Manchester Running Company is pleased to announce that it's Thursday Nights Under the Lights Summer Track & Field Series is now restructured and is a registered 501 c 3 non-profit organization. The change was implemented over the fall in preparation for the 2017 return of the series to the Manchester High School facility. With the changes comes a new name, new website and new opportunities for growth to benefit all those participating in the popular series.
[If you were thinking, "wait, I thought this already was non-profit," we'll get that out of the way first. The track series has always been to the benefit of local organizations, our biggest donations from the series went to the MHS Track & Field teams, and no individual or company has ever gained a financial advantage or disbursement from the series. The only difference is now we are an officially registered non-profit and can therefore leverage donations, grants, etc. to make the series bigger and better. In years past, the series was always just funded on registration fees and any sponsorships. Also, because we are non-profit, you the public, will be able to see all of our financials, just in case you have questions.]
New Name?
Sort of. We didn't change it too much, instead of the tongue-twisting and lengthy explanation of what/when/where for a title, we shortened it to just "MRC Track & Field Series", but you can still call it Thursday Nights Under the Lights, we'll know what you're talking about.
New Website?
That's right, you can still get all the information not too far away, but if you're looking for a quick, short link, just go with www.mrctf.org and that'll take you right where you want to go, you could also type in www.mrctrack.com and that will take you to the right place. On this new website we have everything you need for the Track & Field Series, without having to fumble around our website with all of our other events, your meet records (which should be updated soon), registration, rules, etc. is right there. We also put up on the website our volunteer Board of Directors and a boatload of other info. We hope this is helpful!
New Opportunities?
Going non-profit will be of great benefit to all who participate in the series. We will continue to do our best to keep costs to a minimum for participants by opening ourselves up to tax-deductible grants and donations. This can help bring in additional funding to make the series more memorable, we can purchase new equipment, get automatic timing, help move the meets a little faster and make more donations of our own. We are pleased to let everyone know that in 2017, with a generous grant from USATF-CT, we will be using automatic timing for the meets With continued success some of our long-term goals include providing transportation to the meets from outside the area for folks, we'd also like to eventually contribute to the Manchester field house, which is in the very early stages of planning.
Other opportunities include enabling volunteers to earn community service hours and welcome corporate volunteerism. In prior years, volunteers were greatly appreciated, but legally we had to at least offer some sort of compensation. Now these hours can be publicly recognized. We also now have a Board of Directors along with various other committees, we would love to leverage everyone's abilities and connections to make the series great for all!
So...what really changed?
Well, if you were someone who just came to compete, bring your kids to try a new event or something like that and didn't pay attention to this stuff, then nothing changed. You'll still be able to enjoy our meets just like you always could! If you were deeply involved, or wanted to get involved, lots and we'd be thrilled to hear any input you have. You can always email us.