May 23, 2007 intro post

Hi all,

The MS bike ride is coming up fast and there are some great new developments. First of all, thanks again to everyone for making last year so successful. We were the largest team of riders and collected the most donations. Course with the ultra competitive teams out there that means we have a massive target on our backs now so we need to do just that much better this year. I think we should be able to keep up the momentum and grow by 20%? That means we need to add lots of new riders this year. We’re off to a great start with 32 team members and 15 of them new but there are two first year teams that are already ahead of us.

We will have further incentives for fundraising and recruiting of course so stay tuned. Our first incentive is that our newly designed jersey is available free to any team member that pledges $1,000 or more. For those that fall short, you’ll have to fork over $60 for this one of a kind jersey. Trust me, we will stand out. Check out the design at the following link. http://sonicstreamers.org/assets/streamers07_proof1.pdf . We also have temporary tattoos with the same design that are guaranteed to stay on. They’re different for first year riders and vets so new riders can easily see who to ask questions of and vets can make sure they introduce themselves to the newbies. Maybe just a bit goofy but I like them. Check them out http://sonicstreamers.org/temp_tattoos.pdf

Our first weekend of training rides is coming up with two rides. Jeff Ayres will lead a ride from Prairie Elementary School on Madison Street in Waunakee on June 2^nd at 10:00AM. The ride will be about 20-30 miles and maps will be provided.

On Sunday June 3^rd, Marc Wolman will lead the group in a ride of about 20 miles on the opposite end of town. He says “Come join me for a Sonic Streamers team get-back-into-riding-shape training ride on Sunday, June 3rd at 1pm. Departing from the Oak Bank parking lot at the SW corner of Seminole Hwy and PD, we'll head to Paoli and back (approx. 20 miles). Conversational pace.”

Lastly, I’m using googlegroups to make communicating with the group easier so you should be getting an email from me through Google. Please accept the invitation to join the group so I can make this easier. Thanks

Ken

Check out our website www.sonicstreamers.org

Ken Minor
Chief Financial Officer

Sonic Foundry, Inc.
222 West Washington Avenue
Madison, WI 53703
P 608.443.1621
C 608.338.8020
F 608.443.1621(same as phone)
kenm@sonicfoundry.com
www.sonicfoundry.com

www.mediasite.com - linking you to a world of expertise

Sent 8-3-06

Reached the 90 mark!! I’ve never seen our team grow in the last two weeks, this is amazing. We have 48 new riders, 42 returning and I expect 4 new riders to sign up on Friday! Thank you everyone.

Remember, Bus leaves Saturday AM shortly after 5:30AM from Madison for those that would like to take it. We have a mass start from Waukesha at 7:30 for those that are getting themselves to Waukesha. For those taking the bus, you need to check in Friday at the Alliant Energy Center between 4-6.

I have a captains blog, corny I know but actually kind of cool. There you’ll find my past emails for more information. Here’s a link. http://sonicstreamers.blogspot.com/

I mentioned in an earlier email my desire to show team unity in your jersey selection. This is so we look as together as possible for the picture. I had a rider make a good suggestion that I should rank my preferences so here they are.

Ideally, wear the green jersey design with the flames we had last year and which is the same design as this year. It’s the jersey on the left on this link.

http://sonicstreamers.org/ourteam.html I do still have sizes left from small to XL. You can see me at check in or let me know and I can bring one for you to Waukesha.

2^nd – wear the orange striped design from the 2003 and 2004 years. Check out the same link above, it’s the one on the right.

3^rd – wear a Sonic team jersey from another year

4^th – wear an MS jersey

5^th – wear whatever you like

If you bring a small film or other container with liquid soap in it you can wash out your jersey and wear it again on Sunday so we look like a team when we ride in again to the finish line.

I’m excited about this ride, so far it’s been much more successful than I could’ve hoped. There’s no doubt, we’re the biggest team, there’s no doubt we made the biggest impact visibly for MS with all the TV coverage and I’m beginning to think we have a very good shot at raising more money than any other team! Congratulation, thank you and I can’t wait to meet the new team members and get on the road.

Ken

Sent 7/26/06

We’ve hit the 80 rider mark with just over a week to go! Thanks everyone for doing a great job of recruiting but don’t stop now. I know we’re in the lead for the largest team now but I’m sure the other teams are pushing for new riders now too. I know of two more riders that we’ll get for sure but the more we get the better. BTW, we’re now at 40 riders that are new to the team and 40 that have ridden before. That’s some amazing recruiting. There are still a number of potential returning riders out there that haven’t signed up and several potential new riders. Knowing how competitive most of you are…I’m betting the veterans won’t want to see the rookies win, and vs.!

