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 Company: Red Frog Events, Chicago, IL, USA
Company Description: Red Frog Events, based in Chicago, Illinois, has become a pioneer in the race management and event planning industries. Founded in 2007 by the Architect of Adventure, Joe Reynolds, Red Frog Events has 39 employees, who travel nationwide creating fun and extraordinary events through innovation, creativity, and top-notch participant service, while laughing all the way.
Nomination Category: Company/Organization Categories / Business Awards Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Single-Market Company of the Year in North America
Nomination Title: Red Frog Events
Tell the story about what this nominated company achieved (up to 500 words). Focus on specific accomplishments, and relate these accomplishments to past performance or industry norms. Be sure to mention obstacles overcome, innovations or discoveries made, and outcomes:
Red Frog Events has become a pioneer in the race management and event planning
industries since its first race in September of 2007. The company currently
consists of two ground-breaking races and an innovative registration website,
however, Red Frog’s unique culture provides a breeding ground for the continual
development of creative and novel ideas. It was those ideas that helped sales
grow from $50,000 in 2007, to $1 million in 2009 to a projected $12 million in
2010.
The company’s first event, Great Urban Race, was conceived and constructed
solely by Red Frog Events’ founder Joe Reynolds. Inspired by the popular
television show, The Amazing Race, Joe’s idea was to bring this unique adventure
to the masses in a smaller, one-day event where teams of two would compete by
solving twelve clues, completing fun challenges, and discovering a city in a
fresh new way. The first Great Urban Race was held in Chicago with 156
participants, a success for Joe, who faced challenges creating, planning and
promoting the event. Despite these hurdles the Great Urban Race has expanded to
24 cities in 2010 with over 17,000 total participants.
The success of the Great Urban Race inspired the Red Frog team to take on the
challenge of a new event. Warrior Dash is an intense 5k run in which racers
navigate through 12 grueling obstacles and celebrate their feat with live music,
beer and muddy shorts. Selling out at 2,000 participants, the first Warrior
Dash, held in July of 2009, created nationwide buzz. With the success of the
first race a 2010 nationwide tour launched with nine locations and a projected
total of 140,000 participants. Marketing these unique events, overcoming crowd
management, course design, securing permits, and recruiting volunteers are all
challenges the company has overcome.
As the number of participants and events began to increase exponentially, the
Red Frog team collaborated to find creative solutions and evolve race
preparations. As a result, Red Frog Events produced one of its greatest
innovations, RegistratioNation. Launched in the fall of 2009, RegistratioNation
is a provider of automated online payment processing and database management for
events. This system has been successful in booking all of Red Frog’s 2010
events, and will be released to the public this fall as one of the only
customizable registration websites in the industry.
Red Frog Events has always made philanthropy a top priority. Warrior Dash
participants have the opportunity to donate their muddy race shoes to Green
Sneakers, a fundraising program that donates shoes to third-world countries.
The Great Urban Race partners with St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and
implements the Heroes program for the 2010 series. Through this program Red
Frog has helped raise $95,780.66.
The success of Red Frog Events has been undeniable and has paved the way for
further expansion. In less than three years, the company has grown from founder,
Joe Reynolds, to 39 total employees. Racers and businesses alike can anticipate
Red Frog Event’s continual innovation of current and future endeavors.
