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Theft of booster funds leaves wide wake
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
In the triage of illegal behavior, stealing money from a school booster club probably ranks in the “minor” category. But it sure does get under my skin.
In recent days there have been two reports of theft from school-related but parent-controlled programs in Gwinnett. A Grayson man was charged in one and a warrant for a Snellville woman was sought in another.
Grayson High School’s wrestling team booster club is missing an undetermined amount estimated to range from $19,000 to $40,000. A former treasurer of the group was charged with four counts of theft by taking, involving amounts totaling about $8,000.
At Parkview High School, the U.S. Marine Corps Junior ROTC program is missing an estimated $14,576. A warrant has been sought for a Snellville woman in connection with the loss.
At this point, both of the cases involve only charges and accusations - no convictions.
A simple search of the Internet, however, reveals that thefts from booster clubs and similar organizations are not uncommon or isolated. Datelines range from Texas to Encina, Calif.; Colorado to Topeka, Kan.; and Shreveport, La. to Georgia’s Peachtree City. And that’s the top of the list.
The crimes are ones of opportunity committed when financial controls are too relaxed, according to an article in Athletic Management magazine. In many cases - the thief intends to pay the money back but just never does, the article said.
Such intentions don’t get my sympathetic juices flowing.
Here’s why:
Stealing money from nonprofit groups such as booster clubs is a crime with widely felt effects. It’s not just about money. It”s about trust and community and role models.
Thefts of this type not only hurt the students and parents in a club. They can chip at the confidence in and future support of that organization. The betrayal is felt by the grandparents, aunts, uncles, neighbors and businesses who donate money to the causes. The breach of trust can even leapfrog into suspicions within and about other non-profits.
There are schools, I’m sure, that are blessed to have deep-pocketed donors who can fill up the coffers. Most schools are not that fortunate. For them, the cash comes in at a painstakingly slow pace and at great sacrifice.
The dollars that a thief finds so irresistible are raised by students and parents working untold hours canvassing neighborhoods to sell doughnuts or gift wrap or candy or discount cards. (In the case of the Grayson club, members sold meat as a fund-raiser.)
Money often is raised in bake sales, walk-a-thons, car washes, talent shows and pageants. Local businesses give donations as sponsorships.
All of this effort is led by volunteers— many of them parents who already work another job outside the home. They do it to pay for equipment, uniforms, travel expenses, special instruction or other costs - all for the kids.
In the Grayson case, the wrestling team originally planned to use its money to build a training room. When a room became available through other means, the club wanted to spend the money on wrestling mats, additional uniforms, training costs and trips to competitions.
Due largely to the theft, the club ended the season with $94 dollars in the till.
I could find no reliable numbers on booster clubs or booster club thefts. It appears obvious that the large majority of booster organizations are operated ethically by people who can be trusted. Many have strict financial controls. That should remembered to provide proper perspective for such crimes.
But those who do stray into the booster accounts, those who not only steal money, but also hours of planning and hard work, a belief in the goodness of human beings and a decent role model - in my mind - are guilty of more than a “minor” crime.
What’s your opinion?
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Parade sets the stage for ‘one-time’ events
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Gwinnett County Public Schools / AJC
Donna Pendergast, band director for Snellville Middle School, helps Sylvester Mundenda -6th Grade. Pendergast is retiring at the end of this school year after being at the middle school for 29 years. This will be her 27th Snellville Days Parade.
When the Snellville Days parade winds down Wisteria and Oak Roads Saturday morning, the event will be more than just a showcase of faces, fun, floats and attractions.
It will be a parade of stories.
There are the Vietnam veterans, each with a moving personal tale, who will share the grand marshal’s role in the parade.
Dawn Robinson, a 1981 graduate of South Gwinnett High School who was working in one of the World Trade Center towers during the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, will sing the National Anthem.
There will be elected officials, beauty queens and the ever-popular “Skate Man.” But there are other stories that might not be heralded on banners or marked in the program.
