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Ryan Bross
President - Tifo Director
Ryan.Bross@SonsofBen.com

Soccer was always a big thing in the Bross household. Everyone played and Dad coached. So in 2009 Ryan got his family together to get season tickets for his Dad's birthday. Soon it was June 2010 and Ryan was with his family in section 120, directly across from the River End. By the end of the season, Ryan joined the Sons of Ben.

The first tifo Ryan was involved in was Zolo Ram, the overhead used for the home opener of the 2011 season. Ryan continued to get more and more involved each season and in 2013 started helping on the capo stand and with tifo setup and break down. Since a rainy US Open match in 2012, Ryan has used his rather large scarf collection to become something of a living tifo, in the form of, what can be best described, as a "scarf skirt". Ryan worked close with Tim Sosar in creating the new tifo used in the 2013 season. Ryan was voted as the new Director of Tifo by the Board in December 2013 before being voted as President in 2023.

Ryan grew up in Upper Township, NJ and has a degree in Scientific Illustration from Arcadia University (Glenside, PA). Ryan is the oldest of four and the only one to not play in an international soccer tournament

 

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Kirsten Morris
Vice President
kirsten.morris@SonsofBen.com

Hello, I'm Kirsten Morris. I joined the SoB in 2016 and became a season ticket holder in 2017. In 2018, I ran for Secretary/Social Media, serving in that role for the past 5 years. Now, I'm excited to be your Vice President. If you spot me at the Soob or Sons of Ben tailgate, don't hesitate to come say hi. I want to hear from you on how we can better serve you!

I hail from a small town in Rosenhayn, NJ. My dad coached me in youth soccer, sparking my love for the sport.

When I'm not Doopin', you can find me tending to my gardens, relaxing by the pool, or immersed in a good book.

*PSA* If you are waving to me, I may not see it as I am visually impaired. So come over and say hi!

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Racheal Gray
Membership Director
Racheal.Gray@sonsofben.com

Hey I’m Racheal Gray and I am your membership director!

I have been a fan of the Union since the beginning season watching them at Lincoln financial. I have always respected and admired what the Sons of Ben stood for and the community it created.Being membership director means a lot to me, being able to help grow this group and be a voice to our members is something I’m extremely proud of.

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Andrew Gerber
Member At Large

Hi there! My name is Andrew Gerber and I am this year's Member at Large. I live in Reading, PA with my beautiful wife with whom I share my passion for Philadelphia sports. I have been a due paying member of the SoB since 2018 and a STH since 2019 and I have never even thought of looking back. On game days you can find me running around the tailgate as much as I can, from helping with merch to hoping on a grill if needed, I'm your guy. Once the party moves inside to the Soob you can find me in 138 losing my voice with the friends and family I've made over the years coming down to Chester. When I'm not in Philly with y'all I work full-time as a mental healthcare worker in a nonprofit residential facility for a wide variety of ages. Working with people is truly my passion and why I am here. So please. Come say hi. Join the family. In my time as MaL all I hope to do is foster relationships and grow the SoB. The organization has truly made me feel at home there and abroad. So welcome home. I'm glad you came.

Robert Migliaccio
Philanthropy Director

robert.migliaccio@sonsofben.com

Hello all! I’m Robert Migliaccio and I’m happy to be serving as your Philanthropy director! I’ve been a part of the Sons Of Ben family since 2013 and have been serving on the Game Day Tifo and Capo crew since 2015. On the philanthropic side of the Sons Of Ben, I’ve been a part of our St. Baldrick's Shave team since 2018 and the founding team captain for our PA Special Olympics Polar Plunge team since 2023.

I hope to see you at all our events throughout the year both on game day and non-game day to support the local area. Feel free to stop me and say hi at any of the awesome tailgates, around Subaru Park or email me.

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Kelsey Luckenbach
Tailgate Director

Kelsey.Luckenbach@sonsofben.com


Hi, my name is Kelsey Luckenbach and I’ve been with the Sons of Ben since the end of the 2020 season (thanks Covid!). I grew up in Lehigh Valley (Nazareth, Pa) but moved to the Pittsburgh area for 8 years to obtain a Business Management degree at IUP and stayed to pursue career opportunities. After moving to Philly in 2019, my friends got me involved with the Sons of Ben and soon after became a STH. The atmosphere of the tailgates combined with my love for all things sports and hosting parties made the Tailgate position a perfect fit for me after getting so involved last year.

 

As Tailgate Director my goals are to ensure the board brings a fun, memorable experience to our members each game. I appreciate the energy and enthusiasm SoB brings into The River End has a significant impact on how our boys in blue play on the field.

 

If you’re interested in getting involved with the Sons of Ben tailgates (volunteer/vendors), feel free to reach out!

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Jon Light
Merchandise
JonLight@SonsofBen.com

Jon Light has been an SoB since 2010, a season ticket holder since 2015, and the Merch Director since 2020.

A passionate and loud SoB jon has worked hard to bring new merchandise and different merch concepts to our members.

You can find Jon in section 135 and during tailgates manning the merch table.

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Donnie Cashin
Secretary & Social Media
donnie.cashin@SonsofBen.com


Hey there, My name is Donnie Cashin. I have been a SoB member since 2014, a Season ticket holder since 2021. You can always find me tucked away in my little corner in Section 134 with my own little crew and if im not up there yelling and chanting until my voice is gone you can catch me running around the Lot or The River End with my camera draped over my shoulder. I live in Delaware County (DELCO!) and have grown up here. I went to The Art Institute of Philadelphia for Photography and have since started my own Media company as a hobby.

