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Thanks…for 5 great years.

Dear Backstagers:
It’s hard to believe it’s been five years since I first drove five hours from New Orleans to Jackson, Mississippi to get one of the first SIRIUS Satellite Radios in the nation.

I was just a freshman in college, sitting in the cold, eagerly waiting at the front of the line. The doors at Cowboy Maloney’s Electric City (the home of the DirecTV launch in 1994) opened at 7am. I was the first one in; I shook Joe Clayton’s hand, as well as Jim Collins (then SIRIUS VP of Communications) and then ran to the back of the store to pick out my Kenwood SR-901 tuner and head unit.

In those days, many thought SIRIUS would never pull off this launch, but I had to prove that it worked to the entire Internet community. Hard to believe this event would give birth to the largest satellite radio fan community.

It’s been a wild ride, and I’m forever grateful to the people who have embraced the SIRIUS Backstage Community, as well as the great people at SIRIUS who invited our original team up to visit: Tom Rielly, John McMullen, Ron Rodrigues, Elise Brown, Kid Kelly, Ethel Miller, Jim Ryan, Meg Griffin, Spyder Harrison, Jose Mangin. You guys were the inspiration for this concept, and you all gave me the passion to keep this going.

However, the true lifeblood of this community is our members. I tried to model SIRIUS Backstage off other great online community I frequented during those days. I wanted to craft a place where fans could interact, respect each other and share real life stories. I wanted the SIRIUS Backstage community to be above the rest of the Internet - a quality place where you’d actually meet good friends, learn something interesting and have a little fun.

I had no idea that I’d meet so many of my virtual friends and family in real life. We had some great times in New York and Las Vegas.

SIRIUS Backstage wouldn’t be here today without each one of you. Thank you for making this place the gold standard of online communities.

Jeff

Posted by TulaneJeff on Wednesday, February 14th, 2007 at 5:21 pm.
Filed in Sirius Events, Sirius Backstage, Sirius.
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Comments:

  1. Hats off to you as well for putting together such a great community! by xmastree
  2. Thank you Jeff and everyone else who is a part of this great community. by Blink
  3. Here's to another 5 years.....

    by Mkrucejr
  4. This was the first forum i ever joined, and it still is my favorite, for the great discussions, good moderating, and people that really seem to care about Sirius and each other.

    Thanks Jeff. by bandwagon03
  5. I hope people understand how much we all owe to Jeff and his passion for this product. I know he hasn't been around alot lately, but there was a time when his enthusiam, and honest care about Sirius helped the rest of us comprehend how great it could be. He's an extremely bright young man (I can say that, I'm almost twice his age!), with an extremely bright future. And no matter where his life is leading him, I'm sure he'll be as successful in those endevors, as he's been in creating this virtual community.

    So I send a HUGE thank you right back. It couldn't have been done without you! by RoadRunner
  6. Quote:
    Originally Posted by bandwagon03 View Post
    This was the first forum i ever joined
    Me too! Thanks to everyone "backstage @ backstage" for all of their obviously hard work. by benr4
  7. This is by far my favorite forum. Thanks to Jeff and all the mods. by TX WJ
  8. Thanks Jeff for all that you have done and do for SBS and the Sirius fans. You're a great guy , and I am proud to call you friend. Five years already, it seems like just yesterday we rolled into Vegas and sampled the scene...what happens in Vegas didn't stay in Vegas,because that spirit and feeling has been with you and this site ever since, thanks! by AZJoe
  9. My wife always asks how we can spend so much time talking about satellite radio. What is there to talk about? she asks. The answer:

    I don't know.

    Since today is Valentine's Day, I just want to add that I love all of you.

    Thank you, Jeff.

    CF by Casual Fan
  10. No, thank you! It's a great site that continues to get better and better.


    <---- BTW, I'd like to take this time to personally apologize for everything that's happened subsequent to 11/6/04. by Chad
  11. First of all, i want to thank you Jeff for creating such a great forum. I haved learned so much about sirius and other members through siriusbackstage. When someone I know gets sirius I tell them to join siriusbackstage because it has a wealth of knowledge that is second to none. Hats off to you and here's to another 5 great years by rydaldude
  12. Five More Years! Five More Years! by lronglien
  13. Thanks for setting this up man! I know I have been out of sight for awhile, kids, job, and mountain biking taking up all my free time, but coming back and seeing how SBS has evolved is totally awesome and you have done a great job!

    So, does this mean you are now edumacted and gradumated from College? What are you career prospects, assuming that is the case? by BeyEhmVey
  14. SBS rocks. Nice wide breadth of forums and discussions. Thanks Jeff. by HomieG
  15. Thanks Jeff, you and all the Mods have done a great job on SBS!!! I enjoy visiting the forum everyday, here another 5+ more years! by WolfViper
  16. Thanks Jeff. by VDCHawk
  17. love the site. congrats on the 5 years, and keep it coming!

    - Jon by jon01
  18. Great source and place to come and shoot the Shiite. Well not really shoot them . Thanks for putting it together for us! XXOOXXOOXXOO by robdam
  19. Thanks, Jeff

    I wish I had found this place sooner than I did. by 7Aaron
  20. Thanks Jeff.
    Thanks for making it a great place to hang out... by sgniwder
  21. Like some others this was the first forum I was ever a part of. It's nice to know online people can actually be real friends. When I moved I still knew I had the forum. by TSS Taylor
  22. Jeff and the enitre SBS team,
    Thanks for all your hard work in making this a great site. by derek1079
  23. It gives me great pleasure first to congratulate you on the great five years you have put into "Backstage", you should be very proud of yourself!

    I have only been with "Backstage" just about a year, I know that everyone there has given me the opportunity to express myself (sometimes a little too much) but I really don't think you will really know just how very "Thankfull" I am that I have a place like "Backstage" to go to.

    Without you Jeff letting me vent and of cause getting myself in trouble now again .

    "THANK YOU" AND I WISH YOU MUCH HAPPINESS IN THE YEARS TO FOLLOW!!!!!!!!

    deedee by deedee
  24. Cheers to SBS. by realwx
  25. Jeff, I say "Thank You" as well. This is for me, as well as others, the first forum that I joined.

    SIRIUS Backstage is such a great place for info for so many people. The growth has been phenomenal the past 5 years.

    We will continue to grow and to continue being the source for all things SIRIUS. by Michigan Made
  26. Thanks for keeping the site going and growing strong... by siriusurfer
  27. Quote:
    Originally Posted by 7Aaron View Post
    Thanks, Jeff

    I wish I had found this place sooner than I did.
    Same here. Hell, I didn't even hear of sat radio until the beginning of 2003 so, with Jeff being the first one in line back in 2002 on launch day, and starting this forum of course, he was truly a pioneer of sorts. All the best to ya in the future! by SIRIusStockFan
  28. thanx jeff and everyone else who makes this site the best there is!!! great job and heres to many , many , more years!! by budd
  29. This place is the best. I learned so much about the radios here when I joined that I had to stick around. I continue to learn about the new products and also get to talk about programming without having to deal with people that have nothing interesting or childlike to say.

    Lets keep this place going until the end of Sirius!

    Thanks Jeff! by MoeSyslack
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