Gloucester Alumni

By Matthew J. Webster
Staff writer
Gloucester Daily Times

The School Department is depending on proceeds from Gloucester Fishermen Athletic Association memberships and private donations to keep competitive sports alive at the high school, not only for this year but in the future.

The support at Gloucester's first Pride Night fundraiser - it raised $73,000 - has encouraged the GFAA to continue raising money for the high school's athletic programs.

"We have an agreement with the School Department that all of these sources of revenue will continue," association President Richard Wilson said.

Wilson said the association wants to recruit 1,000 members before spring. If the membership goal is achieved, there should be more than enough raised to fill the $85,000 budgetary shortfall that athletic programs face for the 2006-2007 academic year. Additional proceeds from memberships would fill out next year's budget for athletics.

The school requires about $315,000 annually to pay for school sports programs, and the GFAA wants to have around $100,000 in the fund annually.

As for the membership drive, one costs $50 per year, and applications can be found at the high school or on the Web at http://www.thegfaa.org. The membership is open to anyone, and Wilson said that 75 non-Gloucester residents have already joined. The membership dues will go toward helping the school defray athletic fees and help clean, fix and maintain the athletic fields.

"The membership fee is really like a feel good thing for anyone who wants to see athletics continue," Wilson said. "We want people to have that satisfaction and sense of pride that they were able to help keep athletics going in this city."

The idea for the nonprofit GFAA came when School Committee Chairman Jonathan Pope told Wilson the city was facing a shortfall of around $85,000 for the high school's athletic budget. A former School Committee chairman who also pitched for the GHS baseball team, Wilson and others who would become the group's board members considered a solution and thought of nearby Winthrop, which faced similar financial shortcomings around five years ago.

To devise a plan for a fundraising auction based on Winthrop's model, they met with the town's superintendent of schools, Dr. Steven F. Jenkins, as well as the chairman of its school board and its high school's principal.

Held in November at the high school's Benjamin A. Smith Fieldhouse, Pride Night had 1,000 attendees, two bands and a surplus of good food and refreshments donated by area businesses. The Pride Night committee hoped to make $30,000 from the auction but was overjoyed to net $73,000 in one night. The event was so popular, the association may have to limit attendance for next year's bash, officials said.

"I knew what this community would be able to do once they learned of the financial need Gloucester athletics had," Wilson said. "I fully expected people to donate the way they have, and I also expect them to do even more next year."