List hyperlinks to any online news stories, press releases, or other documents that support the claims made in the section above. IMPORTANT: Begin each link with http://, and enclose each link in square brackets; for example, [http://www.youraddress.com]:
Beyond the Pedway- May 2010, http://www.beyondthepedway.com/red-frog-events
Chicago Now- May
2010, http://www.chicagonow.com/blogs/beyond-the-pedway/2010/05/interview-with-red-frog-events.html
Midwest Media Now- May 2010,
http://midwestmedianow.com/beyond-the-pedway/interview-with-red-frog-events/
Chicago Business- May
2010, http://www.chicagobusiness.com/cgi-bin/blogs/ecity.pl?plckController=Blog&plckBlogPage=BlogViewPost&uid=16ea2629-7e90-46f0-a706-dd6152764513&plckPostId=Blog:16ea2629-7e90-46f0-a706-dd6152764513Post:930b67fa-fd90-4e7f-84db-6580a4c8cd1b&plckScript=blogScript&plckElementId=blogDest
Sports Destinations- Jan. 2010,
http://www.sportsdestinations.com/ID-104-articledetails.aspx
Illinois State University Alumni- Jan. 26, 2010,
http://mediarelations.illinoisstate.edu/report/0910/jan26/alumniawards.asp
ABC Tampa- March 6, 2010,
http://www.abcactionnews.com/mediacenter/local.aspx?videoId=21852@wfts.dayport.com&navCatId=3
The Statesman (Texas)- March 30, 2010,
http://www.statesman.com/news/local/great-urban-race-draws-hundreds-of-adventurists-465498.html
Los Angeles Times- March 21, 2010,
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-scavenger21-2010mar21,0,4238008.story
Galveston County News- Feb. 26. 2010,
http://www.galvnews.com/story.lasso?ewcd=d3d8b88e2a787b42
Greater Houston Weekly- Feb, 12, 2010,
http://www.hcnonline.com/articles/2010/02/14/greater_houston_weekly/top_of_the_week/0217_great_urban_race.txt
Seattle Times- Aug. 30, 2009,
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2009772339_greatrace30m.html
Chicago Reader- May 27, 2010,
http://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/chicago-beachathon-mudathlon-urban-assault-ride/Content?oid=1888068
OregonLive- May 27, 2010,
http://blog.oregonlive.com/runoregon/2010/05/would_you_like_to_win_an_entry.html
Time Out Chicago- May 20, 2010,
http://chicago.timeout.com/articles/spas-gyms/85729/urban-races-in-chicago
ReadBreathe- April 30, 2010, http://www.readbreathe.com/great-urban-race-recap/
Charlotte Observer- April 23, 2010,
http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2010/04/23/1392520/great-urban-race.html
Austin Post- March 3, 2010,
http://www.austinpost.org/content/get-ready-great-urban-raceaustin?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed:+austinpost/latestnews+(Austin+Post+Latest+News)&utm_content=austin,+news
97.9 The Box (Houston)- Feb. 23, 2010,
http://theboxhouston.com/events/jmac/join-the-great-urban-race-in-houston/
AZCentral.com- Feb. 8, 2010,
http://www.azcentral.com/thingstodo/events/articles/2010/02/08/20100208urbanrace.html
Glamour.com- Jan. 26, 2010,
http://www.glamour.com/sex-love-life/blogs/smitten/2010/01/are-you-and-your-guy-looking-f.html
South Florida Adventures- Jan. 23, 2010,
http://www.southfloridaadventures.com/2010/01/22/the-great-urban-race-in-miami-jan-30/
CBS Atlanta- May 24-27, 2010
http://www.cbsatlanta.com/video/23654023/index.html
http://www.cbsatlanta.com/video/23666849/index.html
http://www.cbsatlanta.com/video/23679597/index.html
NBC- Dalllas/Ft. Worth- May 3, 2010,
http://www.nbcdfw.com/around-town/events/2010_Warrior_Dash_Dallas-Fort_Worth.html
G4TV-April 2010, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLIPQBKEgtk&feature=fvsr
LA Splash Magazine- April 2010,
http://www.lasplash.com/publish/Active_Life/Warrior_Dash_So_Cal_An_Extreme_Sport_Met_With_An_Extreme_Bonding_of_Friends_printer.php
