2019 has been a very successful year for the Booster Club thus far.  Here is an update of what has been going on:

MEMBERSHIP DRIVE

Our annual member drive is sent out at the beginning of each year.  This year we have received $25,360, which has surpassed our 2018 goal by 20%.  And there are additional donations still being received!   Each $100 donation earned a  “LOVE THE LAKE ….MOVING FORWARD” tee shirt, 2019 colored gray.  We have emailed donors, yet there are still some who have not claimed their shirts-please contact me at mbhilpoa@gmail.com to make arrangements to get the membership shirts you ordered.  We ordered extra shirts to sell at Family Reunion, they went very quickly, although there are some 2XL sizes left for sale at the Marina.  We thank all those who donate each year and our new donators.  It is a fine way to help the Association bridge the gap between what is needed/wanted and what our dues pay for.  Any donations can be sent to Indian Hills Booster Club, 17 Indian Hills Drive, Cuba, MO. 65453, with Booster Club on the front of the envelope.

ACTIVITIES

We started the year with our popular Bunco night.  Just a fun evening, neighbors getting out and getting together during the winter.  Music at the Marina – May 31 was a great success.  The DuBois’, Brakefields, McGuirks, Walkers and Rohal’s got together and planned/executed a free event focused on bringing the community together.  The music was Gavin M – and all enjoyed a beautiful night.  Family Reunion, June 15th was an incredible success and will be summarized below.  We have been brainstorming about future events.  If you have some ideas of what you would like to see, please contact me or attend a Booster Club Meeting.

ELECTRONIC SIGN

A very visible project sponsored by the Booster Club has been the electronic sign at the Community Center.  In the spring, with member Kevin Newbern’s help, we upgraded the software on the sign.  We paid for this upgrade by selling advertisements to local vendors.  The right side of the sign is vendor’s advertisements, the left side is the current IH news/announcements and member’s ads.  Please make sure you slow down, read the sign and support these Premier sponsors so that we can encourage future ads.  The Premier sponsors are also listed on ILPOA’s new website.  We also allow Members to rent space on the sign.  You can wish your friends and family a Happy Birthday, Anniversary, Welcome, etc.! The fee for this is $25 for a simple ad for three days.  The software is limited, so any additional work needed for a slide could cost up to $45/three days.  Call me at 314 713 2172 or email me at mbhilpoa@gmail.com if you wish to rent an ad.  A special thanks to Mike Schaefer who has become our sign guru. 

FAMILY REUNION

The 2019 Family Reunion outshined all of our expectations.  The members of the Booster Club really went all out and worked tirelessly to make this a very successful event!  We tried some new things, an on-line auction, lunch with the Eberle’s, taking credit cards, a bakery, etc. along with the tried and true Hitzeman lunch, silent auction, golf, malts, etc.-it was all fantastic!  We had outside vendors approach us wanting to participate.  The Ladies Aux started us out the night before with an incredible Ice Cream Social that set the family tone for the rest of the Reunion.  The Rt 66 Parrot Head Club brought musician Dave Bennett and a tiki bar for the afternoon.  Sheriff Layman was there along side the Neighborhood Watch booth to talk with our members.  The kids activities included games, water races and a fire truck and pumper.  The Eberle boys did their golf tournament.  150 people bought the Limited 2019 Love the Lake Commemorative Sunglasses.  The center of the activity was the Auction.  Our members bid on various donated baskets, tickets, bikes, quilts, games etc.  Special thanks to Laurie Kraft who led the auction and made it an unbelievable success!  What a great way to bring this community together.  There were times that it was difficult to walk around in the Community Center as it was so well attended, even during the Blues parade, which was playing on the tv!  Thank you to every Booster Club Member who worked so hard, thank you to every person that donated to the auction, and thank you to every IH member that attended and supported the Family Reunion.  We took in $10,865.70 for the event, and after expenses – we netted $8,262.18!! 

APPROVED PROJECTS

So we work hard to bring in money, where does the money go?  Here is a list of approved projects thus far in 2019:

*New bigger, brighter Street Signs to replace the old, faded street signs. 

• Stocking the lake with fish

• New Tires for Maintenance Vehicles

• Installation of a New Water Softener at the Community Center

• New Backpack Blower And Weed Eater

• Speed Signs/Barricades

• $1500 towards outfitting the Water Patrol Boat

• Phase II of Street Sign Replacement

• Two Way Radios for Association

• Brush Hog attachment

The members of the Booster Club meet monthly to discuss and vote on how we will allocate the money.

There has been an incredible amount of donations since the inception of the Booster Club.  Between the years of 2005 though 2016, approximately $60k was donated for too many items to list.  Some donations in recent years include the security cameras at the front entrance, a copy machine at the office, Corporate Embosser, etc.

Future projects being discussed:

• Landscaping/upgrades to the gate after hardscaping complete, upgrade to cameras – other security cameras in additional areas.

So there are great things going on at the Booster Club.  We are currently taking in 10% of the total income of Indian Hills.  Please consider joining us.  We work hard, but have a lot of FUN doing it!  We meet every third Saturday of the month at 9 am at the Community Center. 

Mary Beth Huffman

President Indian Hills Booster Club