The school year has quickly come and gone, and here we are in the last week of school.  The SHS Sports Boosters held its last monthly board meeting of the year on June 2, and we looked back on our accomplishments and discussed plans for next year. 

One thing quite clear to us is the budget challenge back a year ago has seen much needed relief - thanks to the athletic families' cooperation to increase fees mid-year and participating in the numerous fundraisers we held during the year; we are now in a much better position to start the next school year. 

This year, we tried the approach of running numerous smaller fundraisers as opposed to the traditionally one major event for the year.  This year’s fundraising events included: Football Tailgate Party, Holiday Boutique, Crab Feed, and Celebrating SHS Coaches.  I want to thank Paula Thoren and Debbi Sabella for carrying the fundraising baton for so many years; it’s very hard for me to let Paula “graduate” from the Board. Comparing this year’s fundraising approach to prior years, the results are mixed.  So the strategy for next year will largely rest on the decision of our new Fundraising Chair – Suzanne Sullivan, and her team.

We also started a few new traditions: the quarterly e-newsletter “Falcons Sports News”, the Coach Appreciation event, and the College Sports-Bound Seniors Reception – all of which we find worthwhile keeping for future years.  Many thanks go to Candice Huang, Jo-Anne Knysh, and Jane Lin-Li for driving these efforts.

None of the above would be possible without the Sports Boosters Executive Board which provides the backbone to the operations of the group.  Aside from me, this includes Teri Beam, Paula Thoren, and Kathy Waite.  I want to also recognize Kelly Berman for her relentless effort in updating the membership database and active involvements in various fundraising activities.  And to the team liaisons: many of the things we do would not be possible without you being the glue to the players and families for whom we do what we do.

All of these bring me back to the Sports Boosters’ mission – which ultimately is to improve SHS’ athletic programs by supporting the athletes and coaches, by celebrating successes, and by making the attempt to change the perception that SHS is (only) a performing arts school.  I proudly say that we’ve made progress this year, but there is much more to be done. 

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