​Blair Booster Club Meeting Minutes
Date: October 24, 2023, 6:30 PM
Location: Montgomery Blair HS Media Center
 
Attendees:
Barbara Efantis - President

Rita Boule – Athletic Specialist

Magda Fulton – Vice President

Ed Wilhelm - Treasurer

Paula Sanjines – Secretary

Danielle Willis

Natacha Blain

Ashlie Webb

Liz Marshall

Deatrice Williams

Christopher Wadja

 

 

 

 
Meeting was called to order at 6:34pm.
 
Treasurer Update:

• Motion to increase the spending for apparel from $5000 in the budget to $8000 in order to stock up on popular items for the upcoming holiday sales.  Passed.

 
Committee Updates Fall Concessions

• Currently finishing fall concessions o Football on Friday

o Soccer play-offs on Saturday, will need concessions

• Teams helped with fall concessions and made money for their team. The booster club would like to thank boys soccer, track, boys baseball, volleyball, girls basketball, poms and cheer
• This Saturday there will be a big Cheer competition at Blair which will be run by the cheer parents (they earn ½ the proceeds). 
• Madga Fulton will take over the Winter concessions

Apparel

• Past few apparel sales have done really well.  Back to school night was good. 
• Next apparel sales will be on Friday at football and then for the holidays during wrestling, during basketball and lunchtime sales.
• Some items sell well (everything in size Large and pajama bottoms) which we have run out of.  Other items don’t sell as well: sweatpants and size small. 

Fundraising

• Fundraising opportunities for the teams o Sign up for concessions o Online fundraising:  https://donate.blairblazersathletics.com/

 
Athletic Special Update:

• All the regular season games ended yesterday except Football
• Soccer will play this weekend in play offs (on Saturday) o We need concessions on Saturday
• Cross country won the divisional last week, moves to counties next week  Golf is done, they are in states this week.
• Cheer competition is Saturday, their one and only competition.  All other athletes are encouraged to come out and support the team!
• Winter registration is happening now – season starts November 15.  

 
 
Booster Business adjourned at 6:55 pm
 
Next meeting: Tuesday, November 30 at 6:30pm in the Media Center
 
NCAA Presentation and panel discussion followed the meeting – handouts attached. 

Booster Meeting
September 27, 2023
Minutes

Attendees: Barbara Efantis, Rita Boule, Ed Wilhelm, Danielle Brabazon, Anne Neil, Anne Baker
Meeting was called to order at 6:38pm.
President Update:
       Barb welcomed all who attended and everyone introduced themselves.
Barb shared that moving forward her agendas will contain times restraints. Athletic Special Update:
       Rita shared that all teams ran this fall and that the JV season is almost over. 
       JV plays 80% of the Varsity season.
      Homecoming football game versus BCC is Friday, October 13 and dance is the next night.
      Winter Sports Meeting during lunch, Thursday, Oct 5 with students and coaches.
      Winter Sports Registration starts Monday, Oct 9
      October 28, Cheer Competition at 2pm, 5pm, 8pm
 October 20th playoffs will start.  Each team is in its own classifications so everything is new   
             Friday’s football game will be Tier 2 with modification security level
                         To learn more about Security plan click here:  
  Treasurer Update:
            Ed presented two pages of information
            Motion presented by Ed to increase for Concessions Equipment from $500 to $1000.
            Seconded by Barb
           Discussion involved the equipment currently purchased, warmer and thermos, and the             need for a potential Square reader.
           Vote called and it passed unanimously
Committee Updates
             Fall Concessions
             A few poor weather events have resulted in poor concessions outcomes
            Suggestion to set up a tv with events in main concessions.  Nick Efantis will scout for a location
             Apparel
                         Garage location not great during football games
                         Back to School night was very busy
                         Items being restocked - color gray is not selling
             Website
                         Being updated regularly
             Membership/Communications
                         Going well, please encourage others to sign up
             Sponsorshop
                         No Update
             Coach appreciation
                         No Update
New Business                          
             Team Meals Concept
Suggest a football team parent reach out to local business’ to see if bulk meal orders could be established. 
Restaurants would hopefully give Boosters a good deal and Boosters could                          provide restaurant names on banner. 
Hope to cover Football meals but other sports may want to participate.   
Teams would need to collect money - Boosters can establish relationships.
Next meeting: Tuesday, October 24 at 6:30pm in the Media Center to discuss NCAA athletics
Meeting adjourned at 7:45pm

