MCPC Meeting

June 28, 2011

Present:

Jodi Abraham, Deana Ellison, Susan Stapleton, Linda Jones, Jenn Maaskant, Colene Bittone

Welcome and Introductions – Jodi Abraham

Jodi Abraham introduced herself as President of the Methacton Cheerleaders Parent Club, welcomed and thanked the parents for attending the 1^st Methacton Cheer Parents Club meeting of the 2011-2012 cheer year.

First order of business was to elect a recording secretary.  Jodi motioned to elect Colene Bittone, Deana seconded the motion and Jodi offered the election up for a vote which all were in favor.

Jodi introduced the following board members for the 2011-2012 Cheer Season:

            Sue Stapleton and Julia Alexander – Fundraising

            Linda Jones – Treasurer

            Jenn Maaskant – Secretary

            Colene Bittone – Recording Secretary

Meetings are held once a month, either on the 1^st or 2^nd Tuesday of each month, held in the Faculty Dining Room in Methacton HS to begin in October.  There may be a meeting scheduled for late August and, if so, will be relayed to all parents.

Summer payments are due June 20^th, July 15^th and August 10^th.  Jodi explained that it is crucial to submit these payments on time so as not to delay the ordering of essential uniform pieces and for reserving spots in future competitions.  This year will be a very big fundraising year in an effort to keep costs to a minimum.

Fundraising Report – Sue Stapleton

Currently we have 10 fundraisers planned for this year including the recent car wash held on 6/25 as follows:

Car Wash – July 23^rd (Individual fundraiser)

Pee Wee Cheer Camp – July 25^th – July 29^th (Individual fundraiser)

Car Wash – August 14^th

Yard Sale – August 27^th (drop off August 26^th)

Spirit Night at Elevation Burger – August (patrons must present a flyer for MCPC to receive credit)

Spirit Night at Chick Fil A – September

Pancake Breakfast at Applebees - October

Spirit Night at Tosco – November (possibility of having one each month)

Innsbrook Wrapping Paper - September

Plaza Flowers participates in ongoing community fundraising.  Whenever your order of flowers or gifts is above $34, you can enter referral code MCP onto your online order.  A portion of the proceeds will be applied to our cheer organization.

We are also trying to coordinate a mini cheer tournament but are currently having scheduling conflicts.  We will continue to work on the details and will update the board as the need arises.  If all works out, this tournament will take place this cheer year with the proceeds applied to next year’s general fund.

The fundraising team has tried to choose campaigns to generate the much needed money surrounding some type of meal, rather than directly ask for cash.  The more successful we are with fundraisers, the more we are able to offset costs and help our cheerleaders.  The money is used in various ways, from assisting each cheerleader with fees related to attending Nationals, to the end of year banquet, to competition fees to ordering a pizza lunch on choreography day.  All money raised goes to helping our cheerleaders and we need everyone’s help to make this fundraising year a success!

The deadline for corporate sponsors will be the end of the summer.  Remember, any corporate funding received will be credited directly to the individual cheerleader’s fee account.  All corporate sponsors will be listed on the Cheerleading page of the Methacton Sports website.  With a donation of $50 or more, their organization’s name will be printed on the back of the cheerleader’s practice t-shirts so we can proudly advertise businesses that have supported our teams.  Corporate sponsors that have already made a donation include Coonie Brothers, Continental Bank and Oaks Family Dental.

The Yard Sale Fundraiser will be held on Saturday, August 27^th at Jodi Abraham’s house.  Jodi’s neighbors are participating in a “neighborhood yard sale” and will take care of advertising for this event.  Items are to be dropped off at Jodi’s house on August 26^th.  Volunteers are needed to work the event, from organizing the items on each table to arranging for remaining items to be picked up or dropped off at local donation centers.  Jodi will donate all proceeds collected at the yard sale to the MCPC.

Treasurer’s Report – Linda Jones 

Our first individual fundraiser, the car wash held this past Saturday, raised $897!! This was extremely successful and Jodi thanked those parents that volunteered their time to assist.  Each cheerleader who worked the car wash will receive $34/shift to be credited to their fee account.

The initial balance of the Capitol Fund for 2011-2012 is $2,077.  MCPC currently has $2,705 in the bank, leaving $628 to start (excluding the Capitol Fund) plus the proceeds from the car wash, $897, totaling $1,525 as our starting balance for the 2011-2012 Cheer Year.

The Car Wash on July 23^rd will be an individual fundraiser and all proceeds will be credited only to those cheerleaders that work that day.  August 14^th will be the last car wash and all proceeds will be credited to the General Fund.

