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Posts Tagged ‘Gordon McMillan’

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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Help Coupeville’s Booster Club plant the flag in support of Wolf athletics. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Want to support Wolf athletics in the future?

Then it’s time to get in on the ground floor today.

The Coupeville Booster Club is holding its “year-end” meeting this coming Thursday, June 15, an event which will include electing board officers for the 2023-2024 school year.

Things go down starting at 6:00 PM in the health room inside the entrance to the Coupeville High School gym, and all are welcome.

The club is particularly interested in bringing in parents of high school and middle school athletes, helping build a solid bench of backers.

That way, as one group invariably exits as their offspring depart CHS playing fields, the next will already be in place and rarin’ to go. And on and on.

Thursday’s meeting is ideal for both those already entrenched in the booster club world, and first-timers alike.

President, Vice President, Treasurer, and Secretary are all in play, with board officers serving for a term of one year, and not more than three years.

If you’d like to throw your name into the race, contact the booster club at coupevillebc@gmail.com before the meeting.

All current members in good standing have voting privileges for the election of officers.

In addition to elections, the year-end meeting will help the booster club prep for next school year, setting goals, forming committees, and pre-planning for functions.

The booster club has been invaluable in recent years, providing financial support in areas where the school athletic budget doesn’t.

From purchasing new equipment, to supplying athletic letters, to making sure athletes have snacks on road trips, to maintaining the Wall of Fame in the gym, the club is the motor which drives Wolf Nation.

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It takes a village to raise ball players.

With a lot of help from the community, Central Whidbey Little League roared back to life this spring, jumping from 81 participants back up to 118.

That reflects baseball and softball players ranging in age from 4-12 and shows a marked improvement as the world continues to come out of a pandemic.

CWLL President Gordon McMillan offered big thanks to the Island County Parks and Rec Department, which handles maintenance and grooming of Coupeville’s Rhododendron Park.

“We call Rhododendron our ‘field of dreams’,” he said.

McMillan also thanked the league’s many volunteers and paid tribute to local businesses which “so generously contributed to our just concluded and very successful 2022 season.”

 

CWLL sponsors:

Front Street Realty
Heritage Bank
Home Depot
Island Title and Escrow
Iverson Insurance Company
Kapaw’s Iskreme
OLF Storage
Penn Cove Vet
Prairie Center Market
Red’s Roofing and Construction
Salon Blue
Snakelum Point Investments
Sunshine Drip
Terra Firma Wealth Management
Whidbey Natural Pet
Wood Bee Construction

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Central Whidbey’s John Rachal fires the ball back in during a playoff game. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Celebrating during a run to the state tourney are (l to r) Madison McMillan, Allison Nastali, Chloe Marzocca, and Savina Wells. (Photo by Jackie Saia)

Central Whidbey Little League finds itself at a crossroads.

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic prevented any games from being played this spring, and the future is hazy.

While CWLL is moving forward with the hope of returning its players to the diamond in 2021, a looming crisis involving a lack of volunteers could become a major issue.

Despite being the smallest league in the region, with 90-100 players, Central Whidbey is required to have the same compliment of board members and volunteers as bigger leagues.

North and South Whidbey, Anacortes, La Conner, Sedro-Woolley, and Burlington have larger parent bases to draw from, while CWLL has had to scramble to fill all of its positions in recent years.

That may get harder very soon, unless a new generation steps up.

“CWLL finds itself in a very challenging position,” said President Gordon McMillan. “Probably not unlike many other non-profits and youth organizations in these unique times.

“And we are facing another huge challenge; the majority of the current board and volunteers have children (or grandchildren in my case!) that are “aging out” of little league in the next year or so,” he added.

“We have very few volunteers that have younger kids playing; with no line of succession, it is clear, in my opinion, CWLL may very well not survive.”

If Central Whidbey is unable to fully staff up, its players might have to try and latch on with North or South Whidbey in the near future, something which could prove difficult – especially if those organizations decide they can’t handle the influx.

“This would be tragic,” McMillan said.

The league president would hate to see Coupeville’s ballfields sit silent.

“CWLL has by far the most beautiful setting,” McMillan said. “I like to call Rhody Park our “Field of Dreams.”

“Island County Parks have been very accommodating and generous in their support of CWLL and it should be duly noted. Rhody belongs to all of us … and the county should be recognized!”

Baseball and softball have a place deep in McMillan’s heart, a big part of the reason he and others have worked so hard to make CWLL the success it is today.

“Little League has touched so many of our lives, the vast majority in a positive manner, I believe,” he said.

“Not every child can play football or basketball, but I venture a guess that every child has picked up a ball, a bat, a glove, and played some sort of baseball/softball/Wiffle ball … neighborhood … sandlot … school PE … or little league.”

For McMillan, little league made an impact on his life, first as a player, then as a coach and official through two generations of his offspring.

“Little League has been a passion of mine since 1956, when I first “made the team” in North Vancouver, BC,” he said.

“I have coached three of my kids and one granddaughter (Madison) and only hope they have, or will have, the same warm and wonderful memories as I have, and look back someday, not remembering the wins and losses, but the fun, camaraderie, and life lessons

“Then, and only then, did we, as coaches, umpires, administrators, concession operators, field maintenance crews, score keepers, spectators, etc. do a good job!”

 

If you’d like to become a volunteer, or have any suggestions for CWLL officials as they navigate the waters ahead, contact McMillan at centralwhidbeyll@gmail.com.

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