2003 June Bugle

Parting Words From Our President...

Dear Booster Families:

I keep asking are we done yet, and the answer is always, not quite! May was the wind up month. As you remember we started off with the rain delay of Conejo Valley Days. I am happy to report that despite that rain delay we ended up with a strong finish of our Churro Booth sales on the second weekend. We made $1884.90, nearly making our budget of $2000.00. Thank you to all of you who were able to work out your schedules to work the second weekend. We couldn’t have done without you. We also couldn’t have done it without the dedication of Betsy Connolly, Diane Folsom, and Dorothy Hatfield. Thanks for making this event a success.

Our Pancake Breakfast was delicious! Thank you Bharati Savla, Sandee Tischler, and Melody Fouse for organizing our last fundraiser of the year. Thanks to all who cooked, flipped pancakes, served, sold tickets and helped setting up and cleaning up. The flower sale was a nice touch for all of our Mom’s and Grandma’s for Mother’s Day. Thank you to the Heckendorf ladies who put together all of the arrangements. It was a great day all around.

As always, the All District Band Festival was awe-inspiring! Everyone’s performance was outstanding, especially our very own TOHS Band. This event proves to the students from our feeder schools that band is FUN! Thank you to everyone who helped organized, set up and cleaned up, especially Betsy Connolly, Shari Smith, Mary Anne Martone, Jim Pavell, Camden, the student equipment crew, the students, Boosters, and of course, Mr. Martone, the great conductor!

We ended the month with the Concert in the Park at the Gardens of the World. Wow, what a great event. We were so happy to have this event as a special thank you to the community and all of our Band and Color Guard families. It was a beautiful day to sit in the sunshine and relax while listening and watching our fantastic students perform. Thank you Betsy Connolly, Jim Pavell, Mike Sandler, Camden, Linda Heckendorf, Sandee Tischler, and our student equipment crew for organizing, setting up and cleaning up. Thank you to all the families who donated for Mr. Martone’s gift. We ended up collecting $1,000.00 to send him on a vacation of his choice with his family. He was overwhelmed and very touched by our generosity. He is extremely grateful.

I am grateful as well for having the pleasure to work with so many awesome families these last four years and especially the last two as President. This has truly been a heart-warming experience for me. Anytime that someone volunteers we know that you are taking time away from your family and sometimes even your job. Thank you to everyone for the sacrifices that you have made to help make this such a great organization which enables us to support this awesome Band and Color Guard program. Thank you to all of the families. You have all participated in someway. Thank you especially to my husband, Kenn and daughters, Amanda and Danielle. They have been a tremendous support system and have had an incredible amount of patience with my schedule. Thank you to all of those who have given so much of your time to be on the current Executive Board, the incoming Executive Board, class reps, committee heads, food preparers and servers, preppers, nurses, uniform helpers, web site manager, scrip sellers, ad book preparers, stadium set-up, sewers, equipment crew, prop builders, designers, selling churros, water people, car washers, bakers, mailers, city clean-up helpers, caroling drivers, chaperones, all those who work at band camp family night, our WBA tournament, the color guard tournament, concerts, festivals, pasta dinner, pancake breakfast, dinner dance, and supporting the color guard, drum line and jazz bands. Thanks to our Student Band Council President, Heather Burns and the entire Band Council for doing such a wonderful job this year. Thank you to all the students for being helpful, respectful, patient, and enthusiastic. Congratulations to our seniors, you have been an awesome class since you were freshman. You will be missed!!!

Thank you too, to the instructional staff for teaching our students, Shari Smith and Mary Anne Martone for doing it all in our band office and being the main support for our fabulous director, Marty Martone. We owe him a tremendous amount of thanks.

I have truly enjoyed my time with everyone and will miss you, but, I will be back as an alumna and will look forward to watching the program as it continues to excel and succeed. You are being left in good hands. Betsy Connolly, your new Booster President, is extremely organized, has a fun loving personality and will be a tremendous asset for the program and Mr. Martone.

For the last time… Musically yours,

Lynne Phillips

WISH LIST ITEMS WILL HELP ROUND OUT THE PROGRAM

Mr. Martone and the staff have compiled a Wish List of items we could use to make our program better and more complete. Often people ask what our specific needs are and how they could help or donate to the program or toward these needs. This is a fantastic way to impact the program long-term. If you are interested in making a donation of one of the items on the list please contact Mr. Martone. He’ll be more than happy to give you all the details!

