The CheckerBoard

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1 Corinthians 16:13 Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong.

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Kevin Ryan said...

In piggybacking off what Wes said ....

I want to thank you guys for making this board, this community and this site so awesome. You have helped us become the largest site on the 247Sports network that was started from scratch. We are No. 4 in the company, and we have passed great sites with excellent staffs that have been around for much, much longer.

I think a lot of folks here saw what we're capable of during the coaching search and this recruiting cycle. Wes and Ryan owned it, and that isn't really even debatable. In addition to our news coverage, though, this board has become a fun place to be 24/7, too. Whether it's the WWW threads or Wednesday with (insert user here) threads, our awesome balance of OT topics, our fantasy leagues and pick em games, etc. - we are building a giant online family.

We've celebrated births, engagements and other milestones. We've mourned losses, helped one another through hard times and have been sure to thanks folks like our servicemen and women who protect our freedoms. I truly love this place.

All that said, today isn't an ending. It's the first day of the 2014 recruiting cycle! This UT staff has some big junior days coming up, and we'll cover them wall-to-wall. Our VIP Rooms will continue to bring you all the scoop and behind-the-scenes stories on the various programs. This spring practice is going to be enormously important, and there are going to be tons of story lines to follow - and we'll have them all for you.

As you know, recruiting never stop - especially with this staff! Vic Wharton is already committed. Corey Vereen committed last March, so you never know when a prospect will pull the trigger and commit. The process is so expedited these days, offers are already out in the class of 2016. We'll keep you up to speed on all of it.

As a company, Shannon Terry laid out what is coming in the short and long term. We haven't just promised things, we've delivered them - and technology and innovation will always be keys for us going forward. In case you missed Shannon's note, I'll link it below.

Lastly, I wanted to reach out and say that If you have been a monthly subscriber and know you like the site and plan to stick around, it is a benefit to both you and us to upgrade from monthly to annual. You actually save money with an annual subscription. It amounts to $8.95 per month instead of $9.95. The only difference is you get billed once a year for the full amount ($107.40) instead of being billed 12 times. This can be a benefit for some, too, because they only have to explain once charge to their significant others.

In addition to the cost savings, annual subscribers are eligible to sign up for our text alert service free. Because of the costs of building, using and maintaining this service, right now text alerts are only available to annual members. I know a lot of folks were happy to have the alerts - especially yesterday when faxes were rolling in.

Having more annual members also allow us to plan for the future, budget and determine if/when we might be able to hire additional staff to help Wes and Ryan cover the Vols. I think we are getting close to being able to possibly add another staffer, but we'll need a pretty good push over the next 6-9 months. The stability of annual memberships gives us a much better idea of what we can and can't afford in the future.

Thanks again for everyone's support and for making this such a great place to be every day.

-KR