Macon County News (Georgia)- May 27, 2010,
http://www.maconnews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=9932&Itemid=68
Spartanburg-Herald (Georgia)- May 22, 2010,
http://www.goupstate.com/article/20100522/news/100529890
Clayton Tribune (Georgia)- May 27, 2010,
http://www.theclaytontribune.com/articles/2010/05/27/news/news01.txt
The Orange Leader (Texas)- May 5, 2010,
http://orangeleader.com/local/x1036627739/Warriors-unite-for-the-dash-to-the-finish-line
Dallas Morning News- May 3, 2010,
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/localnews/stories/DN-warriorfinal_03met.ART.State.Edition2.a3722.html
Dallas Morning News- April 27, 2010
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/fea/healthyliving/fitness/stories/DN-nh_warriordash_0427gd.ART.State.Edition1.41fd42.html
The Village News (California)- April 16, 2010,
http://www.thevillagenews.com/story/47111/
Taste of Temecula (California)- April 12, 2010,
http://tasteoftemecula.net/2010/04/warrior-dash/
North County Times- March 31, 2010,
http://www.nctimes.com/news/local/lake-elsinore/article_36cde2b6-e8d9-54a0-a2fe-51e0d6188fa6.html?mode=story
The Press Enterprise (Southern California)- March 23, 2010,
http://www.inlandsocal.com/iguide/family/content/news/stories/PE_News_Local_W_slake24.482c1a4.html
SBNation- May 25, 2010,
http://www.sbnation.com/2010/5/25/1485167/the-amateur-warrior-dash-weekend
99X Radio- May 24, 2010,
http://99x.com/AVRoom/AVRoomVideoPlayer/TabId/622/VideoId/744/Warrior-Dash-2010-Get-Up--Get-Out-W-Lewis.aspx
Examiner. Com (Birmingham)- May 24, 2010,
http://www.examiner.com/x-46097-Birmingham-MMA-Fitness-Examiner~y2010m5d24-Local-MMA-and-crossfit-enthusiasts-traveled-to-Clayton-Georgia-for-Warrior-Dash
DFW.com- May 3, 2010,
http://www.dfw.com/2010/05/03/271682/pics-050110-warrior-dash.html#http://media.dfw.com/smedia/2010/05/03/10/WarriorDash150.standalone.prod_affiliate.117.jpg
Dallas Observer- May 3, 2010,
http://blogs.dallasobserver.com/unfairpark/2010/05/from_the_muddy_banks_of_forney.php
NBC Los Angeles- April 10, 2010,
http://www.nbclosangeles.com/around-town/events/The-Warrior-Dash-is-Not-for-the-Average-Runner-90496959.html
Palm Springs Guide (California)- April 10, 2010,
http://palmspringsguides.com/Entertainment-In-and-Around-Palm-Springs/if-you-challenge-they-will-come.html
Examiner.com (Baltimore)- March 19, 2010,
http://www.examiner.com/x-16085-Baltimore-Triathlon-Examiner~y2010m3d19-Warrior-Dash--an-obstacle-race-in-Maryland
Examiner.com (Denver)- March 15, 2010,
http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-4578-Denver-Personal-Training-Examiner~y2010m3d15-The-Warrior-Dash--a-race-for-thrillseekers
Sacramento Online- Feb. 8, 2010,
http://www.sacmag.com/media/Sacramento-Magazine/Go-and-Do-Blog/February-2010/Insane-Race-quotWarrior-Dash-quot-Hits-Nor-Cal-This-Year/
Provide a brief (up to 100 words) biography about the leader of this nominated company:
Joe Reynolds, the Architect of Adventure and founder of Red Frog Events has a BA
in Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management from Illinois State
University. Starting from the ground up, Joe built a multi-million dollar
company. His success earned him the title of Illinois State University’s Most
Outstanding Alumni Under 40. Joe’s love of travel has taken him to over 40
countries in the past few years, with Red Frog Events closely following suit.
With a “work hard, play hard” attitude, Joe has created a one-of-a-kind work
environment for his staff in order to continue producing fun and extraordinary
events.
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