About Us

Thank you for your interest in TRS - The Registration System

TRS takes your event recruiting, registration and communication and makes it efficient, economical and professional. It works equally well for volunteer and paid event participants.

The system was created through the efforts of two companies, Simply Hospitality (Indianapolis and Boston) and Riverwatcher Studios (Champaign, Chicago and Beijing).

How it happened:

Simply Hospitality was founded in 1999 as an event planning agency, specialized in major civic, corporate and sporting events. Among many other activities, we ran the Host Committee for the United State Grand Prix (Formula One race) from 2000 to 2007.

We needed an online system to manage the 1000+ Formula One volunteers. We bought and tested a lot of software on the market, but we threw it all away. Nothing could sort and manage data the way an event manager needs it.

So we teamed up with the smartest people we know, the custom software developers at Riverwatcher Studios. They listened and got to work.

The registration software we needed took shape over a couple of years. We made improvements and suggestions, and Riverwatcher contributed its ideas. Our system - we just called it "the registration system" - worked fantastically for our events. It was not something to sell, but rather was the solution to a problem no one else could solve.

A funny thing happened on the way to our next event

We got a call from another event manager who had seen our system and wanted to use it. Then another one. We met with the team at Riverwatcher and said we needed some new features. They added payment processing, convention and meeting modules, functionality for tours, and so on.

Word got around that a small event planning agency in Indianapolis had created the best registration system available. Things got busy.

Then we noticed that instead of writing The Registration System, which was way too long for everyday use, our clients were using TRS as shorthand. We got the clue, and in 2006 renamed the system TRS.

Thus began a transition for Simply Hospitality from an event planning agency to a provider of technology solutions to event planners. This was a remarkable thing, since no one at Simply Hospitality can write a single line of computer code. We all have normal office computer skills and that's about it. Maybe that's why TRS has caught on so fast.

Simply Hospitality's web site is www.simplyhospitality.org

Meanwhile, Riverwatcher Studios was in its own transition. The company had created custom software for years, but was also a top-notch web designer and one of the largest providers of dial-up Internet access in the State of Illinois.

Riverwatcher expanded its Champaign offices to include staff in Chicago and Beijing. The dial-up business began to go the way of the horse and buggy, so Riverwatcher shifted its energy away from dial-up services to perfecting TRS and creating new software solutions.

The result of this effort is our second online solution, FullMembership. FullMembership provides membership management for associations, clubs and organizations of all types. It maintains personal information, membership status and renewals, and creates easy email communication with one, some or all members.

Riverwatcher Studios' web site is www.riverwatcher.com