BoosterTrends Newsletter

January, 2004

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Dear Booster........

Send Dear Booster your letters, comments and concerns. We will publish one each month and share Dear Booster answers with other clubs around the country.

Do you have something you would like to submit for the upcoming Dear Booster column? Send it to Dear Booster now.

Updates

Booster Club Foundation to be launched

State Association inquiries are now being accepted.

Online Coordinator Registration now active

We Want To Know

We want to hear what you think about this enewsletter.

Do you know of a booster worker who deserves to be recognized?

Club Fact

Booster Clubs must have a clear understanding of the responsibilities and job descriptions for each position including sub-committee or co-chair positions.

A clear definition will increase the likelihood of a new volunteer stepping into the position come elections as well as helping to better organize the group throughout the year.

Tip: Put duties and responsibilities of each club position on the back of nomination forms as well as publishing for distribution at your first meeting of the start of each year or season.

Quick Online Links

Command Central

Online Chat

Fundraising Corner

Vendor Showcase

Club Membership

Vendor Membership

Check out past issues of Booster Trends

Visit us at: boosterclubs.org

To find out more click here

Dear Readers,
Happy New Year!

As we start a new and exciting year we want to encourage you to take the opportunity to share this newsletter with your fellow booster associates.

For those of you who are just receiving Booster Trends for the first time - Welcome! You join a growing list of fellow booster associates from around the country.

We encourage you to keep your letters, emails, comments and questions coming. Staying in touch with your needs is our key focus. As we work to help provide a support system for booster clubs we thank you for allowing us the ability to play a part in helping you and your club succeed. Together, we are making positive progress that counts!

Now, on to this month's issue.

in this issue. . .

• Executive Directors Column
• DynaCal Calendaring Software Available
• Become a Club Coordinator
• New NBCA Vendors
• Oregon Sports Hall of Fame Conference
• Building A Successful Booster Club
• Vendor of the Month
• Do-It Yourself Fundraiser
• StoryTime Adventures Special Offer
• Dear Booster
• Seeking National Helpers
• Monthly Booster Club Survey

THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS COLUMN

BOOSTER CLUBS ARE A PAIN IN THE BACKSIDE!

If I could cash in for every time I've heard from a coach or administrator that their booster club was a royal pain in the you know what, I would be independently wealthy and writing this column from a sunny, warm beach. But despite the comments from coaches and administrators who think that their booster club has missed the boat we hear an equal number of complements from those who have realized that the strength of their program is only as good as the support from their booster club.

Over the course of the year the NBCA is presented with multiple opportunities to guest speak at conferences that are attended by coaches, athletic directors and school administrators. In virtually all cases when the subject of building a successful booster is brought up the issue of guidelines and regulations always seem to be a topic that is missing.

Just like virtually every one of the extra-curricular activities supported by booster clubs - sports, cheerleading, debate and dance, guidelines and regulations are key to insuring safety, success and organizational compliance.

Until the National Booster Club Association became the governing body for booster clubs across America, booster clubs had no place to turn for guidelines or regulations. Today that is staging to take a dramatic change.

The NBCA is now forming a National Field Advisory Board that will play a vital role in helping to form the national guidelines and regulations to help govern booster clubs and their activities. Those chosen to participate on this board will play a key role in helping to bring structured guidance and regulation to our industry - something that has been missing and greatly needed.

I would like to encourage each of you who believes that you possess the level of skills, experience and knowledge with booster clubs to submit your profile and experience information for consideration. Involvement on the board will not interfere with your current booster club duties. Interested applicants are asked to send an email request to marketing@boosterclubs.org and request the advisory board application.

I wish each of you the best of success.
Happy Boostering!

Steve M. Beden
Executive Director

Calendaring Software Now Available

DynaCal Dynamic Calendaring

Need an easy, cost-effective way of communicating with your club’s members, parents, and community? Look no further! DynaCal understand the importance of good communication, especially for booster clubs. The more the community knows about what you are doing, the more willing they are to support your activities and your school! That’s why we offer a dynamic, web-based calendaring and scheduling tool for organizations just like yours!

DynaCal is easy! Using DynaCal, anyone can maintain your club’s schedule of events, meetings and fundraising activities. No technical knowledge is needed, just an internet connection and a browser.

DynaCal is cost-effective! By utilizing the internet, you cut mailing and phone costs. And best of all, your club’s schedule is available to the public on your website 24 hours a day, 7 days a week! Your club doesn’t have a website? No problem! DynaCal works great even without an existing website!

For more information or an online demonstration, visit our website at www.dynacal.com or call toll free 866-984-3962.

DynaCal…helping you connect with your community.

BECOME A CLUB COORDINATOR

Why become a registered Club Coordinator?

