Coupeville Sports

Backed by the Coupeville Booster Club, Wolf athletes are soaring. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

“We need to keep this great organization healthy and vibrant.”

The Coupeville Booster Club has been at the forefront of Wolf athletics in recent years, providing financial support to high school and middle school coaches and athletes.

Particularly with budget cuts looming in the school district, the need for a group which can supplement what Coupeville schools provides for sports is huge.

The booster club, led by a group of parents and grandparents, many of whom are close to finishing their runs with the organization, has given the Wolves true bang for their buck.

The CBC annually awards eight $1,000 scholarships to graduating seniors, while also providing a yearly stipend of $1,900 per CHS team and $800 per CMS program.

The club has helped provide roses for Senior Night festivities, varsity letters for Wolf athletes, meal money and goodie bags for road trips, and numerous team improvement items.

These have ranged from literature and DVD’s to tarps, weight room equipment, batting cages, upgrades to school athletic fields and facilities, and t-shirts for cancer awareness nights.

The Wall of Fame in the CHS gym, which documents accomplishments from 100+ years of Coupeville athletics?

It wouldn’t exist without the support of the boosters, who provided the biggest financial contribution to its development, and continue to handle updates.

This spring alone, Wolf baseball, girls’ tennis, and track and field earned new plaques, for success in league, bi-district, tri-district, and state championships competition.

When school is back in session this September, current, former, and future CHS athletes will be able to look up and see Alex Murdy’s state title in the long jump commemorated, as well as a whole stack of new team titles.

That wall honors the past, drives current athletes to strive for their own success, and inspires future generations.

And it wouldn’t exist without the booster club.

Which is why it’s so important to keep the organization chugging along in high gear.

The club set its board for the 2023-2024 school year Thursday, with Gordon McMillan (President), Bob Martin (Vice President), Jon Roberts (Treasurer), and Mariah Madsen (Secretary) winning election.

All four are among the hardest-working volunteers in Wolf Nation and should be hailed for their commitment.

But, looking ahead, all four have announced the coming school year will be their last as leaders of the booster club.

Which is why new people have to step up.

A well-run booster club is too important to the continued success of Wolf athletics.

If others, particularly those whose children will be active athletes for years to come, make a commitment now, the future could be assured.

What does that commitment entail? That’s up to you.

The club would love to find people interested in being future board members, ones looking to follow McMillan, Martin, and Co. the way that group has followed those before them, like Wendi Hilborn, Fawn Gustafson, and Pam Pease.

Express an interest now, and you can shadow current leaders, learning how the sausage is made before you step into the role.

But maybe you don’t have the time or desire to be an inner circle member. Not a problem.

Volunteers of every size, shape, and calendar availability are needed.

Help with one project or all of them.

Be on the frontlines or behind the scenes as the club pulls together its annual auction dinner, which is returning from a pandemic hiatus.

Or be part of the booster club contingent at Mussel Fest, help with the appreciation dinner for Wolf athletes, sell swag at CHS games, or be the go-to person for those Senior Night roses.

You can do a little or a lot, be part of the public face of the organization, or be the invisible but deeply appreciated behind the scenes crew.

Every person, whether in for an hour or in for 24-7-365, helps the booster club soar.

And, when the boosters soar, the athletes soar. A real circle of life type of thing, fueled by all of us.

“I trust that we all recognize that the booster club is a vital part of the school community,” Gordon McMillan said. “To the athletic department, the athletes, and the school district in general.

“It would be a shame to have the CBC shrink, much less go away.”

To get involved, contact the booster club today at coupevillebc@gmail.com.

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