Blair Booster Club Meeting Minutes
Date: August 24, 2023, 6 PM
Location: Montgomery Blair HS Media Center
Download PDF of 8/24/23 Minutes
 
Attendees:
Barbara Efantis - President
Rita Boule – Athletic Specialist
Magda Fulton – Vice President
Danielle Brabazon
Eliza Booth
Paula Sanjines – Secretary
Danielle Willis
Darryl Gray
Alison Jovanovic
Deatrice Williams
Maria del Carmen Loaeza
Julio Chan
Susan Nicodemus
Ed Wilhelm - Treasurer
 
Meting Notes
President Welcome: Barbara Efantis

• Meeting called to order, welcome and round-robin introductions

Athletic Specialist Update: Rita Boule

• Facilities Update:
  • The field inside the track has been renovated, new irrigation, new sod/grass.  It is complete and it is playable.
  • The softball field is also complete with new irrigation and new sod/grass.
  • The practice field (located between the stadium and the basketball courts) will not be open for athletics until the spring. 
  • The tennis courts and basketball courts have been completely redone.
  • Field reservations for general use will be conducted through Community Use of Public Facilities (CUPF, a separate organization, associated with Montgomery County). 
  • Blair has exclusive use of the school facilities until 7 pm guaranteed.  Any use after 7 pm needs a reservation through CUPF.
  • The Blair school building was closed until Monday 8/21 – the roof replacement project is complete for now (Stages 1 and 2). Stage 3 remains to be done next year.
• Fall Sports Update:
  • 571 students registered for fall sports
  • All teams are returning this year
  • Football starts next Friday night (September 1st)
  • Boys’ Soccer has their first home game on Friday September 8th
• With a few exceptions, all the coaches are returning.  Ms Boule has also added paid coaches so there will be better supervision, buses, coach compliance, etc.
• Discussed the direct donation option on the Blair Athletics Website
  • Blair Athletics has contracted with a 3rd party vendor that will help manage and publicize the direct donation to the teams.  This is a one-year experiment and Ms Boule will assess how effective it is.
    • Teams are supposed to create a video showcasing the team and what they need (what the donations will be used for). Coaches will inform the athletes that they need to do this.
    • All teams should do this (not just fall sports teams)
    • The videos can be shared with friends and family to request donations
    • Will do a follow-up on the next meeting so we know how things are going.
    • Ms Boule is working on a link to the direct donation videos that is more obvious and easier to find on the Blair Athletics Website:  https://blairblazersathletics.com/
    • There are now two ways for folks to donate to specific teams:
      • Donating directly through the athletics website for teams that have made their donation video (note that this donation is not tax deductible)
      • Donating via the Booster Club (this donation is tax deductible)

Treasurer Update:  Ed Wilhelm

• New regulations allow for school teams to use the booster funds in the summer.
• Mulch
  • Mulch fundraiser will be opened to other teams. We will discuss this item in more detail in November when it is closer to time.
  • For now, Booster club is focusing on concessions as a fundraiser (see concessions section below).
• Concessions and Apparel:
  • In 22-23 school year, we made more than budgeted but also spent more. The figures from 22-23 were anomalies.  Discussed that concessions sales can vary greatly depending on teams making it to playoffs, weather conditions, etc which we cannot predict.  Apparel expenses were high last school year but that means we have a lot of inventory for this year so the expenses should be lower.
• Coach appreciation
  • Discussed different options. Will table the addition to the budget until the next meeting when we have a better idea of what we want to do.
  • There are approximately 77 coaches.
• Cleanups 
  • Ms Boule has scheduled community cleanup days for the teams to help clean up the outdoor and indoor spaces. Discussed that the teams can use concessions supplies such as trash bags, gloves, etc.
• Reviewed budget and voted on it.  Passed with the following amendments:
  • Award night expenses increased up to $500.
  • Discussed adding outside team banners (for the outdoor teams) and senior athlete banners to the budget
    • 10 outdoor teams x $300 = $3,000
    • Senior athlete banners for $3,000
  • Additional expenses will come up during the year and we will have to vote on them.
  • Sponsorship for the stadium scoreboards and the banners?
    • Members will work to sell advertising on the scoreboards and add banners to the backstops of the softball and baseball fields.
    • Added $1,000 line item for Income from sponsorship (a goal).

