Parents work to improve spirit, support athletics
Parents in the Coupeville School District have been working to improve school spirit in the community and help the athletic teams as well.
The high school’s Booster Club, which reformed after a three-year absence, has been up and running since late 2006. The group has been holding fundraisers, purchasing equipment for teams and looking for ways to get the community more involved in the schools since the construction of the new high school began.
Booster Club President Joanne Pelant said that parents noticed a huge drop in school spirit and responded by getting the Booster Club going again.
She said the former club became inactive when the participating parents’ children graduated and nobody picked up the ball.
Since re-forming, the group has raised approximately $20,000 and donated $15,000 worth of equipment to the high school’s sports teams. The equipment includes a five-man football sled, track hurdles, a tennis ball machine and an indoor batting cage.
The club was careful to include both boys and girls teams in making choices of what items to fund. The remaining money will go to future purchases, Pelant said.
The club also bought “spirit flags” which are unfurled during home games to let the community know when they take place.
Club members managed a profitable fundraiser when the old high school was torn down. They received a number of bricks from the venerable old building. People could buy a brick, have their name engraved onto it, and have it placed in the walkway in front of the school.
“It was king of a perfect project to pick up and run with,” Pelant said.
In addition to the bricks, the Booster Club also holds an annual golf tournament and sells spirit merchandise.
To get local businesses more involved, the Booster Club recently held a meeting with several business leaders to see if they would advertise with the organization. They have also set Sept. 6 as the date for the next golf tournament.
For more information about the Coupeville Booster Club, email coupevilleboosterclub@yahoo.com or call Pelant at 678-9291.
