December 12, 2016 AHS Booster Club Meeting Minutes

In Attendance: Susan Rietano Davey, Janet Stokesbury, Jim Stapleton, Susie Downey, Esther Aronson, Staci Purcell, Nicole Leavens, Valerie DiBella, Sue Chadha, Tom Saxe, Robin Saxe, Nancy Kostal, Thomas Culbertson, Bob Emery, Cheryl Edwards, Mary-Michele Neagle, Jordyn Saxe

Start time: 7:34 pm

Fall Athletics Review:

Avon High School had a strong showing this Fall with the following student athletes earning honorsin their respective sports:

BOYS CROSS COUNTRY
All CCC Central White: Zach Bortoff, Jonathan Hernandez, Andrew Mascoli, Jack Schmittlein, JackStokesbury
All-State: Zach Bortoff

GIRLS CROSS COUNTRY
All CCC Central White: Emily Foley, Christina Martin, Rachel Martin
All-State: Emily Foley

FIELD HOCKEY
All-CCC South: Hannah Deppe, Olivia Jackson, Lauren Jeandell, Molly Sanderson, Rachel Spivak
All-State: Hannah Deppe and Lauren Jeandell
All-State 2ndteam: Olivia Jackson
Senior All-Star game: Lauren Jeandell
Junior All-Star game: Rachel Spivak

VOLLEYBALL
All CCC Central White: Maddy Hart, Erin Sutter, Audrey Worth
All-State 2ndteam: Maddy Hart

BOYS SOCCER
All CCC Central White: Collin Dryte, Riley Welter, MaxUmansky

GIRLS SOCCER
All CCC Central White: Riley Abate, Emma Coran, Taylor Ann Jacobs, Megan McKenna
All-State: Meghan McKenna

FOOTBALL
All CCC Division III East: Leon Asberry Jr., Ryan Ollestad, Nick Schuster

The Winter Season has started strong with Girls’ Basketball winning its first scrimmage against Gilbert and participating in the Bristol Eastern Jamboree over the weekend. 35 girls went out for the team excited to be working under Coach Jamaal Lee. He is seen as innovative in that he invites parents to attend practice.

The Indoor Track Season consists only of Invitationals which are not posted on the CIAC Website.[1]

Minutes Approved: S. Chadha/R. Saxe

Treasurer’s Report: Jim Stapleton

Hard copies of financials are on the table for those wishing to review a hardcopy. There was a problem with some postings at the end of November because some bills came in late. These should appear in the next statement. At present the Field Hockey account appears to have a lot of money because of collections for the banquet but the invoice has not yet come in. The general fund also does not currently reflect the bill for the Spirit Week lights, so this will be a deduction as well. Any questions regarding balances, should be directed to Jim Stapleton ().

Financials Approved: J. Stokesbury/S. Downey

V.P. Reports:

Volunteers: Susie Downey

The Migli Golf Tournament is on May 22, 2017 and we will be looking for volunteers for all aspects of this event.

If anyone is having a fundraiser, please send the information to Susie and she can help promote it through the school, on the website and in the Booster Bulletin. Her email is .

Membership: Janet Stokesbury

Membership continues to be down for this year, which appears to be a trend as the PTO is experiencing a similar decline in membership.

President’s Report: Susan Rietano Davey

Record Boards Update: Susan has had several meetings with Mary Ann Smith regarding the oversight for the completion of this project and its ongoing maintenance. Ms. Smith will remain involved in the project until all Records Boards are set up. The order in which teams were given Records Boards was based on the receipt of the necessary information from the teams and coaches, or a first come, first served basis. The initial commitment for 2016-17 was to obtain new records boards for the following teams: Volleyball, Lacrosse, Tennis and Golf. The cost of each Board is roughly $1,100 each and apparently the money initially allocated in the Athletic Department budget for this is insufficient. In addition, the following teams would still be without a Records Board: Indoor Track, Baseball/Softball, Wrestling, Field Hockey/Hockey and Crew. Wrestling, however, has their own Fabric in the Gym and Coach has indicated they do not need a Records Board. If this is a light year on Capital Disbursement Requests, we should consider using some of these funds to fix this issue.

Winter Spirit Week Dates: Winter Spirit Week will be from Tuesday January 3 through Tuesday January 10, 2017. The tentative schedule is being planned out and we are looking for ideas on what to do. Suggestions include working with the Falconatics on what to wear and mobilizing the student body, selling refreshments, obtaining Fat Heads for Seniors, donating shirts for the Falconatics to sling shot, have an appearance by the Falcon, tattoos to pass out and have an Alumni Night since many college students will still be in the area. Another idea is to have a dance in the old wrestling gym as the previous “Tight & Bright” dance was a success. A pep rally coordinated with student government is also a possibility. The Booster Club’s role in this endeavor is primarily to help with funding. Mary-Michele Neagle will contact Evan from Boppers Entertainment to obtain information on the dance. Winter Spirit week should also be announced to youth team and college players.

Capital Disbursements Reminder: If you want to be an official voting member and eligible to vote on Booster Club Capital Disbursements, you need to be a paid member and have attended 3 meetings by the voting date.

Deadline for Capital Disbursement Requests: January 31

Presentations: February 13

Vote: March 13 – This meeting can count as the 3rd meeting in accordance with the eligibility requirement.

Questions and Suggestions from Audience:

During the meeting those present discussed the current situation with the school budget and the proposals to add activities fees with tiers dependent on cost. As our school system will be getting even less funds from the State than it had in previous years, we need membership to attend the board of education and Town Council and Board of Finance meetings. While there have been mumblings that DV teams and some JV teams such as tennis and golf might be cut, we would be surprised if these actually go through. But the reality is that the pay to play fees only cover 17% of the actual costs and we will be losing $600,000 in state funds, much more than our surrounding towns will lose. This will be a rough year for our Budget.

Nicole Leavens provided an update on Spiritwear. She has reordered the popular Red PJ Pants and will also have a new item in stock, a Beanie.

Meeting Adjourned 8:42 pm (J. Stokesbury/N. Kostal)

Respectfully submitted,

Esther Aronson

[1] The Schedule (but not results) can now be seen on the CIAC website: