For more information, contact Michael Dawes, 620-792-9307, dawesm@bartonccc.edu

Jan. 20, 2010
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Story by: Michael Dawes
dawesm@bartonccc.edu

A month before the first classes began at Barton Community College more than 40 years ago, the Cougar Booster Club formed in support of the College’s first student-athletes, who had yet to arrive on campus. The club organized in August 1969, when 25 area men gathered in a lecture hall on the newly built college campus to plan support for men’s basketball, men’s track and field, men's golf and women's tennis, the only four athletic programs at Barton for the few years.

Barton coaches Dick Nagy (basketball) and Jack Bowman (track and field) outlined the operation and function of booster clubs at other colleges. So began the club that ultimately became the gold standard of athletic support throughout the community college ranks from the 1970s through the 1990s. Rival coaches regularly expressed their good-natured envy at the grass-roots booster support Barton had for its programs. While other all-star basketball games fell flat, Barton’s annual all-star basketball games packed the gymnasium with fans and college coaches alike, who were eager to see the top Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference talent of the day competing with and against one another in the same venue.

“All the schools came in here and wanted to know how to get a booster club as active as ours,” said original member Gene Potts, who was named Booster of The Year in 1992 for his active support of the Club.

The Cougar Booster Club’s activism and accomplishments was hard to match. Those original boosters had ownership in their program because they built, molded and expanded the program right alongside the growing College. The initial focus of the Booster Club was to raise money to finance athletic scholarships and to assist in locating jobs and housing for student-athletes.

After organizing, the following month the Club elected officers and formed committees in the areas of student-athlete employment, housing and basketball tickets. There was no housing at Barton during the College’s first eight years of operation. Too, Jayhawk Conference rules at the time prohibited colleges from funding out-of-state scholarships, thus, that responsibility rested on the Cougar Booster Club to immediately fund-raise in order to offer scholarship aid to out-of-state athletes.

“The group that was there when I first started working at the College, the Booster Club was really their life,” said Dana Foss, who last summer ended 34 years as athletic department secretary at Barton. “There was no hesitation about, ‘Can you do this? Yes I can do that. Will you do that? Of course I will do that.’ It was an active group. They genuinely cared about the College and wanted to make it better. They helped wherever they could.”

“Nine times out of 10, you didn’t have to ask; they just volunteered,” added David Foss, Dana’s husband, who ‘inherited’ a large role in the Booster Club when the couple married in 1981. He earned “Booster of the Year” for his involvement in 1991.

The Club held annual membership drives to sell basketball season tickets and club memberships. The drive was kicked off with a well-attended breakfast each year. Along with their regular meetings, the Club hosted an annual meet-the-athletes picnic and an organized a popular golf tournament; they held Saturday breakfast meetings during pre-conference home tournaments during basketball season and invited visiting basketball coaches to speak to the crowd, as well as the Cougar coaches. And as the athletic programs expanded over the years, Club members helped host volleyball tournaments, along with hosting several sub-regional and regional events in baseball, volleyball and track and field. They also traveled far and wide to support the various teams, and over the years, many served as host families or sponsors to student-athletes.

“We went everywhere and did everything with the programs, said Gene’s wife, Dee Potts. “It wasn’t just games; we attended scrimmages and shoot-arounds and we’d travel every year to scrimmages against KU and K-State.”

Gene even helped on recruiting trips with Cougar women’s basketball coaches. He also was instrumental in helping the Booster Club raise funds for program enhancements, such as putting in new seats in the Barton Gymnasium in the mid 1990s. The efforts by him and fellow Club members are what help make Barton a competitive option for student-athletes when Cougar coaches hit the recruiting trail.

“Student-athletes want to be recognized, spoken to and appreciated,” said Gene. “The Booster Club helps provide that atmosphere for them. We enjoyed what we did for the students and for our coaches.”

Because of other commitments and a change of pace with lifestyle, the Pottses have recently backed away from playing as large a role in the Club, although they continue to be members. They don’t attend road basketball games, as they did for many years, and this season, they missed their first home basketball game in 41 seasons. But their long-term efforts continue to benefit the organization as other members assume integral roles in the Booster Club.

“It’s the natural progression of organizations,” said current Board vice president Alan Crowther, who has been a member for more than two decades and has served on the Booster Board the past three years.

Though the Booster Club isn’t involved with selling season tickets any longer, Crowther said members are still active, helping with ‘Meet the Cougars’ each fall and with the athletic banquet held in the spring. The Club also partners with Barton’s Cheer Squad to fund-raise during home basketball games as a way to continue supporting athletic program enhancements. And they continue the annual tradition of hosting the Larry Zinn Memorial Golf Tournament.

“Being involved through family, I’ve always known that core group of Boosters and they have always known me,” explained Crowther, whose mother-in-law is Dana Foss. “It’s very rewarding to carry their work forward in helping as much as we possibly can.”

Booster Club president Lori Slater knows about carrying on that legacy. She and Dr. Bill Slater have been members for 15 years and have served as host family for student-athletes who hail from as far away as Africa and England, and as close as their home state of Kansas. They’ve taken a break from that role this year as they focus on helping to take Great Bend Regional Hospital through its first year of operation. The Slaters were honored two years ago as recipients of the 2007-08 Booster of the Year award for their support for Barton’s athletic programs.

“We’re involved now as time allows,” said Slater, whose family’s favorite sporting events are basketball, baseball and volleyball. “We really like sports and it’s something for us to do as a family. Housing student-athletes has been really good for J.B. (the Slater’s middle-school-age son) more than anything. Those are diversity experiences he wouldn’t get otherwise.”

All past and present Booster Club members have an opportunity to unite Jan. 30 at the Barton Gymnasium during Booster Club Recognition Night, which coincides with women’s and men’s basketball games against Pratt. At halftime of the men’s basketball game, the Booster Club will recognize its Boosters of the Year as well as honor the College’s past “Hall of Fame” inductees, explained Dana, who is organizing the event.

“I want the people now to realize what some of these people did do for so many years,” said Dana. “It’d be great for the people involved now to meet some of these people and learn how it all started and how it all came together over time. That experience may even inspire someone to get involved.”

First Come, First Serve – At its second meeting, Sept. 15, 1969, Archie Lindholm was elected as the Club’s first chairman. Larry Schugart became vice president, and Jack Bowman was named secretary-treasurer. Others on the first board were Larry Marker, Bud Bollman and Bob Oliver. Membership Committee co-chairs were Loren Pease and Earl Phillips. Housing Committee chairman was Jim Thurman; Employment Committee chairman was Bob Reiter; and Tickets Committee chair was Dick Lohmuller.

Booster of the Year Recipients – Harlan Spatz, 1980; *Dr. Jimmie Downing, 1981 and 1995; *George Donley, 1983; Jerry Brendinger, 1984; Delbert and Betty Sloan, 1985; *Jimmy Lawson, 1986 and 1988; *Don Gibson, 1987; *Larry Zinn, 1989; Bob and Sharon Engle, 1990; David Foss, 1991; Gene Potts, 1992; Rufus Fimple, 1993; Bud and Lois Wolfe, 1994; Nancy Sundahl, 1996; J.B. Webster, 1997; Mike Johnson, 1998; Ron Mason, 1999; Tom Stickney, 2000; Marmie Motors, 2001; Doug Panning, 2002; Mike Niedens, 2003; Sacha Sanguinetti, 2004; *Wayne Becker, 2005; Todd Moore, 2006; Dr. Bill and Lori Slater, 2007; Larry Zinn Memorial Golf Tournament, 2008.

*Asterisks designate recipients who are deceased.