Because registered Club Coordinators receive opportunities throughout the year to attend specialized booster training clinics, gain direct support from industry experts, receive special program notices and have access to an unlimited amount of club building resources. Resources that will make your job of supporting your booster club or team much easier and much more enjoyable.

The best part about being a registered Club Coordinator is not only the wealth of support and resources you will receive it is the ability to gain personal recognition from your peers. Registered Club Coordinators become eligible to earn regional and national awards, attend conferences and to earn commissions for helping bring solutions to your group.

If you would like to become a registered Club Coordinator email us your name, current position, club or group name, city, state and contact number today!

NEW VENDORS

We would like to welcome the following companies to the National Booster Club Association:

NEW VENDORS

SMI Awards
Located in Boston, this company provides school rings, watches with logos on them and other items that one can use for special awards. There are categories listed on the website such as athletics, golf tournaments and business.

The quality of their products is excellent and they have great customer service.

RCM Consulting
The concept of a flag playing the National Anthem in itself is not so novel, however someone actually doing it is. The flag is 24” high. If are have a Canadian flag you get “O Canada.” The workmanship in the statue is of good quality. This could be a great fundraiser for Memorial Day, 4th of July or Veteran’s Day. Keep it in mind.

Mighty Grip
Do your hands slip in your mitt? How about on you golf club, even with a glove on? Try putting some Might Grip on either your hands or your glove! You need a small amount and it lasts a long time. The people who have used it say it is the best and that it works very well. Try some!! Be hero by making your team stop missing the fly ball!

JV Pro Inc.
The introductory of podiums with advertising on them or scoring tables or a high back stool, is a great way to get fundraising money and get the finest equipment at the same time. JV Pro Inc. makes the best quality and has a great customer service department. Besides what was listed above, they also have locker room stools and folding chairs with your logo on them. This is the kind of equipment that is needed for every school.

Spray Fresh
Have our ever walked into the locker room at your gym and been struck by the odor? Spray Fresh will eliminate that odor in seconds! It will make you locker room and showers smell clean, the way you want them too. The company is also coming out with a visor cleaning cloth that will help keep sunglasses, visors, glasses, and etc. clean.

Oregon Sports Hall of Fame Coaches Conference
The Oregon Sports Hall of Fame Coaches Conference is a multi-sport conference. It provides high quality, useful instruction to high school, club and college coaches. Steve Beden, CEO of the National Booster Club Association, will be one of the speakers at this year’s conference.

Association Insurance Management
Association Insurance Management (AIM) has a great deal of knowledge about the risks of running a booster club. They have discounted insurance to protect against these risks. Contact AIM for a quote.

Purely American Food
Need a new kind of fundraiser? Try Purely American Foods! They have a high profit margin and the shipping is included. Thinking of having someone over for Valentine’s Day, pick out a special dessert or fun appetizers.

The orders are pre-sorted so all you have to do is deliver.

We are excited to have each of them onboard and look forward to the opportunity of helping you become involved in the tremendous products and services each provides.

We encourage you to visit each of them on BoosterWorld and check out the opportunities they provide to support your organizations.

OREGON SPORTS HALL OF FAME COACHES CONFERENCE

SPECIAL INVITATION: BOOSTER CLUBS INVITED TO ATTEND

Oregon Sports Hall of Fame Coaches Conference
January 30 – February 1, 2004

The first Oregon Sports Hall of Fame Coaches Conference is quickly approaching. Join hundreds of your fellow coaches and booster associates for an educational and entertaining weekend in Portland, Oregon. Experienced, successful coaches will present information on your sport that you can use to improve your athletes and teams.

In addition to great presentations, you will get to hear Friday evening’s presentation by five-time NFL All-Pro tight end and Oregon Sports Hall of Fame member Todd Christensen. The Los Angeles/Oakland Raider great will talk about his career and the coaches who helped him become one of the best ever. He also will answer questions from the audience. And on Saturday evening, you can join your fellow coaches for a reception at the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame sponsored by MacTarnahan’s Brewing Co.

Register on-line today to guarantee your spot at the Pacific Northwest’s new multi-sport conference. Plus you can save $10 per person by signing up five or more coaches from your school or team at the same time.

BUILDING A SUCCESSFUL BOOSTER CLUB

Behind every successfully funded athletic program, there is usually an active and thriving booster club helping to pave the way. Without a properly running support branch, athletic departments and alumni would be forced to constantly operate and support under a dark cloud of uncertainty, debt and cutbacks.

Booster clubs are an essential part of not only the fundraising process, but also the community process. The effectiveness and efficiency of an enthusiastic booster club can provide an excellent vehicle for community involvement and a perfect way to offset the rising costs afflicting athletic departments across the country.

However, having an effective booster club is much more than monthly meetings and money drives. It is about teamwork, responsibility, accountability and awareness.

