As fall rolls around the corner, the sound of excited fans at Lake Highlands football games fills the air.
Football means a lot to Lake Highlands. For years, the Wildcat Booster Club has sponsored and produced a football program that highlights the football team, informs fans about the players and coaches, and raises money for the school’s athletic teams.
“Because of the funding withdrawn from Richardson by the Robin Hood Plan, the community had to step forward to fund the athletic teams,” says Rose Holder, co-vice president of the Wildcat Booster Club.
The Wildcat Booster Club gives both encouragement and financial support to all interscholastic teams at Lake Highlands. The group’s biggest fund-raiser is the football program.
“From the sales of the football program and the ads, we were able to give over $40,000 to the school for the athletic teams,” says Sarah Blaydes, the co-president of the Wildcat Club.
“It has helped set off the Robin Hood Plan and allowed our kids to play on a more even playing field.”
The money raised is distributed to the athletic teams according to priority set by the coaches and the school administration.
“From the money we have raised, we have been able to buy warm-up suits for the basketball team and equipment for the golf team,” Blaydes says. “They would not have had it otherwise.”
Booster club members say it takes a community-sized effort to produce the program. Approximately 30 to 40 parents help sell the ads, and more than 200 businesses advertise in the program.
The center section changes weekly to highlight the current opponent and the Lake Highlands football team. The program also contains sections for comments from the coaches, outstanding players from the previous week, and lists of the members of the Wildcat Booster Club.
Each athletic team and the Highlandettes drill team take turns selling the program at the football games. Different school organizations also buy ads.
“The support we receive from the community and the generosity of the merchants who buy the ads has made the program very successful,” Blaydes says.
“The fans are very faithful in giving their business to the merchants who advertise in the program. It is a two-way street that is beneficial for the whole community.”
The booster club also produces programs for the boys and girls basketball and soccer teams. These programs contain a few ads, but are used primarily to highlight the teams, not to raise money.
“We do not want to call on the community three times to support the athletic teams, so we put our main effort into the football program. The basketball and soccer programs basically pay for themselves,” Holder says.
If you are interested in becoming a member of the Wildcat Booster Club, you can attend a Meet the Coaches barbecue dinner sponsored by the Wildcat Club Aug. 21, from 7 p.m.-midnight, at the Knights of Columbus Hall on Northwest Highway. Call Sarah Blaydes at 348-0151 for reservations, which are required.
