Volunteers welcome to support school sports programs

By Murray Bishoff Special to the Monett Monthly

The mission and upcoming plans of the Monett Athletic Booster Club were shared with the Monett Historical Society for its meeting on Aug. 18. 

Sean Kelley, current Monett Athletic Booster Club president, spoke about the storied history of the organization. Kelley served an earlier stint in the job in 2016-2017. The organization began as the Monett Quarterback Club around 1960. According to stories around The Monett Times office, Dick Brady, who served as the newspaper’s sportswriter since 1954, started the club and served as its first president. Kelley credited Jack Kelley, a past Monett High School standout athlete, with early leadership in the group. 

Eventually, the group changed its name. Former coach Jerry Hudson commented he thought the name changed around 1984 in an effort to offer a broader umbrella than just football. Rod Anderson speculated the change was pushed by federal Title 9 introducing women’s sports in public schools. 

“[High school athletes] weren’t playing for themselves,” Kelley said. “They were playing for pride, for their community.” 

In that same spirit, the Boosters rose to support the athletes, raising money to help the programs and the coaches in their mission. Today the Athletic Booster Club is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization. 

“The heart never changed,” Kelley said. “It’s always been to help Monett kids.”

Sports events left a memorable mark in the community, especially milestones. Kelley recalled the state football championships and the state softball title. More than that, he stressed the atmosphere, especially walking as a teen to Burl Fowler Stadium before a game, tailgate parties in the parking lot, seeing teachers gathered together, John Cheary leading the band. 

“It was a neat, fun experience,” Kelley said. “I recall the experience, if not the game.” 

A big part of the Athletic Booster Club’s role has been running the concession stand, initially at football games but now also at other contests. 

“I thought this all just happened,” Kelley said. “I found there’s more to it, buying food all week, staffing the concession stands. It takes lots of volunteers. We could always use more. None of this just happens. It’s hard. We do it because we love our kids.” 

In the past 10 years, the Athletic Booster Club, according to Kelley, raised $283,000 that has gone back into the school program. Community groups and school clubs, in addition to the Boosters, have provided labor for the concession sales. In return, they receive a portion of the proceeds. In 10 years, that has added up to $105,000 going back to those groups.

Kelley observed some of the notable contributions from the Boosters have included $18,000 toward turf on the baseball field at North Park, $15,000 toward softball improvements, high school lockers, $6,000 for golf simulators, and a pole vault stand. The Boosters have made it possible for students to make trips. 

“That’s not to say the [school] district doesn’t have money,” Kelley said. “The district provides. There’s always going to be what we have to provide and what we’d love to provide, things that are not budgeted for. The Booster Club says, ‘What can we do to figure it out’ and make it happen.”

Kelley emphasized that selling hamburgers alone will not pay for all of what the Booster Club tries to do. Businesses provide projects and volunteers. He noted the town’s long association with Easley’s Dr. Pepper left a lasting memory and remains the most popular drink sold. 

“That’s part of Monett,” he said. “We need those individuals. It’s thousands of small acts that eventually becomes $283,000. Supporting our kids never stops. It’s what makes Monett great. It isn’t a finish line. Isn’t that the job of the community?”

Kelley noted the Booster Club tries to do more than maintain the programs, and hopes to make them better. He would love to find something exciting to stimulate interest in the basketball program, like the time Jackie Stiles and the Missouri State Lady Bears played an exhibition game in Monett in the late 1990s. 

Kelley recalled that years ago, he talked to then Monett school superintendent Dr. Charles Cudney about what it would take to get artificial turf at Monett’s football field. 

Cudney responded, “The first time we hear Mt. Vernon is getting turf, we will get turf. Then, years later, Mt. Vernon got turf. Jack Fox called me. Four weeks later, we had turf. Jack got it done.”

Other big ideas on the table now include an indoor practice facility, proposed by Ben Mauk, Monett’s current head football coach. Kelley admitted that is a big undertaking, but not out of reach. “If we don’t have dreams, it’s not going to get done,” he said. 

Likewise, Kelley would like to see a competition track behind Monett’s middle school so students aren’t running three blocks from the high school to Burl Fowler Stadium after classes adjourn. 

Joining the Booster Club is open to individual memberships, starting at $50, and comes with a season pass. Business sponsorships are also available. 

“The Booster Club is very dear to my heart,” Kelley said. “The school provides. We provide more, making Monett a great place.”

The Monett Historical Society hosts a monthly meeting at the Monett Museum’s Events Center at 422 East Broadway. The next meeting will be at 7 p.m. on Sept. 15 and will feature the second presentation of Monett’s caves, led by enthusiasts promoting further exploration.