Training ride – Our last training ride will be this Saturday the 29^th in Waunakee. Note NEW TIME at 8:00AM rather than 9. That’ll hopefully allow us to beat some of the heat. We’re planning a ride to Mazomanie that’ll run about 47 miles so it’ll be our longest of the summer. We’ll meet at the usual spot, Prairie Elem School on Madison, north of Main or hwy 19 in Waunakee. We’ll plan a rest stop at a coffee shop in Mazo which is at the 24 mile mark.

Polos / jerseys – I have just 3 smalls and 1 Medium left in the polos that are available to all new riders. I’m sorry we ran out so early but I didn’t plan on so many new riders. If you can wear a S or M, let me know asap and I’ll set it aside, otherwise I’ll make a note to get you one next year and will order more. I have all sizes in jerseys except 3xl left.

Ride weekend details – For those of you riding the bus from Madison to Waukesha on Saturday, you need to check in with the MS Society AND BRING YOUR BIKE on Friday. This is because there is no room on the bus for bikes. Check in is at the Alliant Energy Center from 4-6PM on Friday August 4^th. You’ll get your bib # and number for your bike, you’ll turn in your pledges and give your bike to the movers. Don’t worry, they take very good care of them. I’ll be there as well as Terry and Christin so please look for us, I’ll have a spot set up at one end of the tables. I’ll have some things for many of you including polos, jerseys, etc. I’d also like to find out what your pledges are so we can have a good idea where we’re at for fundraising as a team.

Bus – We have so many team members that I had to reserve a second bus!! The buses will meet us at the Alliant Energy Center at 5:30AM and leave shortly after. I won’t have a list of those taking the bus so make sure you’re not late. Be sure you bring your bag with clothes and bike gear (I’ll send a suggested packing list this weekend). When we get to Waukesha around 6:30 you’ll drop off your overnight bag with a truck so they can take it to Whitewater for you. Then you’ll want to find your bike which will be on the grass lawn. We’ll then line up for a team picture around 7:00 and take off in a group start for all us large teams at 7:30AM.

Whitewater – when we get to Whitewater we’ll have our own team tent at the end which will be well stocked with goodies. Karen and Christin have been making lots of plans but I’ll let them surprise you. There will also be a barbecue for the large teams so plenty of food and because we’ll probably be the largest team, we’ll have our very own port-o-potty. Now that’s an incentive! After that, find your overnight bag, check in, and TAKE A SHOWER PLEASE There will be an awards presentation at around 7, with beer, where a bunch of us will get to go on stage to be recognized for our efforts, so please plan to come and wear your polos. Afterward, Pat McCurdy will entertain us and for those of you that don’t know Pat, it’s very cool. Later that night the large teams (us) will have their private pizza party and in the morning their private breakfast.

Sunday – Sunday you’ll drop off your bag again so the MS Society can truck it to Madison for us and you can take off by around 7AM, or later. No group start. There will be lots of hoopla at the end, along with more food, refreshments and music. It would be nice to finish in groups, often that doesn’t work easily but let me know if you have some ideas on how best to do that.

We’re just a week away so expect another email from me this weekend with some final details and a packing list.

Don’t forget to fundraise!!!!

sent 7/19/06

All,

We’ve made tremendous strides this week – the team has grown to 74 riders with nearly half the team new at 36. Our goal of 80 is now within reach - great job of recruiting all. I received a listing of the largest teams yesterday that was a bit dated that showed us in second place. I did some checking though and our growth this last week has put us in first. We’re not there by much though so do alittle more recruiting and we should be there. Don’t forget about the recruiting incentive for the Heidel House.

Baraboo training ride – Christin has put a ride together in Baraboo for the group. It has two options, a short ride of 15-17 miles for “sane” people and a very hilly and hard ride of 25 miles. Maps, etc will be provided and there will be leaders to keep us from getting lost or unconscious. She has also arranged a spot for us to meet for lunch so bring some cash. Start time is 9AM here are the directions from Christin:

Start is at River Stop/Boo Canoe at 9:00 am. We have to park across the street a bit (about 1/2 block away, in front of the skate park. I will be on hand to direct everyone by 8:30. Just get to River Stop!

