Date: Fri 20-Oct-1995

Publication: Bee

Author: TOMW

Illustration: I

Quick Words:

Blue-Cold-Booster-Feature

Full Text:

B Y T.W YATT

When its time for a face lift in the Newtown High School athletic department,

or something needs doing beyond what the school budget can pay for, along

comes one of the most unsung and misunderstood organizations at the school.

The Blue and Gold Booster Club is a support group who's focus is to promote

all athletics at Newtown High School.

" People think we're associated purely with the football team, because that's

where we do our fundraising, " said the club's former president Lew Lausten. "

I would really like to see the message carried that we are here to help all

the sports at the school. "

NHS had a booster club during the early 80's but saw it fade out and

disappear. In 1990, though, when Bob Zito arrived at the school, he reformed

the organization which he saw as a positive resource for the school's athletic

department. " Zito recognized the benefits of having a booster club, so he

initiated the whole thing, " Lausten said. " It generates revenues and allows

him to do some things that he doesn't have the resources to do. "

Zito got in touch with parents and a board was established. The B&GBC was

reborn. One of the first projects of the B&G was to get an ice machine for the

school's locker room. The Club also began purchasing all of the varsity

letters and numerals in that first year, and still does to this day.

The Club also funded and produced new trophy cases outside of the NHS

gymnasium, but its crown jewel was the gymnasium itself.

" The gym was certainly our biggest accomplishment, " Lausten explained. " The

booster club agreed to put the lighting in if the town would take care of the

floor through the Pequot funding. "

As a result, the town put in a new gymnasium floor and made the bleachers

handicap accessible and the B&G did the rest.

The B&G's gymnasium face-lift project included new lighting (completely

donated by Dr Hank Gellert and installed by Chris Swift and his company, REI

Electric), a second scoreboard (donated by Pepsi), and the creation of the NHS

Wall of Fame.

In the Wall of Fame project, the B&G updated the WCC and State Championship

banners in addition to creating new banners for Newtown High's All-State

athletes. The unveiling ceremony was a banquet dinner at which UConn football

coach Skip Holtz was the guest speaker.

Funds from the B&G also pay 20 percent of the NHS trainer's (Chris Geier)

annual fee, allowing him to work at the school five days a week as opposed to

three, which he was cleared for by the budget. " To get him full time, as we

do now, we paid the additional funds, " said B&G vice president, Bob Saleski.

" We had no problem with that. That's a perfect use of the money. "

Future plans for the B&G include the purchase of bleachers for the baseball

and softball fields.

In order to generate the capital for the many projects that it undertakes, the

booster club runs two major fund raisers.

The first, the Cow Chip Raffle, is currently in its fifth year. The second

revenue-generating project is the club's sale of Hawaiian short-bread cookies.

" It's an amazing thing, " said Lausten. " We get together on a Saturday

morning, around 20 of us, in the NHS cafeteria and knock out 1,000 dozen. The

ones that we didn't sell last year went to a soup kitchen in Danbury. "

Other possible fund raisers in the future include a golf tournament and the

purchase of a hot dog cart (to sell dogs at various town athletic functions).

But despite their big goals, the members of the B&G run into problems because

of their low numbers.

" We're picking up some momentum, but not as much as we would like it to, "

Lausten said. " Its difficult because, like any organization, you have a core

of 15 or so people who really work very hard. Although we'd like to do more,

we all have our own lives and it gets to be a lot. We struggle for people to

do additional projects. By Christmas time when we're finished with the cow

chip raffle and the shortbread cookies, everybody's about worn out. "

The club's current board consists of Chris Swift (president), Bob Saleski

(VP), Bea Gellert (membership), Cliff Smith (fund-raising chairman), Dianne

Nelson (publicity), Sue Lausten (secretary), Jack Huray (treasurer), and Steve

Wasko, Bob Reilly, Pat Barczak, and Dick Eigen (members at large).

The B&G meets monthly at Newtown High School and its always looking for

members. Anyone interested in joining may fill out their name and address and

mail it to the Blue & Gold Booster Club at Newtown High School. The club has

its own box at the school's main office.