By Mary Owen
It’s a great time to be an Eagle! So says Randy Forrette, president of the Stayton High School Booster Club.
“Our membership is outstanding,” Forrette said. “We have 87 members and a huge majority of them are very active. I’m proud to work with so many service-minded volunteers.”
Over the last five to six years, the Booster Club exploded from nine members to its current number and increased its active booster percentage from 30 to 90 percent, Forrette said.
“We increased funds from $35,000 per year to $156,000 last year,” he said. “And we created multiple new income streams. Financially, we get low on funds this time of year, but that’s completely by design. Our booster board believes in spending the money raised for our kids.
“Our school still has a lot of immediate needs, and we aren’t here to watch a bank balance grow,” he added. “So, if a coach requests funds for a worthy cause and we have the money, we support it. We are hoping for strong community support at our upcoming auction to rebuild our coffers.”
The 39th Annual Blue and Gold Auction will start with a silent auction, hosted bar, and a performance by the SHS band and choir, held from 3:30 to 5 p.m. on Feb. 9 at the Oregon State Fairgrounds. Dinner will be served at 6 p.m. followed by an oral auction at 7 p.m. Tickets are $35 per person or $40 at the door, available at staytonevents.com. For additional information or to volunteer, e-mail SHSboosterauction@gmail.com.
“This is our largest fundraiser of the year,” said Forrette, who hopes the auction will attract a large crowd of supporters.
Another source of “income and pride” is the new Booster food truck, and partnering with Electronic Payments of Oregon also boosts the club’s coffers, Forrette said.
“Jed Leeper, the owner of EPO, provides state-of-the-art merchant services to any size business, and donates half the Booster partnership proceeds to us every month,” Forrette said. “This has created consistent, sustainable income for SHS athletics. We could not be more appreciative of this partnership.”
Fundraising has allowed the Booster Club to carry out projects such as painting the SHS stadium, track building and storage sheds, baseball dugouts and concessions as well as the staff room. Members also updated the trainer room, rebuilt the Booster Shack, furnished uniforms for teams, buy training mats for cheerleaders, update the gym lobby, and more. They also host a semi-annual road cleanup.
The club has added SHS’s band and choir to the Eagle teams supported; joined forces with the Senior Party Planning Committee; maintaining $10,000 in annual scholarships; and partnered with the North Santiam School District to work on large projects.
Highlights from the past few years Forrette said include the partnership with NSDS to add sports turf to the main field, the building a new baseball batting facility and upcoming softball hitting facility.
The club’s next major improvement project is to resurface two of the school’s tennis courts, which is slated to be completed by next summer, he said.
“The people in this area are very generous with both their time and their money,” Forrette said. “They truly care about our kids, schools and athletics. From Andy Gardner, Alan Kirby, Darren Shryock, Debi Brazelton, Mike Miller, our dedicated school board, our talented coaches, and our caring teachers, to the strong community support and booster volunteers willing to work, everything we accomplish is because of the great people in this community.
“We are an easy group to fit into,” he said. “We don’t care if you’ve been to every meeting or if it’s your first one. We just keep trying to do the right thing and our membership keeps growing.”
For more about the SHS Booster Club, e-mail staytonboosters@gmail.com.
