Booster Club Update

Our first full week of school is coming to a close and our first football game is here – how exciting!  As we approach the second full week of school, it seems as if life is now in full swing and there are many priorities to stay focused on.  Below are just a few things to be thinking about:

FUNDRAISING

We will continue to sell calendars in two ways:

Group sales (these proceeds go to General Fund):  There are two opportunities to sell calendars as a group:  we will continue to sell the calendars at large venues and need “all hands on deck” at each venue.  For each venue below, please plan on being in the cafeteria 30 minutes before the event begins so that we can set-up our table to sell for the duration of the event.  We need parents and dancers to help at these events!

1.  Monday, September 3rd Cougar Kick-Off 6:30pm at CSHS

2.  Saturday, September 15th, CSHS Public Open House 9am-1pm

Individual sales (these proceeds go to individual dancer accounts):  starting now, dancers can take calendars to sell individually.   Each individual dancer can now take calendars home to sell.  The first 15 calendars sold by each dancer will go toward paying for the cost of printing the calendars.  Everything sold over 15 will be allocated to the dancer's individual account. If we can come together and sell hard during the group sales efforts (listed above), the number that your dancer has to sell to go towards printing costs will decrease!!  We must sell 200 calendars to offset the printing cost.  To date, in group sales, we have sold approximately 45.  When we reach that magic number (200), ALL the proceeds from the calendar could go into your daughter's individual account...$15 per calendar!!!  Let's really work together and get to that magic number!!!

PROGRAM SALES

This is a fundraising effort that helps to build the General Fund.  There are still some slots available to sign up to help with football program sales -- only at four (4) home football games.  Anna is assigning the dancers to sell at a game and I’m sure that parents will want to sell at the same game as their daughters.  I hope to hear back from Anna soon with the sign-up order for the girls.  After I receive that, I distribute the list via regular email and then ask everyone to go to the blog to sign up on the list titled "Football Game Program Sales Schedule".  We need the schedule filled early next week so please be watching your email carefully over the next few days.  Thanks SO much for your help on this!

DECORATE LOCKERS

The sign-up for locker decorations is not 100% complete.  We have the very first home game covered so we’ll complete the remainder of the sign-up for this at the September Booster Club meeting.  Know, however, that we need 100% participation in this effort.  This is not intended to be arduous – instead, it’s intended to be pretty easy on the booster club while building tremendous spirit and excitement among the dancers.  We’ll discuss at the meeting next week.

COUGAR KICK-OFF

On the Cougar Club website you'll find details about the upcoming Cougar Kick-Off night.  It begins at 6:30pm and dinner is available to purchase.  We will be selling calendars so we need "all hands on deck" to help with this initiative.

SEPTEMBER BOOSTER CLUB MEETING

Our September Booster Club meeting is scheduled for next Thursday, September 6th at 6pm in the CSHS conference room in the front office.  We have SO many things to discuss so please be sure to be there!

See you next week!

FOOTBALL GAME PROGRAM SALES

As you recall, we are fortunate enough to be part of the football program sales.  By participating, we will receive a % of the proceeds from all program sales at all home football games.  This is terrific!

Below are the games that we have been assigned along with the ability to sign up for a game.  

Following is what is being asked of us:

Please provide two (2) parents to be there to collect money/make change/keep track of sales along with three (3) students in uniform.  They will be the primary sellers.  Each group will staff either the Visitor or the Home side.  When you sign up for a date to sell programs, provide names and contact information.

For each game, volunteers should arrive an hour and fifteen minutes before kickoff for their respective games.  We will meet in front of the field house by the field house parking lot.  Trey Cashion will be there with the programs, a table, and a money box with appropriate change.  We'll set up and start selling immediately near the ticket booth on the assigned side of the stadium.  We'll be selling right up until just before kickoff.  At that point, the student volunteers can immediately go join their group.  Trey will come and pick up the money boxes at that point.  Trey will need help from the parent volunteers with moving the tables, the programs, and the money boxes to an appropriate storage place when we finish selling.  Once that is done, we'll be free to go enjoy the game. 

Here are the dates and kickoff times for the Strutters along with our assignments and the group we are selling with.  Please sign yourself up for a time and Mrs. McBride will divide the girls up and assign their job day. You’ll notice that we need 2 adults per game.  Following are the games we have been assigned:

                                   

Friday, September 7th @ 7:30     Strutters (home side)  &  Band (visitor side)

Friday, September 21st @ 7:30    Cheerleaders (home side) & Strutters (visitor side)

Friday, October 19th @ 7:00       Band (home side) & Strutters (visitor side)

Friday, October 26th @ 7:30       Strutters (home side) & Cheerleaders (visitor side)

If you have any questions, email Kelli Kilpatrick at kellitaykil@gmail.com.

Thanks!

Strutters Calendar

The Strutters Calendar (found on the College Station Strutters website) has been updated with the team’s early morning band practice dates and times. If you recall from our last Booster Club meeting, Anna indicated the following regarding the Strutters practice times during the academic year:

• Most afternoons the Strutters will practice after school until 4:45pm or 5:00pm.

• The only exception to this is on the day before a varsity football game.

• On the day before a varsity football game, the Strutters will practice at 7am – same time as the band. On these early practice days, there will be no after school practice.

This year's varsity football team will have games on Thursday and Friday's, please regularly check the Strutters calendar for clarification on early morning practice times as they will vary accordingly.