Here’s a couple:
When the Snellville Middle School band passes by, you might want to notice the woman walking beside them. This will be the 27th Snellville Days Parade for Donna Pendergast, Snellville Middle School band director. It also will be her last as director of the band.
Ms. Pendergast, who has been at the middle school for 29 years (She’s been teaching for 32!), is retiring at the end of this school year. She conducted her last middle school concert earlier this week.
I can’t begin to imagine how many students and family members she has influenced in all of those years. My family is among them, with two of my three children studying music under her.
Ms. Pendergast said she missed only two of the last 29 annual parades — those because she attended the Georgia Music Educators Association All-State Band event in Savannah. The rest, however, have been an annual staple in her and her band members’ lives.
“The most memorable moment was the year one of the motorcycle riders in the parade fell and was injured during the parade,” she said. The rider was not seriously hurt, but the incident required the band to move to one side of the road for a fire truck, then immediately move to the other side to make way for the ambulance.
“The students kept marching and playing and never missed a beat,” she said. “It did make things exciting for a while.”
Two young women who studied under Ms. Pendergast are the subjects of another story reflected in the parade. You’ll find Allison (Allie) Rikard leading the South Gwinnett High School Band of Stars. Her younger sister, Abbey, will be leading the Snellville Middle School band. (You might notice the resemblance!)
The two drum majors — Allie, 18, and Abbey, 14 — are the daughters of Wayne and Susan Rikard of Snellville. Wayne Rikard is police chief for Gwinnett County Public Schools.
Allie, who has been drum major for two years, before which she played flute, is graduating this year and auditioning for the University of Georgia Redcoat Band.
Abbey, a trombone player, will be performing as drum major for the first time. She just recently earned the position in tryouts at the middle school and says “it’s harder than it looks,” marching backwards and conducting the band.
(Allie admitted to giving her sister a few helpful hints.)
The day will be a special one for the Rikard family because — despite the sisters’ shared interest in music — it will be the only time they can actually march in the same event, said Susan Rikard. Their four-year age difference keeps them in separate schools and separate bands.
Fellow band members have been kidding Allie about the event, she said.
“I think it’s kind of funny actually,” she said. “Some are calling it the Rikard parade.”
The theme of this year’s Snellville Days parade and festival is “A one-time event that has lasted 35 years.”
The slogan refers to the original plan for a single fund-raising event and how that has grown into a major annual tradition. But the slogan also provides unintended meaning.
Each year’s parade and festival is indeed a one-time event for some of its participants — setting the stage for special meaning and milestones in their lives.
We just don’t always notice it from the sidelines.
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Do you brake for snapping turtles?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Our mission on Sunday was to travel to Columbus, pick up my 83-year-old mom and then drive her to north Alabama to spend time with her newest great-grandchild.
I was driving her green Mercury Grand Marquis, traveling north on U.S. 280, a four-lane highway. My husband was following in our car so we could return to Gwinnett County Sunday night.
Just over a rise in the road near Harpersville, Ala., I saw a turtle - a BIG turtle. He was plodding across the first of two northbound lanes.
“Oh no! Someone’s going to hit him,” I said as I passed and then checked out the rear-view mirror.
“Should I stop? Should I go back? Where could I pull off? Was it too dangerous? Should I keep going?”
My thoughts raced, unlike the turtle, which miraculously had just been missed by a large pickup.
With my mother’s encouragement, I turned back at the next median break and again saw the turtle, with its moss-covered shell. He had reversed directions and was back in the median but almost ready to cross the two southbound lanes.
There was nowhere to safely pull off the side of the road — the emergency lanes were quite stingy.
I turned the car around again at the next median break, steered it off the road into the median and got out. Immediately I knew I had a job ahead. This was no little turtle that could easily be picked up and deposited across the road. This was a snapping turtle, more than a foot long, almost that wide, and he was glaring at me.
I pulled off my jacket and tried to use it to grab the turtle from the rear. It lunged; its mouth snapped, I screamed and let it go.
Luckily, my husband, who had seen me turn back and is familiar with my antics, had circled back and parked behind where my mother sat watching with interest. He got out and, using a pillowcase, tried to grab the critter. The turtle liked my husband no better than me, lunging and snapping, even hissing.
