I played golf with three friends today. We have a standing bet and the guy who wins the money usually buys the beer after our round. Today that guy was me. I won $10.00.
As we were having lunch we started telling tales. All were based upon fact and we discussed a multitude of topics. Buying the beer took me back to a time when the kids were still in high school. (It’s not what you think.)
Elizabeth and Michael were both in the high school band in Addison. Elizabeth played the flute and Michael played the trombone. During their tenure Addison’s band grew in numbers and reputation. The band made several trips to wonderful destinations. They marched over the Mackinac Bridge as a part of the annual Labor Day Celebration, played in Myrtle Beach, Colonial Williamsburg, and Washington D.C., marched in Holland Michigan’s Tulip Festival Parade, and played during halftime of the Florida Gator Bowl . It was an honor to be selected as well as being a good time for the participants.
Activities like this cost a lot of money. While performing was a prestigious adventure, each participant was required to cover his own expenses for travel, housing, meals, and excursions. The final bill was several hundred dollars per individual. The band boosters held fund-raisers to help lower the cost for everyone. Sometimes the revenue was divided equally among the band members and other times members were awarded a “share” of the proceeds from a project. “Shares” could be earned by parents as well as the students themselves and were awarded based upon the number of hours that volunteers worked. For example: If an activity raised $500.00 and twenty-five students worked an equal number of hours on the project, each was awarded a “share” worth $20.00. If a parent was a part of the twenty-five volunteers on the project he earned the $20.00 for his child. The more the student and his parents worked, the more money they earned. The system worked well.
The president of the band boosters during those years was a lady named Bev. She worked hard and had wonderful organizational skills. She sought out fund-raising activities with a high rate of return for the hours worked. Dividing the proceeds from a project equally among band members was straight forward. Keeping track of hours worked, and “shares” earned, was a more challenging task. But she did it.
The most profitable fund-raiser for the band was working at the local speedway. During Elizabeth and Michael’s time in the band, the speedway held three races each summer. Two of the races were sponsored by NASCAR and one featured Indy type race cars. Tens of thousands of racing fans attended each event requiring thousands of hours of volunteer time. The band boosters manned a concession stand during each of the three race week-ends, and on race day they ran a beer tent. The boosters earned a share of the concessions sold on each day.
Ruth and I volunteered to help during some of the races and earned a “share” for either Elizabeth or Michael. The kids worked as well so each event became a family business partnership.
My favorite assignment was the beer tent. During my training Bev explained the way that beer was accounted for during each event. “They don’t count how many kegs we go through. They count how many cups we use. We are required to pay for each cup. The number of used cups determines what payment we are required to submit to the concessionaires.” She went on to explain that if we found the opportunity for someone to reuse a cup, we should go for it. So we did.
A beer sold for $7.00 and we sold a refill for $4.00. We put the funds from the refill in the tip jar and all of the proceeds went to support the band.
NASCAR fans were avid beer drinkers. They acted and dressed differently than the Indy car fans. NASCAR fans wore blue jeans and cut offs. Indy car fans wore khaki slacks and polo shirts. While we appreciated the opportunity to serve both groups, we made more money when the NASCAR fans were in town. They partied harder and longer than their counterparts. They were more fun to speak with and I enjoyed the banter that developed during our colorful conversations.
At the conclusion of one race a fan approached the beer tent, emptied his blue jean pockets, produced several wadded up bills, and asked, “How much money do I have?”
I carefully opened each bill, pressed it with my hand to flatten it, and counted out the bills one at a time.
“You’ve got $19.00”
“Ok, give me $19.00 worth of beer. I came here with $300.00 to spend and I’m spending $300.00”
An Indy car fan wouldn’t have done that.