Tickets will be sold for the Applebee’s Pancake Breakfast to be held on October 8, 2011.  Each cheerleader will have a minimum of tickets they will need to sell and those cheerleaders above the age of 16 will need to serve the food to the patrons while those younger than 16 will need to wash dishes and/or bus the tables.  This has been a very successful and fun campaign in the past and hope this year will be the same.

Coach’s Report – Deana Ellison

Pee Wee Cheer Camp will be held July 25^th – July 28^th from approximately 8am to 1pm.  This is an individual fundraiser.  Cheerleaders will have the opportunity of signing up and working 2 days, either Monday and Tuesday or Wednesday and Thursday.  Please see Deana to sign up.  Cheerleaders will be required to wear a specific color each day and teach material to the campers.  30 campers are registered to date and is offered to children 5-12 years of age.  Deana will post this community cheer workshop flyer on the Methacton website should you want to encourage friends/neighbors to register.

We will be attending Nationals to be held February 24^th – 27^th in Ocean City, Maryland.  The cheerleaders will be required to attend this competition together and will ride and dorm as a team without parents.  The cheerleaders will be staying at the Hilton, 3/4 cheerleaders per room, which is located just a few blocks from the OC Convention Center.  If this competition works as it has in the past, there will be no fee for parents to enter the arena and a VIP cheering section will be available during Methacton’s performance.   If you choose to attend, please wait to book your room as Deana may be able to provide a discount code for our organization.  We are trying to make this event as economical as possible.

Competitions currently scheduled are as follows:

January 7^th – Plymouth Whitemarsh

January 29^th – Either Garnett Valley or CB West

February 19^th – Cheers for Charity in Delaware

Additional competitions will be added.  Methacton HS pays for 2 competitions and the fees for the others attended will be paid from our general fund.  Since Nationals is held on a spring floor, Deana is trying to attend spring floor events to prepare the girls.  However, these events are very pricey.  Jodi and Deana will do their best to negotiate a lower fee when possible.

Cheerleaders Camp will be held August 23^rd, 24^th and 25^th.  This camp is mandatory for all cheerleaders.  UCA will be coming to Methacton to teach the cheerleaders, but other team bonding events are scheduled.  Possible team bonding experiences include a sleepover, rock climbing, bowling and a scavenger hunt to name a few.  Cheerleaders are required to attend all functions during these 3 days, so please notify your employers, if applicable, that you will be unavailable those days to work.

Pre-Season begins Monday, August 15^th.  All practices from that day forward are mandatory and all cheerleaders are required to attend.  Deana will send out the calendar of practices, events and times mid July.  Practices scheduled through August 9^th are not mandatory, but strongly suggested!  If Deana has not been made aware that you are not attending one of these practices, and you don’t show up, she will text you to see if you will be attending practice. 

The first Varsity Football game is scheduled to be held Friday, September 2^nd at Plymouth Whitemarsh.  The JV game is scheduled for the week after.  All schedules will be posted at www.methactonwarriors.org. All information regarding camp, meeting minutes and the calendar of events, including practices and games, will be posted here.  Please check this site often to ensure you are up to date.  You can sign up for alerts, which will send you an email alert when information has been updated on the site.    It’s a good idea to sign up for alerts for cheerleading, as well as football and basketball, so you will be notified if game time is changed on an event we are cheering at.

One last very important item Deana wanted to relay to all parents, discussed earlier today with the cheerleaders at practice, is that everyone was placed on either Varsity or JV based on their skills at tryouts.  In order to remain on Varsity, cheerleaders are required to maintain their skills.  We need to be a fully tumbling team in order to compete.  Although Methacton does not have a spring floor, there are numerous area gyms offering it, so please take the time to attend any open gyms available so you can maintain and improve upon your skills.  You may be asked to move up from JV or down from Varsity depending on your skills throughout the season.

Volunteer Opportunity – Jodi Abraham

We have a volunteer opportunity that needs to be filled as soon as possible.  We need a liason willing to work with the football team, relaying information, arranging possible football/cheerleading fundraising opportunities, etc.  Please contact Jodi if you are interested.

The football schedule is still tentative.  Please sign up for your alerts on the Methacton Warriors’ website so will be notified when the schedule becomes finalized.

With no more items to discuss, the meeting was adjourned.

Respectfully submitted

Colene Bittone

Here is the competition schedule so far. Please note that at least 1-2 more competitions will be added.

January 7, 2012 - Plymouth Whitemarsh Cheer Classic

January 29, 2012 - Garnet Valley Cheer Challenge or  CB West Cheer Classic

February 19, 2012 - Cheers for Charity, Delaware

February 24-26 - Reach the Beach Nationals, Ocean City, MD

Check back for updates as the season progresses!