Some cars slowed, and one stopped, the driver marveling at the size of the creature.
“He’s a monster,” he said. “Never seen anything like him.”
Other cars whizzed by.
Finally, my husband was able to get a grip from behind and carried the hefty, unhappy turtle across the southbound lanes. He had to contend with claws on the reptile’s spinning hind legs, but he maneuvered the creature way down a steep incline.
We choose to think that the turtle had had enough of the highway and being manhandled and didn’t repeat his stunt. We choose to think he’s back and happy in turtledom.
We know what we did was not smart. Our bodies or our cars (including the one in which my mom waited, thoroughly entertained) could have been hit - even though they were off the roadway. Other drivers could have been distracted.
On the other hand, none of that happened, and we (hopefully) were able to help.
What do you do when you see a creature in distress on the highway?
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Goodbye four-way stop
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The colorful little flags beside North Road in Snellville mark more than the location of utilities. They are signs of further change for the mostly residential corridor that has been overtaken by heavy, cut-through traffic.
Gwinnett County Department of Transportation is preparing to replace the legendary four-way stop at North Road and Pinehurst Road with a traffic light. (Is that cheering I hear?) Left turn lanes will be added to all approaches, and — depending on what research shows - right turn lanes may also be provided.
Right now, consultants are studying the area and collecting data. Construction will occur in 2009, probably in spring or summer, said Alan Chapman, deputy director of Gwinnett Department of Transportation.
Traffic counts taken in 2006 and 2007 show that 14,000 vehicles passed through the four-way stop daily, said Chapman, who manages the DOT’s capital program. He suspects the numbers are higher now.
“That’s a lot of cars for an intersection with a four-way stop,” Chapman said. He said a traffic signal may be needed whenever you get above 10,000 to 12,000 vehicles.
Motorists who travel North or Pinehurst know what he’s talking about. Backups are common at the intersection, particularly in afternoon rush hours when vehicles pour off of Ronald Reagan Parkway onto two-lane Pinehurst. Pinehurst not only connects with North Road in Snellville, but also serves as a route to the Grayson area.
Almost $1.5 million in Special Local Option Sales Tax funds has been set aside for the project, Chapman said.
North Road, which parallels U.S. 124 (Scenic Highway), has long been used by drivers trying to avoid the congestion of the main highway. That traffic and the continued commercialization of Scenic Highway caused some North Road homeowners to ask the city a year ago to change the corridor’s zoning from residential to commercial so they can sell their property for a reasonable price.
Snellville City Planner Jason Thompson said city officials are still considering what North Road’s future should be as they work out Snellville’s comprehensive plan and look at the possibility of special designations for the area.
Regardless of what is decided, that future will include at least one more traffic light. There are no funded plans to replace the remaining four-way stops on North Road with signals, Chapman said.
Just how much relief the new signal will provide is difficult to say until the traffic study is complete, Chapman said. But generally signals can bring service that is graded as a “D” or “C” up to an “A” or “B,” he said.
What do you think? Do you prefer traffic signals to four-way stops? What other intersections would you like to see changed?
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When love begins with lemons …
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Becky Stein / Special
The recently reopened Chick-fil-A restaurant in Snellville hosted a 70th wedding anniversary party for Nelson and Flo McBride, two area residents and regulars at the restaurant. The McBrides were joined by their great grandaughter Macy Miller and 80 to 100 of their closest friends.
Ahhh Spring! The season of flowers, young romance, proms.
If you can get past the pollen you might find — as they say — “love is in the air. ”
So here’s a true love story— one that started with lemons. It has lasted more than 70 years.
Nelson McBride, 91, and his wife, Flo, 89, have lived in a brick ranch home in Snellville f or 21 years. (They spent 20 years before that in a home on U.S. 78 and 15 before that in DeKalb County.)
If you noticed a crowd Saturday at Snellville’s Chick-fil-A on U.S. 78, it was friends and family of the McBrides celebrating the couple’s 70th wedding anniversary - yes, 70th!