From Hwy 12

Take a R at the 2nd stop light. (Wal-Mart, KFC) onto Business 12 When the road kind of veers into a 'Y', stay to the L River Stop is just under the viaduct, on the R

From the 'I'

Exit 106, turn R onto Hwy 33 East.

At the 2nd stop light, turn L onto Broadway (Community First Bank will be on your L) Proceed through 2 more lights, River Stop is just across the bridge, on the L

Polo shirts – New riders are entitled to polos but I’m down now to just 3 S and 1 M. Let me know asap if you’d like one.

Jerseys – they’re in and I still have S through XXL sizes left. Price $60 donation to NMSS. I will start allocating some to our corporate sponsors so reserve your size soon. Here is a list of those that told me they’d like one.

Allen	Barger
Chris	Berry
Nicholas	Cable
Troy	Clifcorn
Terry	Dexter
Tom	Geitner
Christin	Harding
Steve	Hess
Steve	Jansen
Steve	McMahon
Steve	McMahon, Jr
Phillip	McGuirk
Leigh	Mills
Ken	Minor
Courtney	Minor
Lee	Newman
Mindy	Powell
Mike	Reilly
Dave	Remy
Rick	Roncinske
Sabrina	Wolman
Bryan	Yeager

Fundraising – You should be sending out letters, emails, making personal calls etc now to get your fundraising going. Remember, you do NOT need to turn all your pledges in the day of the ride. In fact you have till mid September so push hard now for pledges and keep pushing.

Room mates – I’ve matched up people that asked for specific room mates and did my best at match making for the others. Let me know if you’d like to know your room mates name. A list with hall assignment, etc should come out from the MS Society soon.

All for now – stay tuned for ride weekend checkin and bus details.

Ken

Sent 7/12/06

All,

We’re almost there! Just over three weeks to go, we have 64 riders now or one short of last year’s final number. I believe we have a half dozen procrastinator returning riders along with a number of potential new riders yet to sign. We now have 27 new riders on the team! Amazingly, it’s our new riders that are recruiting more new riders now, thanks to Marc and Sabrina Wolman who are working on I think 4 potential friends yet, Rick Roncinske who is moving his former team of 4 or so more riders over to our team, Bryan Yeager who is working on 2 coworkers and our workhorse recruiter, Christin who is working on a few more as well. I’m sure there are others out there recruiting as well so please keep at it and we’ll get to our goal of 80 riders yet. Remember, we have a recruiting incentive, a gift certificate to the Heidel House in Green Lake will go to a lucky recruiter. Each person you recruit gets you another chance to win.

Polo shirts, jerseys, room mates, etc – Most of you know that new riders will get a team polo shirt, if that’s you and you haven’t already told me your size, please do so.

All but 3xl sizes are still available in the jerseys so order now before the selection is gone. Mail a $60 check to the NMSS to the address below and email me your size.

Room mates – I need room mate assignments from most of you and the MS Society is now asking for it. I’ll probably need to get this to them by this weekend so tell me soon or I’ll have to pick someone for you. Probably someone that snores.

Training ride this Saturday at 9AM in Waunakee at the Prairie Elementary. I’ll plan multiple route options and have maps so don’t be afraid of distance. We’re also planning a route in Baraboo the following Saturday the 22^nd for those of you that’d like to go ride with our Boo team members. I understand from Christin that we’ll have a hilly route and a sane route to choose from with a dutch treat lunch after.

Of course, don’t forget to fundraise!! I’ll have a Heidel House incentive based on funds raised as well. Remember, that’s why we’re here.

Ken

Sent 7/6/06

The MS Society needs several things in the next week or so from us…

Team Polo Shirts – As a Grand Tier team we’re entitled to team polos. We wear these as a team during the Saturday night awards / entertainment night. In order to save the MS Society some money, I only order these for new riders, veteran riders will need to wear the shirts they received in past years. We currently have 22 new members and I expect to add another 10 to that so I’ll order 32 total shirts. We’ve run out of sizes in past years so if you’re a new member or expect to sign up soon, please tell me what size you’d like reserved for you. Otherwise, you’ll get whatever’s left.

Grand Tier Food – Another perk of being a grand tier team is that we get to participate in a barbecue on Saturday after the ride in “Team Town”, a late night pizza party back at the dorm Saturday night and a private breakfast on Sunday. The MS Society needs a head count for each so please follow the attached link this week and let them know whether you plan to attend. http://email.wisms.org/site/R?i=Xn5-8oVKX77awpbhl4_qZQ..