Here are 15 of the most common mistakes (listed randomly) made by booster clubs across the nation. Each month we will provide expanded topic and tips for two (2) of the topics noted.

1	Senior parents running the booster club... Booster clubs can dramatically reduce the learning curve for volunteers by establishing the framework whereby the club's officers are made up of junior or underclass parents. Allowing the senior parents to step aside at a time when their focus is most needed on supporting their son or daughter’s next step into college, scholarships and senior party activities. This move will help to provide incoming club officers with mentors and existing support channels. Tip #1: Develop a recruiting and awareness campaign that you can promote to the local middle and junior high schools. Contact the schools 8th grade parent group or the 8th grade advisor and ask if you can deliver flyers to the school so that each 8th grader can take one home for their parents. The flyer should be an invitation to attend your next booster club activity or event. Letting them know your group welcomes them to the school will help increase your parent participation as well as your awareness and set the stage for allowing your senior parents to become mentors instead of distracted leaders. Tip #2: Work with your school’s administration towards establishing an active role during freshman orientation. Setup a club table and position yourself so that all parents can easily see you. Promote a drawing giveaway for a school shirt, hat or tickets with concession items to the next home football game in exchange for the freshman parent signing their name and providing their contact number and/or email address where you can send them your next club newsletter and be sure to include 3 or 4 questions asking for their support.
2	Isolating a club... The majority of parents and school supporters rarely understand exactly “what” the booster club is. This is because it is common for a booster club to stay completely isolated and involve only parent supporters from their given activity or program. When a booster club realizes that the involvement from parents and supporters outside of their own group can and will provide enhanced help and support they can expand and provide a greater level of support to their activity or program. Tip #1: By providing opportunities for other groups like the football boosters asking the cheerleaders and band to take an active part in events (spaghetti feed, tailgate parties, dances, etc.) that your group conducts, you will attract the involvement and support from parents outside your circle. Tip #2: Hold open house type events where you invite past club officers, community supporters, alumni, administrators and parents to attend. An old fashioned barbeque put on for the entire school and paid by the booster club can gain a great deal of support. Seeking local vendors can offset the costs making this a fun and affordable event.
3	Conducting consecutive and/or multiple fundraisers...
4	Lack of mission and vision statement...
5	A lack of an Executive Booster Club...
6	Gaining tax exempt 501(c)3 status...
7	Accounting policies and procedures...
8	Keeping in contact with friends, alumni and business supporters...
9	Overstepping boundaries...
10	Understanding the booster clubs job...
11	Keeping the club compliant with state and federal guidelines...
12	Staying in-tune with district policies...
13	Establishing a working relationship with school administrators and coaches...
14	Lack of policies and procedures...
15	Outlining job descriptions and areas of responsibility...

VENDOR OF THE MONTH

Our Vendor of the Month is MY SPORTS DREAMS .

MY SPORTS DREAMS
How much does your booster club need? Are you tired of selling candy at 50% profit? Will we have a great idea! Use My Sports Dreams instead.

My Sports Dreams is a mailing campaign. That means your young people do not have to go door to door. The company sends letters that the young people sign, fill out the envelope, put in a return envelope that already has a stamp on it, and puts it in the mail!!! If each young person puts in 3-4 hours, much less than other fundraisers, you club will have great success.

The fundraising tickets have a suggested retail price of $10. Your booster clubs keeps $8. That’s an 80% profit for you. The people who buy the tickets are entered into over 150 drawing for sports memorabilia.

You can check out these and other vendors on BoosterWorld or send me an email if you have any questions: jevans@boosterclubs.org.

DO-IT YOURSELF FUNDRAISER OF THE MONTH

Best Seat in the House

First, find a sofa to use. This fund raiser involves raffling off tickets for a student and two friends to win the best seat in the house. Tickets are sold throughout the week prior to a game. Before a volleyball, basketball, or football game announce the winner. The winner gets to sit on the sofa with two of his or her friends. Make sure the sofa is in an ideal spot to view the game. For halftime, order pizza and sodas for the winner and guests.

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Ask a furniture store to donate a chair or love seat if possible. Sell the tickets for $1 during the JV game or girl's game (if a double header). During the last two minutes of warm-up for the varsity game, draw a name. This person gets to sit in the best seat (if you have a love seat, they get to choose someone to sit with them). They also get popcorn, a pop and their name entered into the drawing to be held at the end of the season to win the chair (if the store is willing to give it away). The chair is placed on the sideline or on the stage if you have a small gym. You'll make lots if you do it for both men's and women's basketball games.

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The Wilcox Future Business Leaders of America hosted the "Best Seat in the House" fundraiser. Members sold tickets to students and community members for weeks prior to the fundraiser. The winner of the "Best Seat in the House" was awarded a couch, a free pizza, and free pop for himself and three of his friends. The fundraiser was a nice change of pace for the chapter and the community. It allowed the community to get involved in FBLA. It also allowed for a little fun.

