have to say I think it's a bit early for that. The reason I say that is because we throw our weight around much more when we are filling NS to capacity. 8 people at a bar in Long Island is just not the same thing. The TR brand is strong right now and while chapters are certainly a long term positive, right now I think it would just thin the brand.

.02 cents.
 
A lot of people were asking about it because they live out on Long Island or in CT and do not want to make the commute to NS for every away game. They might just want to stay local and catch a game somewhere.

We are still going to push viewing parties at NS, but I understand some people's viewpoints. And honestly, the more people watching NYCFC the better!!
 
What if you set a quota for officially sanctioned TR events? For example, for any non NS event, the organizer has to 1. Obviously be a dues paid TR member. 2. Must organize 25+ (or whatever number you decide on) people. 3. Must officially report attendees to the TR board.

Just for starters. Not sure if more than that is needed but that's what I got off the top of my head.

If those requirements are met, then the board agrees to publish their events on the TR website as official regional events.
 
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Those are interesting requirements. They make sense. I will bring those back to the board for discussion.
 
What if you set a quota for officially sanctioned TR events? For example, for any non NS event, the organizer has to 1. Obviously be a dues paid TR member. 2. Must organize 25+ (or whatever number you decide on) people. 3. Must officially report attendees to the TR board.

Just for starters. Not sure if more than that is needed but that's what I got off the top of my head.

If those requirements are met, then the board agrees to publish their events on the TR website as official regional events.

Couple of additional suggestions:

- To charter out you should need the signature of 50 or so TR members. 50 sounds like a lot, but we don't want 35, small TR charters. Considering there are 1,700+ members this should be reasonable.

- It maybe best to first Charter then find a bar. It would be an easier sell for Charters to walk in a pub and ask for specials, etc. knowing that they have 50 people already committed to watching the games in a local establishment.

- All charter logos should be designed by the TR to assure some consistency to the rest of the organization. However, heavy input from the Charter itself should be required in the design process.
 
Those are interesting requirements. They make sense. I will bring those back to the board for discussion.
It might make sense to have some flexibility on the numbers, based on distance from NYC. EG if 10-12 people in, say, Fulton County (to pick some random upstate county) get together that might be enough.
 
It might make sense to have some flexibility on the numbers, based on distance from NYC. EG if 10-12 people in, say, Fulton County (to pick some random upstate county) get together that might be enough.

True. Plus, there should be some restrictions on distance between Charters. No sense in have 3 Charters from Rockland County, for example.
 
I love the idea of a 'West of the TZB' (Tappan Zee Bridge) Chapter for Rockland and Orange Counties.
 
35 and 50 are some hefty numbers. Yes, we have a large membership but how are we supposed to communicate with one another? There's a few forums and facebook. That means people have to check those two things. Now if there was a way to send e-mail blasts out to boroughs, i think that makes sense.

So to restate, i think we could get numbers at places. But we have to have a good way to communicate with everyone.

But maybe i'm talking about Borough Chapters when you're all talking about Charter Groups.

I'm in brooklyn and it makes sense for there to be a supporter group in North Brooklyn, one near Alantic Terminal, and maybe one out in East NY.
 
I would love to get involved with a "Capital Region" chapter....... Wolf's Biergarten here in Albany would be the perfect viewing spot....
 
Chapters can be a great idea for the TR. In being out on Long Island, it is very widespread with transportation issues. The club is clearly more present in the five boroughs as well. Many out here would be at Nevada Smiths for every away match if possible. Right now, we have been using the NYCFC Pub Partners for matches. There are three here on the island... leading to supporters being kind of split between them (one is more in Nassau, with the others further in Suffolk). We are currently communicating to have a bar in the middle of LI (close to LIRR), where a majority of supporters can be at for most away matches. The NYCFC Pub Partners (along with a couple of others) can serve as good options. But a majority would be at the new one we are working to be at. In addition to the away matches, Kyle scheduled a 'meet-up' at the LIRR and Penn Station for LI Supporters going to Billy's and Yankee Stadium for the first home match (through discussions on FB and a FB Event). I understand the point made about numbers in relation to the TR and not splitting up now. But for the growth and success of the TR and support for NYCFC, I believe it would be a great idea to branch out (and in a way, to look out for the supporters not living in NYC). Numbers are going to be an issue for us (as it will be for supporters getting together in specific boroughs, CT, NJ, etc.), so we hope to always have one LI Supporters Group The one group is serving both Nassau and Suffolk. Our Facebook Page is www.facebook.com/thirdrailli. We also have a closed FB Group (look up 'The Third Rail: Long Island'). If you request to join, Ryan or I can accept the request. Our Twitter is www.twitter.com/thirdrailli and web site is www.thirdrailli.org.
 
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