Percussion

5 Mallet Kats (electronic Mallet Instruments) $3000 each

1 Fall Creek Set of Concert Bells $2500

1 Set of Concert Toms $1500

Field

1 Extra Large Podium $1500

5 Cases of White Field Paint

1 New Stable Tower for Instruction

Color Guard

1 Portable Rechargeable PA System with Built in Microphone and CD Player

1 Permanent Sound System in GAR

1 Wagon

Instrument Repair

Donations can be made directly to Nick Rail Music for Thousand Oaks High School

$10,000 Needed for Current Total Repairs

Instruments

2 Concert Tubas $4500 each

2 Concert Piccolos $600 each

3 Bb Contra Bass Clarinet $4500

Garage

Hand Tools

Power Tools

Air Compressor

Power Paint Sprayer

Office

Paper Supply

Pencils

Notebooks

General Office Supplies

Postage

Band Room

Secure Instrument Storage Lockers $20000

Security System

Uniform Storage System/Uniform Cases

Shako Cases

DVD/VHS Player

More Room/ New Room

Sound System

2 Power Monitors

1 50/100 Ft. Microphone Snake

Funding

Unlimited Scholarship Money

Dollars for awarding scholarships to students in need

Corporate Funding for budgetary needs

Vehicles

18' Box Truck

Instrument Semi 24' Prop Truck

Uniform Vehicle

PANCAKE BREAKFAST ROUND-UP

What a fun event-and a delicious one too! We had a great “all you can eat” Pancake Breakfast on Saturday, May 10. Thanks to Bharati Savla and her wonderful cooking crew, decorators, hosts, waiters and ticket takers. Thanks to Jeff Hoffman, Scott Fouse, Mike Sandler, Joel Vandezande, Mike pancake, Paul Nuttall, Julie Lindburg, Sandee Tischler, Ivy Reid, Nancy Hecht, Sue Hoffman, Linnea Stanley, April Donahue, Christine Nuttall, Pauline Pancake, Polly Toohey, Dorothy Hatfield and Gari Ann Douglass for that you did to make this event a huge success. Thanks to all the students who helped serve-you guys were great!! And how about that Fenger Family? They won two of the three gift baskets we raffled. Congratulations!

Big bountiful thanks to Linda Heckendorf for being our flower lady. And special thanks to her daughters Jenny (a Color Guard alum) and Emily for putting the beautiful bouquets together. We sold out! We had many happy mothers, aunts and grandmother out there on Mother's Day!!

Thanks too to Melody Fouse who gave her all for this last big fundraiser of the year. We appreciate all the hard work you did for us this year Melody!

Student Financial Responsibility

There are three types of fees and reimbursable expenses associated with our program. In the hopes of eliminating some of the confusion we want to take this opportunity to clarify the different areas of financial responsibility. First there is the ASB account. This is an account held through the school office; these are fees Mr. Martone collects from students for the program. Funds for this account are usually collected through car washes and candy sales. (All campus groups raise money for their ASB account this way.) ASB funds are used for registration fees in competitions and other ongoing expenses that the Band incurs.

The second type of fee is the district fees that are required by the School District for participation in a co-curricular activity (marching band). These two fees are the district transportation fee and the uniform usage fee. If you have a financial hardship you should apply to the athletic office for a waiver of these fees. These fees are paid to the District.

The third type of fee is the flow through or reimbursable expenses that the Boosters incur on behalf of the students in the program. These expenses include, but are not limited to, travel when we use private buses or fly, hotel, food and drinks, field show props, instructions salaries and general operating expenses. When you sign a financial agreement with the Band you are saying that you are willing to maintain your part in supporting the cost to operate this program. If you apply for a financial hardship above then you may be eligible for a scholarship from the Boosters. You must apply with the athletic office first and have those fees waived before you can be considered by the Boosters for a partial scholarship that would go toward offsetting your child’s expenses for the year. Students whose expenses are not paid will not be able to continue to travel with the Band in the fall. The organization cannot afford to make “loans” to those who chose not to pay. We try to keep our costs to a minimum, please do your part to help by paying in a timely manner! And thanks to all of you who are diligent in keeping current, we appreciate you!!

START THE NEW YEAR OFF RIGHT

Get off to a good start this year by paying your district fees on time. There are two fees due and payable to the district on or before Monday, June 16 (the first day of Band Camp). (Please see paragraph two above.) The two fees are the $103 district transportation fee (this covers the cost of school buses when we travel by school bus to area events) and second is the $73 uniform usage fee. If you are experiencing a financial hardship you should apply for a waiver or partial waiver of these fee through the athletic office in the main office at Thousand Oaks High School. You cannot be considered for a Booster scholarship unless you have applied for this fee waiver and met the eligibility requirements set forth by the school district. These checks should be made payable to the Conejo Valley Unified School District (CVUSD). They can be paid the night of the orientation meeting or put in the White Box in the Band Room. Students will not be able to travel with the Band next season if these fees are not paid.

