Name: Keith D. Jones ~~~~~~~~~~ Thu-Jul 24, 2008, 9:02 am - HHS Time
Class: 1976
City & State: as Vegas
E-mail
Message: Ok, I made a few calls yesterday to some local Hawthorne business's and got a very good response. I don't think it will be hard to find several sponsors for $5,000+ each. I do think it might be too late though for this year. Also, we need to have an event that is yearly. It should be one week of events that will bring in sponsors, ticket sales, merchandise sales, etc. But, doing things that happen all year round can take place too like selling things that can raise money (just like girl scout cookies do. ALL the money raised need to go into an account that is solely operated by someone we can trust and nothing can get into the hands of school or district personnel. They are obviously not doing something right.I think we can solicit for sponsors immediately and give them exposure at the school, city and other locations right away. We may also be able to get things going and money raised to at least have the later sports happen like baseball and the others. Having the distinction of some of the supporters as the "Official" sponsor of HHS or whatever will give them more exposure too. A website should be made strictly for HHS sports so people can go and get news and make donations. Everything has to be kept separate from all other activities and things from the school. Maybe CougarAid.com We need to get all the legal things we are allowed to do and make sure our fund raising efforts go towards what we are doing. We need to file for non-profit status too. All in all I do think we could raise more money than the district has ever given HHS. I also think once things start happening the district will come in with some dough. Also, applying for a federal or state grant could be something else that can be done. We need to put together a solid sponsorship package that explains everything we are doing (including the history of HHS sports) to raise money and what it will be used for. Corporate sponsorships can be "level-based" ranging from $1,000 to $25,000+ So it can be done. I can definitely help but I am really so busy with what I am doing. So first thing is to find out all the legal stuff. What is the minimal amount needed. once that is done get the non profit status. Then start putting together the Sponsorship Packages. Something to mull over

Name: Joyce Savisky ~~~~~~~~~~ Thu-Jul 24, 2008, 8:57 am - HHS Time
Maiden: Savisky
Class: 1962
City & State: La Mirada,Ca.
E-mail
Message: I think Cougarfest is a great idea, count me in!

Name: James Cicalese ~~~~~~~~~~ Thu-Jul 24, 2008, 8:24 am - HHS Time
Class: 1974
City & State: lakewood
E-mail
Message: Funny you should bring that up i was thinking of that. I think it could be fun. Cougars could bring things from their school days to share. I know it sounds like alot of work but we always depend on our government and as of late they are letting us down. To quote someone (ASK NOT WHAT YOUR COUNTRY CAN DO FOR YOU BUT WHAT CAN YOU DO FOR YOUR COUNTRY.) Sounds corny but we have to start believing in ourselves again. I always hear you can't do that, or its not our problem, then whose problem is it?

Name: James Cicalese ~~~~~~~~~~ Thu-Jul 24, 2008, 7:03 am - HHS Time
Class: 1974
City & State: lakewood ca
E-mail
Message: I have been following feedback this last week and have been debating if I should bring up an idea I mentioned last year. When I saw Keiths comment I thought why not. It is late to do it this year but it could be done next. We should have a Cougarfest. One day a year set aside to raise money for Cougartown and Hawthorne High. The day would start with a pancake breakfast move on to a car show and ending that evening with a concert. There would be booths from each year from Hawthorne showing what happened that year. We can have booths for food and all things Cougar. We would solicit donations for the food items and etc. All proceeds from breakfast and food vendors and ticket sales for concert would go to Hawthorne High. If anyone would be interested in forming a group to get this started just email me.

Name: Dan Johnson ~~~~~~~~~~ Wed-Jul 23, 2008, 4:00 pm - HHS Time
Class: 1977
City & State: Sherman Oaks
E-mail
Message: Thanks Omar, but I had a very small part in it -- the real thanks go to Jill McFarland and Dennis Kilory! Steely Dan tonight! Aja, when all my dime dancin in through . . .