Room Mates – Another perk of being a grand tier team (broken record) is that we get pre assigned rooming together on the same floor. So instead of signing up online for a roommate I need to provide a list of roommates to the society. So please save me from hounding you and let me know asap who you’d like to room with.

Training rides – NO ride this Saturday the 8^th, it’s my daughters wedding so we’ll be very much occupied. Next ride is the 15^th.

Team Numbers – We have 55 registered riders now with 22 of them new. My goal again, is 32 new and a total of 75. Obviously that means I still need 10 more veterans to sign up in addition to recruiting 10 more rookie riders so please check your calendars, check your friends calendars, etc. Remember, we do have the team recruiting incentive of a night’s stay at the Heidel House in Green Lake for recruiting. The more you recruit, the better your chances.

Jerseys – Still have alittle over half the jerseys I ordered available. Let me know if you’d like one reserved for you and I’ll set one aside. Cost is $60, check should be made out to the NMSS and mailed to the address below.

Ken

sent 6/28/06

All,

Recruiting
Just over 5 weeks to go to the MS 150 and we're up to 51 total riders with 19 of them new to the team! My goal was to increase our total riders to 80 this year and felt in order to do it we'd need 32 new riders to cover the inevitable riders that can't make it. I think we're right on track with that so please keep talking up the team so we can pull in those last 13 new riders we'll need. For those of you new to the email string, we do have a recruiting incentive of one night stay at the Heidel House Resort on Green Lake, a $300 value. A team member will get one chance to win the drawing for each member they recruit so there are currently 19 chances to win out there. Not bad odds. Use the attached link and click on the button that says join our team at the top right to go ahead and sign up. www.sonicstreamers.org

Fundraising
Course it's also about time to start fundraising if you haven't already. Some pointers that work for me is to send a personalized letter to friends, neighbors, relatives, etc. I do a mail merge with Word so it looks professional but add a short handwritten note at the bottom and include a self addressed envelope for return. I also write about what's important to me, and that's curing the disease so that my wife doesn't have the debilitating effects of MS many suffer from. Feel free to copy my letter and alter it to fit your situation. http://sonicstreamers.org/teamresources.html

I also write emails, mainly to coworkers and others I'm close to. It's usually a very short note on why I ride and why donations are important. When I write them, I always do them individually. sending an email to 50 people at a time will normally be ignored by 50 people.

With a team as big as ours is, I'd like to get at least 10 of us among the top 100 fundraisers and 20 over $1,000 and eligible for a yellow jersey. Last year the cut off for the top 100 was $2,210, we had six team members make it and 4 more that just missed. This year of course the number will probably go up. I do have one other Heidel House gift certificate for a free night so I'll raffle that off as well. One chance to win for each $1000 in pledges!

Training rides
I'm planning additional training rides on July 1st, 15th and the 29th at 9AM in Waunakee. We begin at the Prairie Elementary School on Madison, just north of hwy 19. Rides will vary but will approximate 35 miles with short cuts for those that would like to take a shorter route. For those that haven't been riding, it's not too late. I recommend 3-4 weeks of 3 rides per week of at least an hour in length. Course, some are active enough, or young enough,to get away with little or no training.

Jerseys
I've ordered the jerseys and approximately half are already spoken for. Check the link if you'd like to see what they look like. http://sonicstreamers.org/ourteam.html it's the green one on the left. They have a 3/4 zip this year and the cost is a $60 donation fo the NMSS by check and should be sent to me at 222 W. Washington Ave, Suite 775, Madison, WI 53703.

All for now

Ken

Team Update

Hi all,

We had a great team ride on Saturday, despite the warm temperatures and alittle too much wind. We had 20 of us turn out for interviews with Leigh and lots of great team footage along the ride. We even finished up with refreshments at my house after the ride. Thanks to everyone for coming out and making yourself available for NBC 15. Thanks especially to Leigh Mills, Sabrina Wolman and the rest of the NBC 15 team. The result will be great for increasing awareness for MS and maybe even help our efforts to grow the team and raise donatiions. Leigh tells me the first story will run Thursday July 6th on her 5:00PM program.

Speaking of growing the team, we're now at 44 team members with 15 of them new riders! That's a great start but, we have a long way to go. Our goal is to get to 80 riders this year so we need to sign up 6 riders each week. We normally lose approximately 25% of previous team members so we will probably still need at least 17 additional new riders in order to get our 36 additional registrations. So, don't forget to talk up the ride and the benefits of riding on our team. Use our team website as a resource when describing the ride or team benefits and don't forget about our recruiting incentive. The Fiore Companies have donated a stay at the Heidel House in Green Lake. You'll get one chance to win for each person you recruit and I'll draw the winner on Friday August 4th.

