School sports are expensive, and Garretson School District's sports teams are no exception. However, the pros of being part of a school sports team far exceed the cons of cost, and the Blue Dragon Boosters rose in 2017 out of a need to ensure the Garretson School District youth were well-funded.
"Booster funds are designated to support all school sponsored athletic teams, programs, coaches, and athletes grades 7-12," said Booster Board member Shawn Frewaldt. For instance, funding helped to support television and on-line streaming of local games in 2020. Other areas of support have included t-shirts for state-qualifying athletes, the purchase of scoring assistance software, $13,000 worth of weight room upgrades, practice jerseys, financial assistance for registration fees, and lining up charter busses for games that are more than 300 miles away.
Unfortunately, COVID has thrown a wrench into their fundraising abilities.
" With Covid, we have been unable to sell apparel at school events or host tailgate meals," Frewaldt said. "We were also unable to host the annual Blue Dragon Classic 7th and 8th grade basketball tournament. This tournament typically brings in $4000-$5000."
They plan to hold a raffle this spring for a side-by-side UTV, as the raffle held in 2020 was extraordinarily popular, and they'll be hosting a golf tournament on July 2, which means they aren't completely out of options.
However, they are still looking for volunteers, participants, sponsors, and organizational support, and Frewaldt encourages anyone interested in volunteering or sponsoring to contact one of the board members, which are Joey Rotert, Ashley Hanson, Frewaldt, Jeff Hove, Dave Schroeder, Heidi Costello, Chris Trudeau, and Amanda Schotzko. The group meets the first Monday of every month. During the pandemic, they have been meeting at either the golf course or via Zoom. Contact a board member to attend the next meeting.
Update 4/22/21: Meeting date added.