Name: Jim Murphy ~~~~~~~~~~ Wed-Jul 23, 2008, 8:53 am - HHS Time
E-mail
Message: Hello Cougar Alumni -- I am writing a book about the very early days of the Beach Boys when they were just getting started in Hawthorne. It will be a very positive look at the band. I would appreciate hearing from any Cougars who have remembrances of the Wilson brothers (Brian, Dennis, and Carl), and Al Jardine. If you would like to share your recollections, please contact me at bfinkmurphy@yahoo.com. Thank you for your assistance and cooperation. Jim

Name: Raymond Smith ~~~~~~~~~~ Wed-Jul 23, 2008, 8:06 am - HHS Time
Class: 1981
City & State: Portland, OR
E-mail
Message: Keith Jones, I like your idea! Especially the part where you said keep the money out of the greedy hands and strictly keep in in the Sports dept. (since they can't manage the money right). If something has to get done now is the time to do it. With less than 30 days (I think) before school sports starts it's a wonder how this would be pulled off in short time. HHS is a landmark of great traditons and let's keep it that way. I for one am not only in for it for the school but for the kids as well. They look up to us as "Examples" and maybe we can pull something good out of it. All of the Athletes can volunteer and help set up the stage, chairs and so forth to contribute their work. Keep HHS, LHS and Leuzinger H.S. in your prayers.

Name: Tracy Turner ~~~~~~~~~~ Wed-Jul 23, 2008, 12:10 am - HHS Time
Class: 1978
City & State: Hawthorne, Ca
E-mail
Message: Please Checkout this link: Class of 1978 Reunion is just a few weeks away. (Open to all classes) More information here . Rock On!!

Name: Keith D. Jones ~~~~~~~~~~ Tue-Jul 22, 2008, 5:35 pm - HHS Time
Class: 1976
City & State: Las Vegas
E-mail
Message: Well it sounds like we need 'Cougaraid 2008" So many ways tomake money. I know a huge thing would be if Brian Wilson could do a benefit concert. That is shooting for the sky but man would that bring in the dough. Do it on the football field one night. Holy macrel that would bring a huge amount of donations and press. Instantly! Also any money raised should be kept away from any of the people involved with the past finances. A separate escrow account in the name of HHS Sports Dept. A lot of successful people come from HHS. Maybe Eddie Braun can organize a stunt show before the concert. $60,000 or whatever is not a hard thing to do if you find some good sponsors too. Imagine how much Coca Cola or whoever would pay to be the official drink of Brians concert. A lot of local business's owe HHS for putting and keeping them in business. Getting a $1,000 of these places is not impossible. Organize a huge luncheon or breakfast and get most everything donated. This is for a good cause and the city business's will arise to it if you approach them right.

Name: Omar Azze ~~~~~~~~~~ Tue-Jul 22, 2008, 1:34 pm - HHS Time
Class: 1977
City & State: Miami, FL
E-mail
Message: To Danny Johnson, sorry it has taken me so long to thank you for putting together our class re-union last June. You did a great job! I can't say enough of your great effort.

Name: Howard "Paco" Duran ~~~~~~~~~~ Tue-Jul 22, 2008, 12:50 pm - HHS Time
Class: 1961
City & State: Lake Forest
E-mail
Message: Neil, that was a Saipan...

Name: Jessie ~~~~~~~~~~ Tue-Jul 22, 2008, 11:56 am - HHS Time
Maiden: Corral
Class: 1974
City & State: Los Angeles, CA
E-mail
Message: I'm just wondering...do they still have a music program at HHS? It always seems the music/arts and athletic depts get hit when the schools need money elsewhere. I just saw a bumper sticker the other day that said something along the lines of..."won't it be nice when schools can have all the money they want and the Air Force will have to have a bake sale for a new bomber".

Name: Neil Andersen ~~~~~~~~~~ Tue-Jul 22, 2008, 11:30 am - HHS Time
Class: 1962
City & State: Dallas, OR
E-mail
Message: "STIPEND" great word useage John. I remember I got a "stipend" when I was first shanghai'd and had to row that boat from Portugal to the free world and back. Man, that was a long time ago.

Name: Clark Millman ~~~~~~~~~~ Tue-Jul 22, 2008, 11:14 am - HHS Time
Class: 1976
City & State: Torrance, CA
E-mail
Message: John Crotty: John, I've been an assistant track coach in the South Bay for 28 years now starting with 80-81-82 at HHS. Usually the head coaches are on faculty at the schools but very few educators are qualified to coach in this day and age. I have never been on the faculty and I have coached at HHS, Bishop, West, South and Torrance. At least in track the athletes buy their uniforms and pay a "transportation fee" to cover the skyrocketing costs of bus transportation. The times they are a changing!