Booster Club Update

Strutters Booster Club:

It’s a VERY exciting time as we approach the beginning of the school year.  Our dancers are clearly working hard – and so are the Booster Club members!  If you weren’t able to make it to the school for First Look on Saturday to pick up your season football tickets, know that there is one additional home game that was not on the original schedule – November 1^st (.  For the most current football schedule, is on the Cougar Club website:

http://www.cshscougarclub.com/sports/football/varsity#

What follows are a few updates – read carefully as there are several action items:

FUNDRAISING

CALENDAR SALES:

The calendar is at the printer and will be available to sell at orientation this Wednesday and Thursday.  Copy Corner suggested that we start with a quantity of 500 (instead of our original 1,000) and has guaranteed us the same printing price if we need additional copies above 500.  The calendars will sell for $15 each. Following is the “work” schedule for selling and a couple of reminders/action items: 

 Wednesday, August 15, 2012 – 10^th grade orientation 1pm-4pm
9^th grade Strutters to “work” and sell calendars (there are 6 of them).
Tracy will be there with the dancers and she could probably use 1-2 additional moms/dads to help as well. Have the dancers arrive at 12:30pm – they will need to wear CSHS t-shirts since their Strutters t-shirts are not available yet.  Have them wear their cute Strutters glasses – these will certainly get the attention of those passing by! These six (6) dancers will “work” during the entire orientation timeframe (1pm-4pm). Therefore, when the arrive CSHS at 12:30pm, have them report to the Cafeteria. Tracy is working on a display table that will be clearly identified as College Station Strutters.

                 
Thursday, August 16, 2012 – 9^th grade orientation 1pm-4pm
10^th grade Strutters to “work” and sell calendars (there are 6 of them)
Everything else from the previous day is exactly the same (read above)

Once we are past this week’s sales, we’ll turn our attention to individual sales (each dancer will be able to sell calendars) and we’ll work on the banner, VIP reception, etc. that was part of the recognition for sponsorship.

Action items for Booster Club members:

If you have any small plastic display racks or holders, please let Tracy and Stephanie (Cashion) know ASAP.  They are looking for ways to display the calendars on the table so that the inside of them is viewed as folks walk by our table. Tracy is making signs for our display table so if you’d like to assist her in any way, contact her directly.  She is also thinking about covering the table with a tablecloth – a purple one preferably.  So, if you have a purple tablecloth, contact Tracy directly. Stephanie is working on securing a cash box and also some small bills and change so that we can easily make change when folks buy the calendars at orientation.  We’ll be able to take cash or checks.  I don’t think we’ll be in a position to take credit cards.  If you have any thoughts on any of this that can add value (i.e., can think of things that have not been considered already), contact Stephanie directly.

Many, many, many thanks to Tracy and her mom!!  None of us will ever know how much time and energy they spent making this first item such a tremendous success.  When you see the calendars, you will be proud that it is the brand of the College Station Strutters.  Thank you both for such a GREAT product – you really put your heart and soul into this and it shows!!

OTHER FUNDRAISING ITEMS:

Tracy and Joan are not letting the fundraising opportunities pass us by!  They are working with CC Creations right now on some additional items for us to sell in the weeks and months to come.  They’ll be able to report back to us very soon.

DECORATING LOCKERS (and also serving as chaperones)

As we discussed at the last two Booster Club meetings, each week we will have 4 Booster Club members be responsible for that week’s locker decorations – and each group will be responsible for at least two games.  We will need one person in each group of four (4) to serve as the “lead”.  Being a “lead” means that you will coordinate the decorations with the theme of the week for the VARSITY football games, buy the supplies, and get the group together to accomplish the decoration (lockers decorated the night before each game day).  When you sign up for decorating lockers, you will also serve as the chaperones for the evening’s game (i.e., help Anna by escorting the dancers to the bathrooms for safety reasons).  Below is the football schedule – please sign up for a game!

FOOTBALL PROGRAM SALES

As we discussed at the last Booster Club meeting, we will be participating in the football program sales efforts for some of the home game – thus, receiving a portion of ALL of the proceeds from the sale of programs over the entire football season.   No immediate action yet.  Once we know which games we will need to sell at, a sign-up sheet will be distributed so be on the lookout for that to come soon!

COMMUNICATIONS

The Facebook Group is up and running.  If you have not become a member and would like to join the closed group, look for College Station Strutters 2012-2013.  Post photos there and send the dancers words of encouragement!

We will work diligently in the next few weeks to get our corporate sponsor logos on the College Station High School Strutters website.  We haven’t started this project yet – but will get on that very soon.

501(c)(3) UPDATE

On Friday of last week, August 10^th, our Booster Club’s 501(c)(3) paperwork was sent via certified mail.  WOOHOO!!  Many thanks for everyone who worked on this – but especially to Stephanie Cashion and Susan Neel.  They really put in a LOT of hard work to get this out the door!

TWO LAST ACTION ITEMS

1.       At the last Booster Club meeting, Anna mentioned that each dancer will need a Hat Box to store her hat in while traveling.  Each dancer will need this soon (securing before school begins is a good target – but certainly before the first football game!) and she suggests getting something from Cavender’s, Target, WalMart, TJ Max, or Michael’s.

2.       There is a TENTATIVE date of September 3^rd for “Meet the Cougars Night”.  Details are sketchy at this time so be watching CSHS website and Cougar Club website for updates as they become available.  If we get confirmation, we’ll certainly let it know.  Hold this as tentative until further notice.

SEPTEMBER BOOSTER CLUB MEETING

Our next Booster Club Meeting is scheduled for Thursday, September 6, 2012 at 6pm in the CSHS Conference Room.

Wow!  Lots going on – we’re small in numbers but making a LOT of progress and getting SO much accomplished.  See ya soon!