Nelson and Flo are regulars at the restaurant - so much so that everyone knows their designated booth, which was kept during a recent renovation of the restaurant. Restaurant operator Brad Spratte even hung a wall rack near the booth so Nelson would have a place to hang his hat. The party was Spratte’s idea and was given courtesy of the restaurant.
But back to the story.
It was September 1937. Nelson was a young man working at Curtiss Printing Co. in downtown Atlanta. Flo was young and single and hired as a proofreader — a job that required she read out loud. After a time, her voice got scratchy and her throat hurt.
She had heard that lemons would help and mentioned it to her supervisor. Nelson was asked to hop on his bicycle and pedal to the store for lemons.
Flo says she was always attracted by Nelson’s “happy disposition.”
“I worked on the second floor and I would see him. He was always laughing and carrying on a bunch of foolishness. And he sang all the time.”
Nelson, who is still quick to smile and laugh, said their first date was a double date, arranged because one of his friends wanted to go out with a friend of Flo’s. The friends didn’t hit it off, but Nelson and Flo did.
“The way he proposed was that if I could make us live on $15 a week, we’d get married,” Flo said. They married March 19, 1938, at the courthouse in Lawrenceville. But they kept their marriage a secret for more than three months, living separately until they could save money for a tiny apartment. The world had been through the Great Depression, after all.
The McBrides had five children — four sons and a daughter. Nelson continued at Curtiss Printing Co. as a purchasing agent until a heart attack in 1977 left him unable to work. Flo worked in the lunchroom at Indian Creek Elementary School in DeKalb County. Today they have 12 grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren.
The best times were the births of their children, Flo said. And they’ve had great friends all along the way. The worst times were when they lost loved ones, particularly the 1981 death of their middle son due to a brain aneurysm.
“There’s nothing, nothing, nothing that compares to losing a child,” she said. “A part of you is gone.”
These days, the McBrides enjoy going out to eat, spending time with friends and going to their church, White Oak Baptist on Martin Nash Road. (They also spend a lot of time going to doctors, too, Flo said, laughing.)
So for the obvious question: What’s the secret to a long marriage?
“It’s no secret of mine,” she said. “ … If you put God first in your life, everything else falls into place.”
Flo says she and Nelson never argued over or kept secrets about money, though they always have had to live frugally and budget carefully.
But they have occasionally disagreed, as she thinks most couples do.
“Anybody who says ‘we never had a cross word,’ well, I think that’s a bunch of bull.” she said.
Those who meet the McBrides might add a couple of other observations: they laugh — a lot — and are interested in other people. They stay active. And Nelson was quick to remember the details of when they started dating and how they met!
“They are a very special couple,” Spratte said. “They are a very loving couple … and they are fun to be around.”
And it all started with lemons.
Are there secrets to long marriages? What’s yours?
Permalink | Comments (23) | Post your comment | Categories: Susan Gast
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Maybe these organizations could find a reputable accountant (or a parent who is an accountant) who would provide a check in balance pro bono (that is what an organization I belonged to did). Require any checks written to have two signatures. Officers... read the full comment by Happy | Comment on Theft of booster funds leaves wide wake Read Theft of booster funds leaves wide wake
Dave, I in no way meant to disparage all booster clubs — in fact I said that the large majority are operated ethically by people who care and that many have strict financial controls. I currently help the band booster club at my son’s school... read the full comment by Susan Gast | Comment on Theft of booster funds leaves wide wake Read Theft of booster funds leaves wide wake
Susan, I wholeheartedly agree with your thoughts that these thefts are more than a “minor crime”. The lack of character in some people is very discouraging BUT there are many more that help to rebuild these programs and to... read the full comment by Mike Bennett | Comment on Theft of booster funds leaves wide wake Read Theft of booster funds leaves wide wake
I am one of those booster club parents who is certainly disheartened to hear about the thefts that took place by booster club members. I have two daughters that are in the band at their high school and I run the band concession stand during the football... read the full comment by Dave | Comment on Theft of booster funds leaves wide wake Read Theft of booster funds leaves wide wake