The Milton Black Panther Booster Club has been helping the sports teams at Milton since July 1958, according to its leadership.
Club President Ms. Valerie Gardner has been a part of the Booster Club for approximately ten years, starting as a representative for cheerleading.
“My daughter was in Cheer/Competitive Cheer during her time at MHS. She graduated in 2018,” said Ms. Gardner. “I stayed because I enjoy giving back to the school that I and my husband graduated from.”
Before stepping into the role of president in May, Mrs. Gardner said she served as the club’s treasurer.
Booster Club members volunteer at concession stands for sporting events. The club also updates the sports banners in the gym and sponsors a Harvest Festival Princess Pageant candidate each year. The club also purchases shirts for District Champions and State Qualifiers, provides end of the season award plaques for teams, members also work at playoff games and PHAC wrestling tournaments, according to Ms. Gardner.
The boosters provide financial support for districts sports, added Ms. Gardner. She said the club pays $1,000 each year for insurance for programs such as elementary school wrestling and “bitty ball.” The boosters also supply outstanding senior awards that are chosen by each sport’s coach and provide fifteen $500 scholarships to student athletes every year.
The Booster Club paid $10,261.38 last school year to the teams that provided volunteers for the concession stand, according to Ms. Gardner. These proceeds go towards end of season awards and all state photo athletes, she added.
“The biggest thing that has changed over the years is lack of volunteerism,” said Ms. Gardner. “We very much struggle with finding folks to help work in the concession stand on Friday nights for varsity football games.”
Athletic Director Mr. Rod Harris said that the Booster Club is always there to support the student athletes. The lack of volunteering hurts the sports team because in the concession stands is where the Booster Club raises money, added Mr. Harris.
“Students can help at the concession stands but can’t handle money till they are 18,” he said. This is a rule of the Booster Club because of past complications with students stealing money or giving free food to their friends, he added.
Since the new stadium opened, the Booster Club would “ideally like” at least ten additional volunteers for each half of a football game, added Ms. Gardner. “The more workers that we have, the more windows we can have open, which (hopefully) equates to shorter lines,” she said.
According to Ms. Garnder, the Booster Club has a Facebook page where they post SignUp Genius links for volunteers.
Currently, there are seven active members of the Booster Club, with only one member with a child still enrolled in the district, said Ms. Gardner. She added the Booster Club meets once per month with the day varying depending on sporting events.
“We have previously talked about getting some sort of signage that can hang at the outside concession stand that will show what we do for the student athletes at Milton High School,” said Ms. Gardner. “We definitely struggle with trying to figure out how to get more people involved and would welcome any and all suggestions!”