REMEMBER ALL FEES FOR THE 2002-03 YEAR MUST BE PAID IN FULL BY NOW!!

It’s that most wonderful time of the year!!

BAND CAMP

Start the summer off on the right note by marking your calendars for the first two days of Band Camp on Monday, June 16 and Tuesday, June 17. Camp will take place at TOHS and will go from 8:30am to 4:30pm. Students take lunch from 12noon until 1:30pm Students can either stay on campus and bring their lunch or they can go home for a quick cool down before the afternoon session. Make sure your student has a jug of water (those Coleman one quarts work great!) and lots of sunscreen, sunglasses and a hat.

There will be marching basics practice every Wednesday night beginning on June 25 through August 6. So if you are in town come on down to the school to hone those marching skills. This practice really paid off last year!! There will be a special camp for all horn players (brass and woodwind) on Thursday, July 17 from 1-4pm. Details to follow. Color Guard will be practicing every Wednesday and Thursday from 3-6pm beginning July 9 through August 7.

There will not be a Band Camp during July as we had last year. August Band Camp is scheduled for the weeks of August 11 and 18. These are mandatory practices and students will receive fine arts summer school credit for their participation.

If you are going to miss any of Band Camps (not Wednesday nights) please notify Mr. Martone immediately in writing. Anytime a student needs to miss practice even during the school year they should notify Mr. Martone by giving it to him personally. Also if you ever have a conflict with a scheduled performance he must also be notified in writing.

Jazz Band Takes Reno by Storm

The am jazz band traveled to Reno, Nevada on May 2 to attend the Reno International Jazz Festival held at the University of Nevada. They did an outstanding job and received a UNANIMOUS SUPERIOR rating from the judges. We are all very proud of their accomplishment and what a great experience for them.

A special thank you to all that helped especially to chaperones Donna Chiurazzi, Rick and Wren Powell, Lynne Stokell, Mary Tessendorf and Lisa Willcox. Thanks also to the van drivers while in Reno, Lori Crosse, Bob Wilcox and Jack Chiurazzi. Thanks to Naomi Burns and Adrienne Johnson for driving us to and from the airport. We couldn't have had such a wonderful and memorable trip without help from all of you. Thanks also go to Gloria Paul for her dedication to the jazz band these last four years. The trip would not have been as successful without her careful planning and coordination. And last but not least, a huge thank you to Mr. Martone for his great leadership and dedication to this group.

2003-2004 Executive Board

On the list below are the people who are serving on the 2003-04 Booster Executive Board. If you have any questions regarding activities directed by one of them please don’t hesitate to call or email them. Areas of responsibility are detailed in the Booster Handbook. Please make sure you take time to thank them for serving our group when you see them.

The class representatives are not members of the Executive Board but serve as a liaison between the Board and the general membership. The Parliamentarian position will be filled by the new Executive Board this summer. This is an appointed, non-voting position. The Special Events Director position will also be filled this summer by the Executive Board. General membership will be notified at the first Booster Meeting.