Next training ride, same place and time. Meet Saturday June 24th at 9AM in Waunakee at the Prairie Elementary School. Prairie is on Madison St, north of Main St or hwy 19. I plotted out a route that goes through Roxbury, Marxville and Martinsville. I haven't measured it but it will be approximately 35 to 40 miles.

All for now...thanks all

Ken

Car wash, training rides, NBC 15 and more

All,

Handful of things to update you on today….26 riders and counting

We’re doing a car wash on Saturday June 10th (not June 3rd) from 9am to noon at the Shell station at 3401 University Ave.. Dave Barger will supply the hoses, sprayers, sponges, etc but will need washers to help and LOTS of towels. Funds raised will be allocated to those that work so please get involved, especially if you need help getting to the $300 minimum, the yellow jersey level or whatever. Please email Dave directly at dbarger@mge.com or call him at 235-0298 to confirm your interest.


We’re doing a training ride this Saturday the 3rd at 9am starting at Prairie Elementary in Waunakee of 33 miles. Prairie is on the west side of Madison street which is north off main street or hwy 19. The next training ride will be June 17th, also at 9, same place, etc but will be filmed by NBC 15 with interviews, etc. This one is important because we want to look like a diverse group that’s having fun getting ready for the ride. In my opinion, group means 20 or more people which is about 3 to 4 times the number we usually have so please get this on your calendar, even if you stop after a few miles and turn around.


We have several people that have been successful getting new corporate sponsorships for $1000 and getting the company logos on this years’ jersey. Thanks to Leigh Mills and NBC 15 for their incredible media support, Terry Dexter for getting a $1,000 sponsorship from Compuware, Dennis Sampson for getting the same from First Business Bank and I got $1,000 for Sani-matic. Each of us will start off our fundraising with a $1,000 head start. Returning sponsors are Mortenson, Matzelle and Meldrum for $2,500, the Deforest Towne Center for $2,000, and $1,000 for Catapult PR-IR and Ayrestech Ltd. Thanks all for putting in the extra effort.


If you haven’t already done so, check out the new website, thanks to Kevin and Erica St Angel for all their help http://www.sonicstreamers.org/ and check out NBC 15’s site discussing the ride, with a very prominent link to our team site http://nbc15.madison.com/unclassified/2826011.html.

Things are really coming together - we really have a shot of getting to the top and making the greatest impact in the state by raising awareness for MS through our large team size, visibility in the community and by raising more donations than any other team.

MS 150 update

All,

I’ve got a few things to update you on regarding the MS bike ride

Members – We’re off to a great start – we already have 23 riders signed up for the team with six of them new riders. That puts us at nearly 30% of our goal with 12 weeks to go! Welcome to Nick Cable, Ann Franke, Paul Gabriel, Robert O’Malley, Marc Wolman and Sabrina Wolman. There will be prizes for recruiting so ask your friends, neighbors, relatives, coworkers, etc and help the team grow.

Training – Two of us made Saturday’s training ride in the rain. It actually was very nice since it stopped almost immediately but I’m hopeful we can finally get to better weather next weekend. Let’s make it a 9:00 start at Prairie Elementary in Waunakee again next Saturday for 20 – 33 miles depending on interest of the group.

Fundraiser – Dave Barger is working on reserving a gas station for three dates before the ride for car washes. We’ll need 8 washers to confirm for each one with a 2 kids = 1 washer conversion ratio. Plan is to wash cars from 9 to noon on June 3, June 10 and July 29 at a Shell station at 3401 University. Please email me if you’d like to participate. Any funds raised will be allocated to the washers that work that date so this will be a great help for those of you that need help getting to the minimum.

We’ve secured one new corporate sponsorship for sure and probably two more. This is a relatively easy way to increase your fundraising so please take a look at it. I’ve got the sponsorship benefits on the website for your use. As in the car wash, any funds you raise will be allocated to your totals which will instantly get you to the yellow jersey level of fund raising.

Website – I’ve corralled someone that knows what they’re doing to revamp the NBC 15 Sonic Streamer website so check back soon to see how it looks. Should be good timing as I did an interview with Leigh on NBC channel 15 that’ll air Friday that will plug it.

http://www.sonicstreamers.org/