When i am not watching the Union or any other Philly Sports teams, i am either in my Kitchen cooking up something, or out in the woods hiking and taking in the fresh air and scenery. I love to travel and take photos/shoot and edit videos in my free time and spending every free second i have with my friends, family, and 2 Pups.

I hope this year i can put in enough effort to bring a top level online presence and put out the best content the SoBs have seen in years and truly help the members on this board reach our potential! I have spent the last year working under Kirsten and being her right hand man so i hope to continue the hard work she put into the Secretary & Social Media positions the last few years and give the fans the best supporters club in the league!

See you in TRE! DOOP!

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Mike Blankemeyer
Travel Director
Mike.Blankemeyer@SonsofBen.com

Hi I'm Mike Blankemeyer. I've been a proud S.O.B. since 2009, and a season ticket holder from the beginning.  Both my son and daughter have grown up in the stadium (section 136) with my wife and me.  We live in Montgomery County with a menagerie of cats, turtles and koi.

When I am not watching the Union play, I like gardening, cooking, and camping,

I'm certainly looking forward to going to more away games and DOOPING at every one of them.

One of the things I'd really like to incorporate in the position of Travel Director is more of your input and interests. If we visit a city, what else would you like to see and do (a W is a given!)?

Justin Friedberg
Member at Large

I have been a Philadelphia Union fan since the very beginning in 2008. I went to the first three games at Lincoln Financial Field in 2010 as a high school junior and have been a Sons of Ben member since the inaugural season. I have been a STH since 2016, enthusiastically cheering from section 139 in the river end. Some may recognize me from the SOB tailgates, where I’ve been manning the beer tent. I am located in South Jersey, specifically over in Voorhees and can be seen at Zed's for away games.

When I am not cheering on our boys in blue, I love playing the sport. I also love being involved playing dungeons and dragons, whether I be involved in my nearly three year campaign with fellow SOB members or running one shots as a DM for Dungeons and Drafts.

Come and say hi at the tailgates. I love meeting existing and new members while enjoying the sport that we all love so very much.

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Vince Tiberi
Treasurer
vince.tiberi@SonsofBen.com

 

Sons of Ben Board of Elders Policy

1. The Sons of Ben are run by the Board of Elders, who act as board members and officers of the organization. Board members are unpaid volunteers and owe the Sons of Ben all of the legal duties and responsibilities of board members of a nonprofit organization.

2. As of 2012, new Board members have traditionally been chosen and approved by vote of the existing Board. Going forward, the Board will implement elections of the membership to choose Board members. The Board's goal is to hold elections to the Board of Elders in the fall of 2013.

3. Going forward, the goal is to have each Board position filled by two people, with each serving an overlapping two-year term. Under this system, half of the Board will be elected each year, and each position will always have one experienced board member and one person learning the position, ready to take over the next year. The Board or the individual officers may choose whether to act as co-Board members (e.g., co-Travel Directors) or as a Board member and an assistant (e.g., Travel Director and Assistant Travel Director).

4. The current Elder/Officer positions are:

The PRESIDENT and VICE-PRESIDENT coordinate all SoB activities and front office relationships, run SoB meetings, and act as the SoBs' primary liaison with the Union front office.

The TREASURERS manage all financial aspects of the Sons of Ben. This is a highly responsible position, with responsibility for quarterly tax filings, accurate bookkeeping and recordkeeping, budgeting, managing relationships with SoB's outside accountants and financial relationships, and reporting and being responsive to the Board.

The CHIEF CAPOS are responsible for planning and organizing all in-stadium support for home games, including tifo displays, signs and banners, drums and songs.

The TRAVEL DIRECTORS are responsible for organizing road trips to Union games and other out-of-town events, helping individual SoBs who wish to travel to away games, and managing anything that happens outside of PPL Park.

The TAILGATE COORDINATORS plan and execute tailgates at home games, coordinate game day volunteers, manage food and equipment inventory, and work with the Travel Directors and other Board members to provide food for away games and other special events.

The TECHNOLOGY DIRECTORS manage the SoB website; email servers; social networking, and SAAS accounts, and all SoB hardware and software needs.

The COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTORS have primary responsibility for communicating with the SoB membership, by email or otherwise; they also act as the organization's secretary, keeping meeting minutes and records for the Board, keeping the organizational calendar and keeping track of the SoBs' important documents and resources.

The MARKETING DIRECTORS are responsible for managing all of the SoB's commercial relationships, keeping merchandise available, and working with SoB sponsors and partners to make special benefits available to members wherever possible.

The MEMBERSHIP DIRECTORS are responsible for running the annual membership campaign, for promoting SoB membership, and for answering member questions and addressing problems throughout the year.

The CHARITY COORDINATORS are responsible for relationships with the SoB's charity partners and finding new ways to fulfill the SoBs' charitable mission.

5. If a vacancy arises during a Board member's two-year term, the remaining Board members will appoint a replacement if possible. The Board may also remove or replace a Board member for cause and choose at-large Board members to assist the Board as necessary.

Feedback

The Sons of Ben is what it is because of the amazing people who are a part of it. It's important to us to push the organization ahead with the best interests of our members in mind. Do you have an idea to improve the Sons of Ben? Do you have something you just need us to hear? We're all ears. Fill out the form below and someone will reach out as soon as possible to further discuss your thoughts. 

Thanks for taking the time to help make the Sons of Ben better than ever.