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Throughout our spirit week we sold tickets to "Best Seat in the House" at the end of the week we had a pep assembly. We had a funny male teacher dress up as an old lady maid and serve three winning kids pizza and pop on couches at the end of the gym. On teacher also won, they had to sit in an old rickety chair!

Sources: Ms. Pineapple's Cheer Page

STORYTIME ADVENTURES PROVIDES SPECIAL OFFER

Storytime Adventures is presenting a special offer of 2 great audio adventure cd's and 2 coloring and activity books for kids!

Treat the kids in your life to a musical journey with Able, Bongo, The Berry Bears and all of the rest!

Get both the Berry Bear Caper and The Ant and the Sugarcube Audio Adventure CD's and both Coloring and Activity Books for $21.95

Place your order today: www.storytimeadventures.com

DEAR BOOSTER .....

Dear Booster,
I am a parent of a high school freshman who is active in band and dance. While my daughter was in middle school I became very involved with the PTO but do not find that the high school has such an organization. I have heard that the booster club is where parents can get involved but I do not know anything about them. I have also heard that being involved with the booster club requires a great deal of time and experience - something I don't have much of. How can I go about getting involved with the booster club. Help!

Donna K.
Erie, PA

Dear Donna,
You are correct in that the majority of high schools do not have PTO or PTA groups and instead have booster clubs. A booster club is a parent organization that supports a given extra-curricular program like the band your daughter is a part of. In approximately 10% of schools you will also find executive or main booster clubs that oversee all extra-curricular programs.

In either case the important thing to remember is that they are made up of parents just like you, who all have a desire to help insure that their son and daughter's can enjoy a positive experience in the program or sport. The easiest way to get involved with the booster club is to attend a meeting. Your schools office staff should have the name of the booster club contact as well as the information on the next booster club meeting. You can also approach your band director, principal or athletic director for guidance.

As a freshman parent now is the ideal time to get involved with the booster club. Your involvement can be limited to just helping as a volunteer with events or activities. You don't have to take on a position or volunteer for anything you are uncomfortable with. Becoming an active part of the booster club is an ideal way to meet new parents and make sure that you have a voice in the expansion of programs your daughter is involved with. If you decide to take on a position in the booster club make sure you spend time "shadowing" the person you will replace.

Send us your Dear Booster.... article and we will select one each month to share with the readers of Booster Trends. To submit your email send to: dearbooster@boosterclubs.org.

SEEKING NATIONWIDE HELPERS

We still have a few openings left for the following positions:

Club Coordinators - The NBCA is seeking individuals who are currently working with or involved with booster clubs. This is an ideal opportunity for anyone currently working with a club or team who would like to turn the time you are spending into an opportunity to receive prizes, awards, recognition and compensation. Club Coordinators do not have to do anything more than you are currently doing. If you would like to be considered for the position of Club Coordinator, please email your name, club affiliation, city and state. No telephone calls, please. Email us today @ marketing@boosterclubs.org

Area & Regional Coordinators - The NBCA is now seeking individuals who would like to assist local clubs, teams and businesses. This is an ideal opportunity for anyone currently working with a club or team, looking for an opportunity to work part-time, or looking to help make a difference in your community. Coordinators will receive high commissions for introducing the association’s services to businesses, schools and parent organizations. This is an outstanding opportunity for any person who understands the role that extra-curricular activities play in shaping our society. If you would like to be considered for this position, please email your resume and cover letter. Incomplete applications cannot be considered. No telephone calls, please. Email us today @ marketing@boosterclubs.org

CLUB SURVEY RESULTS

In last month's issue we asked the following question:

What is your clubs #1 goal for 2004?

The following responses were received:

69%

Raise enough funds to cover expenses and needs.

23%

Increase parent participation.

Become better organized.

To all of you that took the time to respond - thank you! Your responses help us to better understand how we can provide you support, guidance and assistance.

This month we would like to get your response to the following question:

WHAT IS THE BEST FUNDRAISER YOUR GROUP HAS CONDUCTED?

Submit your answers now
We will report the results in next months Booster Trends e-newsletter.

FAST FACT

Fact of the month-
A booster club without a mission or vision statement is kind of like a boat without a rudder. A common mistake for a large percent of booster clubs is not taking the time to develop a mission statement. Identifying why the club exists and what its mission is, plays a very important role in helping to attract volunteer support both from the school and the community alike.

Quote of the month-
"It's not that some people have willpower and some don't. It's that some people are ready to change and others are not."

Author Unknown

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Booster Trends is an online e newsletter provided by The National Booster Club Association. NBCA, BoosterWorld and Booster Trends are trademarks of The National Booster Club Association. All rights reserved. Copyright© 2003.

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