By Andrew Rudansky
There was an energy in the crowd at the Class C Field Hockey game last month. The fans were attired in crimson and black, some of them shirtless, most covered in face paint, holding pompoms and cheering on the Lady Whalers. In total over 100 students, nearly half of the high school, were in attendance to root for their team.
It was nothing short of school spirit made tangible, and it was exactly what the Sag Harbor Booster Foundation at Pierson wants to foster as they enter into their winter fundraising season.
Robert Evjen, president of the booster club, said, “For me there is such a natural sense of school spirit at Pierson, and we want to do everything we can to help nurture that.”
Unlike a traditional booster club that only focuses on athletics, the Sag Harbor Booster Foundation focuses on all 38 extra-curricular program the school offers.
“We want to make people see how talented this little school really is,” said Laura Matthers, secretary for the booster club. “A lot of the groups here at Pierson do a lot of amazing things, and we wanted to start highlighting some of those groups that aren’t normally highlighted.”
Already the booster club, founded in January of this year, has teamed up with MSG Varsity to film and post Pierson athletic events online. In addition the boosters have set up a scholarship for Pierson students with grant money from MSG Varsity.
“It’s great, we haven’t even embarked on our membership drive yet but we already have a lot of members,” said Evjen, “And the school administration has been very supportive of us”.
The winter basketball season is fast approaching at Pierson High School, and the Booster Club plans to be a presence at home games, selling refreshments and organizing half time spirit rallies. The boosters hope to be able to provide Pierson with new lighting systems, a new scoreboard, funds for school trips, and various scholarships.
In February the boosters plan to hold a first annual fundraiser at B. Smith’s restaurant in conjunction with the 2012 HarborFrost events.
“Hopefully the Booster Club will be there financially to fill in for any programs that any future budget cuts might cut into,” said Matthers. “We just have to make sure we don’t lose any of these programs.”
For more information about the booster club or to become a member please visit www.sagharborboosterfoundation.org or email them at Info@SagHarborBoosterFoundation.org.
