Stuff To Read
Columbia Football Booster Club
Columbia Football Booster Club
P.O. Box 502
East Greenbush, NY 12061
Michael Leonard, Athletic Director
Susan Garrigan-Piela, President Drew Romanowski, Varsity Head Coach Kevin Lehayne, Freshman Head Coach
Andrew Gawrys, Vice President Craig Cavotta, Varsity Assistant Coach Norm Preston, Fr Assistant Coach
Tracy Dedrick, Treasurer Joseph DeNisio, Varsity Assistant Coach David Bresnahan, Modified Head Coach
Amy Keegan, Secretary & Fund Raising Dan Hansen, JV Head Coach Mike Merhige, Modified Assistant Coach
Joyce Feeley, Team Meals Sean Schreiner, JV Assistant Coach Eric Swick, Program Assistant
Dear Parents and Guardians;
Welcome to the Columbia Football 2009 Season! We are really excited about the season. The Coaches and the Players have been working really hard to be ready to play football. The Booster Club has been getting ready for an exciting season too. This letter will provide a lot of important information for your football family. Please take a few minutes to read over. If you have any question, please do not hesitate to contact the booster club through the website, or call the Booster Club President directly at 518-369-4238.
This season will build on the successes of the past seasons. To make the season as great as possible, the players and coaches are counting on the Booster Club to support the mission of football. Who are members of the Booster Club, you are. The Football Booster Club membership consists of parents, guardians, past players and parents, coaches, administrators and teachers as well as community members that love football and are strong supporters of the Columbia Football Program. The time is now to get involved with your Football Booster Club.
The following are some important details for the new football season:
Coach Drew Romanowski: Head Football Coach Drew Romanowski was appointed by the Board of Education to lead our program. Coach Romanowski brings a wealth of experience; please see his bio on our website.
Website: www.ColumbiaFootball.org The Football Booster Club sponsors this website. This will be the primary means of communication for players and parents. Game info is feed daily from the High School Sports website. You are encouraged to registrar at the site for updates. If you do not have access to the internet, please contact me and I will ensure that you receive our communications.
Meeting Schedule: The Football Booster Club meets on the second Tuesday of every month. Meeting are held at Columbia High School and run from 7-9. The Booster Club meets during the months of May, June, July, August, September, October and November. The Booster Club does not meet during the months of December, January, February and March, and April, but will conduct business via email and make announcement via the website.
While it would be great to have a large attendance at each meeting, it is understood that many cannot make every meeting. Booster Club members should feel free to attend any portion of a meeting, and to contact the club officers for regular updates. Meeting minutes will be posted on line as soon as possible. We are looking forward to help from all booster club members, even if they are unable to attend every meeting in its entirety.
Philosophy: The Booster Club has worked closely with the coaches to put the basic philosophy and goals of the club and the program in writing. The philosophy is posted on our Website. In addition, the School District has a clear philosophy on all levels of play. Please see the Columbia Athletic page on the School District Website for details.
Activities: The primary goal and philosophy of the Football Booster Club is to support the Columbia Football Program. The Club operates under the power of volunteers. We have put together a volunteer signup sheet that includes many different types of activities. Help is needed for everything from concession stand to inventorying equipment. Some jobs require a one-time commitment, others are a bit longer. Please choose at least one or two areas that you can help.
Anything that you do is helpful and will make a better program for our players. Please return the form to the Booster Club PO Box, or download from our website and complete electronically and return to us. Coaches will collect forms from the players.
Sportswear: Everybody loves Columbia Sportswear. We have put together a great list of items for both the players and their families. We also will have seat cushions, custom bags for football gear, shorts, t-shirts and sweatshirts. There are lots of other great items. A sportswear order form will be available at the Welcome meeting, and then on our website. In addition, we will be displaying items the MANDATORY FOR PLAYERS AND PARENTS pre-season meeting on Sunday, August 16, which will be held at the YMCA Pavilion at 6:30 pm. The booster club is working hard to keep the sportswear affordable, selling most items at close to cost. What a great way to support the team with a stand full of Columbia gear.
Fund Raising: The Booster Club again this year will be selling “The Columbia Card”. Football is an expensive program, and while we are thankful for the generous support of the district, the additional funds raised by your Booster Club goes a long way in supporting the players through the extra equipment, a better equipped weight room and locker room, and a great annual celebration banquet for all levels of play. Cards to sell will be distributed to players during the MANDATORY MEETING on the eve of double sessions. In addition, the Annual Flapjack breakfast at Applebee’s on 8-15, should yield the club $1,200 if all tickets are sold. We will also be holding a coin drop under our nonprofit arm “Friends of the Blue Gridiron. This date is forthcoming.
Sponsorship Program: Building on the continuing success of prior years the sponsorship program, your Booster Club is putting together a professional program that will be distributed at each home game. Please look the info over and see if you can support the program at a minimum level, or recommend the program to a local business. The publicity opportunities for a business are great, with almost 4,000 attending the homecoming event.
Family Kick-Off Barbeque: The first family event sponsored by the Football Booster Club will be the Annual Kick-Off Barbeque, held on Friday, August 28, @ 6 PM. This great event occurs after the last double session practice for the players. The Booster Club will provide hot dogs and hamburgers, with each grade level providing an item for the meal. Seniors will be contributing salads, Juniors-drinks, Sophomores–chips and Freshmen-deserts. The whole family is invited and registration forms will be coming home with the players and be available online. Tracy Dedrick will be chairing this event, and will be looking for help. This is a great way to start the season, and raffles will be held for Columbia gear.
Alumni Night: The first annual alumni event will be held on Friday, September 4, at 6:00 PM. The event will be held in conjunction with the ribbon cutting on the new turf field at Columbia. Columbia Football alumni; players, coaches and family are invited to the event. Dinner, t-shirt, entertainment and admission to the first home game are all included in the $15 ticket price. Please pass the word on. Interested individuals should contact one of the booster club officers.
In summary, we are ready to kick off the football season, and are excited about the great program that we have at Columbia, the professional coaching staff, the committed players, and the loyal fans. Each football family is part of the booster club, and even a small contribution of time is important to the program. Please sign up to help with something, put your Columbia gear on, and see you at the games.
In addition, if you know of a Football family that has not received this mailing, including alumni, please pass of this info. We are counting on your family to make this a great year for all the players.
Yours in Football,
Susan Garrigan-Piela
Columbia Football Booster Club President