Committees
Fall Concessions:  Barbara Efantis
Home Football Games:

• September 1
• September 7
• September 29              
• October 13- Homecoming
• October 27- Senior Night

 
Concession’s workers will be offered to all teams to work for a flat rate towards their team.           

• Varsity football- $100
• JV football- $75
• Outdoor concessions stand (large events)- $75
• Outdoor satellite concessions-$50
• Indoor satellite (in gym)-$25
• Indoor concession stand, (both games)- $50

 
Concessions requires adult help.  There is a sign up on the booster website for 4 adults per game.  Barbara will be watching the game this year so will spend limited time in the concessions stand.  Noelle Mason will be in charge when she is available.
 
To sign up for concessions, click here:  https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0C4FABAC238-football2#/
 
 
                        APPAREL:  Kara and Rick Counihan

• We will be restocking and setting up the cages this Saturday.
• Online sales:  Discussed that we will not have online sales for now.  Barbara will put a banner on the website stating that apparel can be purchased in person at Blair HS on a list of dates (Ms. Boule to provide)
• Sign up is ready for distribution, we still need to add a few dates.
• Apparel will be sold out of the garage this year to minimize movement of cages and make it easier to shut down. 
• Kara and Rick will be watching the Varsity game.

 
Need also help with apparel sales during the games.

• To sign up for apparel sales click here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30E084FAAAE2EA13-apparel#/

 
 
Website Design: Chris Walsh

• Updates are underway.

 
Membership/Communication: Tanya Ang

• Memberships are coming in; we have a Free membership option this year.
• We have a new twitter account.

 
Other Items:

• Silver Chips – Eliza Booth will contact Silver Chips to buy an ad, she will work with Barbara and Ms Boule to craft the message.
• Will also advertise on BNC 

Booster Meeting February 22, 2023
Agenda
Attendees: Barb E, Rita B, Ed W., Magdna, Kristen W, Julien (Davina), Steve E, Angie F, Lori G, Paula S, Danielle B
President Update: Barbara Efantis
Welcome/Introductions - Barb called the mee)ng to order at 7:08pm and all
introduced themselves.
Athletic Specialist Update: Rita Boule
Indoor Track State Championships - boys have a shot at top 3 - Boys were County
Champs for the first time in Blair history.
Finishing winter season for basketball
Wrestling - girls won county championship, 2 girls won weight class, 1 boy won
weight class
Swim and Dive won their Region and are `headed to States
260 students registered for spring. All teams have coaches and will start March 1st with Allied So[ball and gymnas)cs on March 6.
Need new athletic trainer - all games will be covered but not day-by-day. Meet the Coaches March 13th with student meeting during lunch.
Treasurer Update: Ed Wilhelm See a7ached document
Commitee’s
Concessions Update: Magda Fulton
1st season is finished and went well but would like more parent volunteers. The
young people that helped out were key. A rhythm was built and need
more than one buyer for the food.
Transitioning to outdoor for the spring seasons. We will hold concessions at the
Events and are tweaking sign-ups. We need parent support and need to
tweak system to make sure adults were supervising student signups State Basketball Playoffs on Tuesday, March 7, and Wednesday, March 8th - 2
games per night. Would like 4 adults and 4 - 6 boys.
Gear Update: Kirsten Wenger
Have not had a sale since last meeting
Sales for: Meet the Coaches (March 13th) & Community Night (3/30 and 4/27)
Yard Signs Update: Barbara Efantis No update
Loyalty card update: Rita Boule No update
Corporate Sponsorship Update: Divina Vessup presented by Julien Adver)sing for scoreboards - she has one!
Still have opportunities, please spread the word.
Membership Update: Tanya Ang/Barbara Efantis
A few more have come in this month. We expect a few spring parents at
the Meet the Coaches and then hopefully we will meet our goal.
New Business:
Mulch Sale- Steve Efantis, Chair
Signs have been placed in neighborhood
E-blast sent to those who ordered last year
Spreading is being offered again, poten)ally limit based the teams
who have volunteered (Boys Basketball and Poms) Delivery on March 25, the following week will be when the teams
spread
Need list serve access for Takoma
The remaining seven signs will be handed out tonight
Spring Community night - see above under concessions/gear
End of year award ceremony- May 31st - Danielle Brabazon, Chair Barb, Danielle and Rita will discuss at a separate )me.
Mo)on to adjourn at 8:09
Submitted by Danielle Brabazon, Recording Secretary
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