West Henderson’s fourth annual Drawdown fundraiser will start Saturday, March 30 at 6 p.m. in the cafeteria and auditorium.
All proceeds will go to all athletic programs at West; participants choose which sport to give 10 percent of their ticket price to.
The ticket to go to the Drawdown costs $100, which pays for two Outback steak dinners. There are 300 tickets available.
The first place prize is $4,000, the second place prize is $1,000 and the third place prize is $500. Other prizes include $100 for every 50th ticket, and door prizes are given to anyone who is not in the top three, which can include water bottles, shirts, hats and other products that have been donated. Everyone who bought a ticket walks away with a prize from the Drawdown.
Athletic Director Jeff Smith, coaches from all sports and the Booster Club are in charge of the Drawdown. The top three coach sellers are wrestling coach Mike Connelly, softball coach Dana Braznell and assistant football coach Jason Livingston.
Connelly sold 23 tickets for the wrestling program this year. Connelly said he sells the tickets by communicating with the parents and the program, making phone calls and going to door to door.
“I’m a West alum, so I love West Henderson High School and all athletics here,” Connelly said. “I want to see all athletics succeed, so whatever I can do to make the school better I’ll do.”
Booster Club helps with preparing food, setting tables and training helpers to be servers.
“We try to make sure it’s top notch, high quality, and people enjoy the evening,” Booster Club leader Kelly Littauer said.
If all 300 tickets are sold, the Drawdown will raise approximately $20,000 for the athletic programs.
“Our philosophy is trying to fix safety concerns first,” Smith said. “Issues that will impact the majority of athletes are kind of on our priority list; once those are taken care of, then we start working down towards major items that need to be renovated.”
This year, the proceeds will be prioritized toward renovating the weight room and constructing a permanent softball outfield fence. In the past, funds have helped make the gym sound system wireless, fix the baseball sound system and add wall padding in the gyms.
“I look forward to helping our school and getting money for our athletic programs because I run winter and spring track, and we look forward to getting new equipment,” junior Steven Davis said. “I throw discus and shot put, and the money from the Drawdown really helps our track program.”
By: Nicholas Boyer, Feature Writer