Name: Jodi Weishaar ~~~~~~~~~~ Tue-Jul 22, 2008, 10:11 am - HHS Time
Maiden: Wilbanks
Class: 1976
City & State: Torrance CA
E-mail
Message: I don't mean to be negative either, that's not my intention. Here's what I know as far as what costs are incurred - of course, I can only speak for baseball. Yes, the "head coach" does get a small stipend from the school/district. He/she in turn can choose to pay any assistant coaches. My sons senior year, the coach did not have the money to pay the JV assistant coach. So, the $400 I had raised running a snack stand during the season was given to this coach as payment. Not all baseball coaches are teachers at the school, the only baseball coach that is a teach is Jeff Hines. I agree, the monies given to the sports program from the district does go to pay for busses, field equipment, coaches, etc. What I want to know is what sport pays for laundry? I know for fact the baseball team (or girls soccer) didn't have that luxury!! I'm sorry, but I also have to give my opinion on the 2.0 GPA issue. Realistically, a 2.0 is not hard to obtain if you at least try. I can't tell you how many players we lost every year due to grades. There were even times when teachers would be out at the field on "semester grade day" to let the players know if they were eligible or not. There were many times when both the Varsity and JV coaches weren't certain as to whether or not they were going to be able to field a team. It's really sad...I know that for some players sports is their motivation to make good grades, and I think that is awesome! But, as Robin said in his post, we can raise all the money we want but if the kids aren't willing to keep up the grades then we may lose teams anyways. Last year there was no Frosh/Soph baseball team due to grades and lack of interest. Again, don't get me wrong, I am willing to do what is necessary to keep ALL SPORTS at HHS, we just need to make sure that the school administration as well as the players/parents do their share! Okay, i'll let it go now...I'm not being negative...just concerned...

Name: Richard ~~~~~~~~~~ Tue-Jul 22, 2008, 9:08 am - HHS Time
Class: 1969
City & State: of LongBeach
No E-mail
Message: Don't you know Football Fields are for band practice and half time shows (Funky Winkerbean)? Cutting the sports program has the trickle down effect, of cutting other programs (marching band, drill team, chearleaders, song queens, print shop printing game programs). Without all these traditional team (and spirit) building programs, might as well say we graduated from no name high. And these programs are what molded the Beach Boys, and other recognized HHS alums! As it takes a community to raise a child, it should take a community to raise this money. Whether it is spaghetti dinners, car washes, music concerts, selling candy door to door (in the band we sold tooth brushes, and light bulbs door to door); let us all come together to accomplish this. Yes, I could donate $200, and that would be a drop in the bucket, but take that $200 and buy the fixens for a spaghetti dinner, and we could net over $1000, and build spirit at the same time. While some of HHS's teams may have been performing dismally, maybe because a large part of the program was just provided to them, these fund raisings could be the spirit infusion into them to create winning teams. My 3 cents worth.

Name: Mary Ann Martin ~~~~~~~~~~ Tue-Jul 22, 2008, 8:40 am - HHS Time
Maiden: Walton
Class: 1961
City & State: Nashville AR
E-mail
Message: I'm fortunate to live in a giving community of 5,000 city and 10,000 overall county population. Whatever the need, the money's raised - public tv, a special needs school, medical, fire burn outs, etc. Sportswise, our Booster Club's done a phenomenal job year-in-and-year-out for many decades. Corporate and personal memberships, spirit items and tees pay the way for all the extras for all sports. NHS's earned many state titles in both senior and junior high and the tradition of championship rings for coaches, athletes, managers and cheerleaders has gotten expensive. Last spring, the Booster Club sponsored a $20 per person fundraiser dinner/auction. Over $40,000 was donated that night. Small or large items contributed were unbelievable -the most sought after being a reserved parking space next to the stadium entrance gate - $575!!! Coaches and athletes assisted the auctioneer, while cheerleaders served the meal. It was a blast! Perhaps something like this could work with a possible Brian/Al participation - with tons of publicity, this venture couldn't fail! Wish I was there to be a part of any project.

Name: John Crotty ~~~~~~~~~~ Mon-Jul 21, 2008, 6:55 pm - HHS Time
Class: 1969
City & State: Hermosa Beach
E-mail
Message: I may be wrong here regarding the sports crises that looms over HHS, so correct me if this is the case. When I played, all the coaches were members of the HHS faculty. I think I read somewhere that today, HHS hires coaches who are NOT faculty, but have some specialized skills or experience for each particular sport involved, so maybe the "pay to play" factor has something to do with that. Anyone know for certain?