Sam O’Neal, President                           (678) 546-2998  sam@theoneals.org   

Jim Shallis, Vice President                  (678) 714-7164  jshallis@charter.net
Nanette Horrocks, Secretary                     (404) 862-5879  nhorrocks@charter.net  
Tonie Owens, Treasurer                                  tonieowens@earthlink.net                             
Carmen Meuse, Director of Uniforms                (770) 833-2773  crmeuse@cvs.com                   
Tonja Matthews, Director of Food       (770) 891-6572  tonja.m@charter.net
Chris Schutte, Director of Chaperones        (770) 271-4175  wcschutte1@hotmail.com

Dotti Leamon, Director of Fundraising          dotti_leamon@gwinnett.k12.ga.us                  

 

 

Here are some activities of the NGHS Band Booster Organization...

Cheering and moral support... Go Bulldogs!
Band parents are highly encouraged to attend practices, rehearsals, and performances to show their support for the band. Your child will be motivated to much higher levels with your presence at these events. For outdoor events, parents are encouraged to sit together in support of the band.

Road trip support... "Are we there yet???"
Performing off campus across town or across the country requires several types of support ranging from transporting students, instruments, and equipment, to acting as chaperones.

Fund-raising... The NGHS Band is not yet a direct recipient of Federal Stimulus Package resources.
Raising money for the band program is one of the main objectives of the band booster organization. When all members contribute to funding the program equally, no one is overworked. In many other school music programs across the US parent groups raise money for "extra" programs. At NGHS fundraising is vital to our survival. In such a large school system, financial resources are spread so thin that none of the 13 high school band programs could hope to survive on provided funding from the school system's budget; there are just too many other places the money has to go. Consequently, our band program's survival relies on the work and contributions of the band parents. By participating in the band boosters' fund-raising efforts, you help ensure the financial well-being or your student's band.

Advocacy... Band Rocks! Yay!
We presently enjoy the support of the Gwinnett County School Board for K-12 music education in our district. However, there may come a time when school board budget cuts and/or reform measures threaten the very survival of the band and other fine arts within our school system. An increasingly important function of band boosters is promoting music education as a necessary part of the curriculum. Whether the threat to music education is budgetary or political in nature, the underlying attitude is the same: School board members may be willing to sacrifice music education because they view it as a "frill," not as an essential part of every child's education. If music education is to survive in this country, this attitude must change - and it must change at the local level, where school monies are raised and decisions are made.

Working Together... One for All, and All for Band.
Its important to keep in mind that the role of band boosters is to support the music program by working in conjunction with the band directors. The experience and vision of the directors must be relied upon when making decisions concerning the direction and philosophy of the band to ensure success of the program as a whole.