BOOSTER BUSINESS!

The April booster meeting focused on upcoming events for our performing ensembles this spring, final details and planning for upcoming fundraisers, and officer nominations for the 2009 school year. The nominating committee presented its proposed slate of officers for next school year, which includes Brent Chafin as president, Freda Glenn as Vice President, Beth Shuford for Secretary, Shannon White for Treasurer, and Annette Newton for Assistant Treasurer. Special thanks to the Martins and the Thomases for their help on the nominating committee. The final booster meeting will be May 18 th , at our regularly scheduled time, and elections for next year's officers will take place at that time.

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The Bandys band program is supported by one of the most active parent organizations at our school. This is a group of parents, alumni, and friends of our program that provide the physical, financial and moral support needed for our program to continue growing and improving. It is possible for a band program to function without a boosters organization, but it is almost impossible to have a successful, well-rounded program without the support and involvement of band parents. OUR SUCCESS AS A PROGRAM IS DIRECTLY RELATED TO THE WORK AND EFFORTS OF OUR BOOSTER CLUB, WITHOUT QUESTION!! All parents of active students are encouraged to be a part of this organization. Member Dues are $5 per person annually, and meetings are usually held on the third Monday of each month unless otherwise posted. This group is responsible for all of the following things:

•  Chaperoning band trips and performances.

•  Building props and materials needed for marching band and Winterguard.

•  Sewing flags and repairing uniforms as needed.

•  Driving, maintaining and dealing with band owned vehicles.

•  Cheering on our band students in all sorts of performances.

•  FUNDRAISING!!

The band program functions off of two primary sources of income—a. Money allocated by the county, usually between $5000 and $6000 a year, and b. Money raised by the boosters club. To put this into perspective, the band program spends more money just in gas for activity buses and equipment vehicles during one year than our county budget provides! The life-blood of our program comes from the efforts of our booster club, through our fundraisers. Our boosters organization prides itself on maximizing the money raised for the time involved. We only have two real fundraisers—football concessions during marching season, and cleaning restrooms at the Lowe's Motor Speedway twice a year (three days in October and two weeks in May). The active nature of our booster club and the volunteer spirit of our parents allows us to AVOID HAVING TO CHARGE A BAND FEE, something that is rare in this day and time! We certainly hope that everyone will join in this group and be a part of it…your students are the ones who benefit, and it's a great way to stay involved in something that is very important to them!