President-Betsy Connolly 498-3638

phcbckcjc@aol.com

VP Band-Cheryl Pavell 492-6047

cpavell@hotmail.com

VP Color Guard-Erin McPherson 492-8250

redsings4u@Qnet.com

VP Jazz Band-Mary Tessendorf 492-5795

tessendorf@adelphia.net

VP Drum Line-Nancy Skewes-Cox 492-1333

scfam@adelphia.net

Recording Secretary-Gail Williamson 492-0498

cgwil483@msn.com

Treasurer-Gari Ann Douglass 498-9447

gari-ann-douglass@paramount.com

Auditor-Keith Smith 375-3959

res0756k@gte.net

Financial Secretaries-Scott Fouse 493-0951

fouse@isx.com

Mike Sandler 498-7819

mikeeeeey@msn.com

Membership-Penny Hunter 495-4798

bpmdhunter@adelphia.net

Ways and Means-Sandee Tischler 497-6502

eednas123@juno.com

Polly Toohey 523-2569

ptoohey141@aol.com

Equipment-Jim Pavell 492-6047

pavellj@littongcs.com

Student Support-Diane Folsom 492-2240

rd.folsom@gte.net

Dorothy Hatfield 529-5819

the5hats@adelphia.net

Publicity-Trisha Webster 371-4682

twebster64@aol.com

Non-Board Positions

Parent Class Representatives

Freshmen-Naomi Burns 492-8150

cover2covermusic@yahoo.com

Sophomore-Julie Lindberg 495-7943

jblindberg@hotmail.com

Junior-Celina Nishina 492-9046

tuburan@hotmail.com

Steve Polley 526-4588

polley@iolwest.com

Senior-Cathy Steinbrink 492-2917

grovequest@yahoo.com

From Our New President…

Welcome to the 2003-2004 Band and Color Guard season. I know that we are all tired and just pushing ourselves and our children toward that last day of school but….a little time spent planning and organizing now will save us a ton of catch-up in the fall.

We have the majority of our Executive Board in place and are now identifying next season's event chairs. Many of us have experience organizing events for Scouts, schools, civic groups and churches. It is time to step forward and donate that experience to the program. One of the toughest tasks we on the Board face is finding members who are willing to help organize and plan events, large and small. If you are able to serve in this way, please contact me, or any member of the Board, and we will put your talents and energy to good use.

I know we'll have a great year, sharing lots of laughs along with the hard work. See you there, Betsy Connolly, 2003-2004 Booster President.

Director’s Notes...

We have arrived at the final month of the school year. All of the performances are just about over and as we close the final chapter of this band year, we are moving forward to starting a brand new and exciting season for the program.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the SENIOR PARENTS again for all of their time, expertise, manpower, and support that you have given to me, the program and especially your sons and daughters over the years.

A special thank you to the parents who went above and beyond the call of duty in volunteering to serve as a committee chairperson, or Executive Board member, whether in this current year or any other. Many do not realize the time commitment and exhaustion level that comes with working in a Booster organization of this magnitude. I hope that you would agree that, in the end, the program and members are better for the time, energy and generosity of all of your efforts. Thanks again.

Speaking of generosity, I would like to share with you the honor and utter surprise that you have given to Mary Anne and me as we open the “gift” that was presented to us this past Saturday at the Concert in the Park. I truly am at a lost of words. THANK YOU!!!

I hope that the Concert in the Park was as successfully enjoyed by all of you as it was for the students and myself in performing. What a beautiful setting to have a concert. Thanks again to Betsy, Sandee, Linda, Dorothy, Scott and Erin, Jim, Mike, Camden, the Equipment Crew and Percussion Students who loaded and unloaded both prior to and after the concert. It was a great day!

A special thank you to the 2002-2003 Executive Board. I realize that this school year was packed with the end result of a three-year plan, which, in the long run, made this year difficult financially for the organization and at the same time wonderful for the memories created for all of us. If you are moving on to other projects or just a required rest after fulfilling your service . . . I wish the same for you as you do for the organization. Continued success and good fortune in all you do for a bright and happy future. It is with much appreciation, that I gratefully thank all of you.

If you are returning to serve another year, or you are joining the Executive Board for the 2003-04 school year, I thank you for stepping up to the plate as we could not enjoy the success of this program without volunteers like you.

To Lynne Phillips our Booster President, THANK YOU for heading this organization for the past two years. You have great vision, strong integrity and an even stronger backbone for staying true to what was best for the program. All of your time and patience is deeply appreciated by all of us. I thank you for your organizational skills and in the words of what is taught to our students . . . you did . . . what needed to be done, when it needed to be done, whether you wanted to or not. YOU DID A GREAT JOB. THANK YOU, FROM ME, AND ENTIRE ORGANIZATION.

Shari and Mary Anne, thank you for all of your time and expertise in managing the countless tasks and untitled jobs that you do in running both sides of the department’s office. I appreciate having the opportunity to have such dedicated people to work with.

Thank you Gail for doing a terrific job on our monthly newsletter. You were great.

Well, at this time, we have the orientation meetings, a marching band performance, the percussion extravaganza, and commencement ahead of us over the next 10 days. Then two days of camp (June 16 and 17), the summer program of rehearsals, and the carwashes before we return for our two weeks of band camp. I am starting a masters degree at the University of Oregon this summer . . . did I mention the word vacation yet? HAHAHA!

Have a great summer; enjoy your family and friends, and a break from the usual daily grind of the school year. Good Luck to the Class of 2003!!!

I look forward to welcoming our returning veterans back for another successful and exciting year, and remember . . . The best is yet to come!!!

Mr. Martone