Congratulations, you have just been elected president of your booster club! Now what? If you have never had any experience serving as president of an organization, you are not alone. Stay positive, ask questions, and keep your eye on the main goal of the booster club: cheer on your team!
In order to have a successful season cheering on the team, you will need to support the team by raising money, scheduling volunteers, increasing outreach, and boosting engagement. There is no secret formula that guarantees success when forming booster clubs and electing officers. However, strong leadership and administration have a significant impact on whether your booster club achieves its goals and objectives. Your degree of dedication and care as president directly influences the community and growth of your booster club. Following are a few booster club guidelines to follow to ensure you’re doing the best job possible.
Stay Informed
Start your booster club presidential duties by reading your district’s booster club guidelines and the club’s bylaws. Make sure you’re up-to-date on all of the by-laws because you’ll be the one in charge of enforcing and following them. It’s part of your job to ensure your club is following best practices, as it's the board’s fiscal responsibility to make sure things are being done the right way.
Plan Your Personal Schedule
As the president of your booster club, you will need to be able to attend just about every event that gets put on the schedule! Be sure to rearrange your personal schedule ahead of the season, making your term of office a temporary priority for your free time, right behind family and work. You will want to make sure you have the time necessary to dedicate to the role. Consider the club’s sports games or music events; consider the club’s big events such as tournaments and banquets; and consider hosting regular officer’s meetings and the time spent on computer work at home to manage everything.
Schedule Meetings
Monthly meetings on a fixed schedule tend to increase attendance and engagement. With that being said, the best way to encourage participation is to make scheduled meetings something members look forward to attending and that new people want to join. Keep meetings upbeat, on topic, and as short as possible. Many clubs have good success piggybacking board meetings onto other club events such as whole-booster meetings, or piggybacking before or after the team’s game or practice times, when parents may already need to attend to pick up their child.
Open Communication
The more streamlined communication is, the better! Communicating with everyone involved in your club is essential. Worry less about under-communicating than over-communicating. A caring and approachable president makes the club's culture much more inviting. Remember it takes seeing something seven times before the average person absorbs the message, so communicate often!
Get People Involved
Encourage volunteers to get involved by forming committees and delegating work. Members feel needed and appreciated when they can do productive work. Plus, it can take a lot of work off your hands and allow you to use your time more wisely.
