Band Booster Minutes

Hudsonville Band Boosters

September 9, 2025

• Meeting called to order by Mike Meengs at 7:00pm

• Introduction of interim board members (Mike Meengs President, Ray Llewellyn Vice President, Brian Aenis Treasurer, Becky Stellema Secretary)

• Booster voting. Minimum of 30 booster members needed, we had 33 in attendance.

3. 1. • Proposal  1: Annual meeting month change from September, to May. 

      • Proposal 2: Add a 5th board position, Director of Fundraising.

      • Proposal 3: Rename Secretary to Director of Communications.

      • Proposal 4: Rename Treasurer  to Director of Treasury.

      • Proposal  5: Vice President shall be the liaison for volunteers and volunteering positions.

      • Proposal 6: 3 month board member advisory period post the end of their term

      • Proposal 7: Booster voting members must be a parent of a current student in the band program. All other members are non-voting members. 

      • Board member positions

        • Mike Meengs - President

        • Ray  Llewellyn - Vice President

        • Brian Aenis - Director of Treasury

        • Becky Stellema - Director of Communications

        • Kristin Buskey - Director of Fundraising

• Update from student leader, Madison LaFontsee

  • Band show is progressing well

  • First football game went smoothly

  • Requested to anyone that volunteers, please be patient and entrust in the student leaders. Student leaders are here to help you, help the band. 

• Update from the High School band director, Craig VanderWall

5. 1. • Marching Band pictures date is scheduled by McConomy Photography, we are at the mercy of their schedule. We do not have uniforms yet, they should arrive sometime in September. Volunteers needed to help get kids ready. Will try to get as many individual photos done starting at 2:00, because we need to wait for middle schoolers to be in section pictures and big group picture. Date is 10/15.

      • Fall concert is on 10/1. It will look different. There is no jazz band this year, and only 14 concert students. It will mostly be marching band. Possibly might feature sections, and play music the band knows other than the show. Unsure if Eagle Claw will participate.

      • 8th grade experience night will take place at the stadium this year

      • There is a Detroit Lions game scheduled the day after state finals, expect the hotel/city to be busy

• Update from the Middle School band directors

  • Northside middle schools (BMS and ⅚ building), Zack Jacobs

    • 6th grade bands have started off smoothly, and are starting to make sounds. 127 students between two classes. Co-teaching with assistance from Mr. Hansen, director of choirs.  Mr. Hansen plays trumpet, plays in a music group, and is  a former band director)

    • 7th/8th is also going smoothly. 83 students between two 7th grade classes. 71 students in one 8th grade class. Also co-taught with Mr. Hansen.

    • First performance for 6th/7th/8th is 10/6

    • There will be only one Jazz Band starting 9/23. Expecting 50-60 students, during zero hour

    • 8th grade marching band experience is on 9/18. Asking for volunteers to help with  food (cookies, juice, etc). 95 8th graders will be in attendance.

• Riley Street Middle school, Loren Koella (not present, provided written update)

• • • Having split 6th grade bands has been absolutely incredible! The kids are receiving much more individualized attention and we are moving much  faster. We are currently an entire week ahead of where we were at this time last year.

    • 7th/8th grade is also off to a solid start!

    • Fall concert is 10/7. 

    • Looking forward to the 8th grade marching experience on 9/18

• Voting results reviewed

  • All proposals passed.

  • All board positions are 2 year terms, with VP moving to President the following academic year. 

• Update from Director of Communications, Becky Stellema

  1. Review of what was discussed at the Booster Board meeting that took place on 8/12. 

• Financial report, Brian Aenis

  • Reviewed and explained the provided “budget to actual” spreadsheet for this current marching band season

  • Fair booth earnings are similar to last year

  • Credit card debt is paid off

• Update from director of fundraising, Kristin Buskey

  • Thank you to Lynn Clarke and Mike Meengs for a wonderful job with the fair booth

  • Fair raised $16,500 (similar to last year)

  • Getting away from pie/sub sales. Focus on one big fall fundraiser, to be happening around Giving Tuesday. Our goal is $10,000. Hoping for around $25,000. This will be a 2(ish) week campaign. Not sure what platform yet, but there will be a link to share to social media. This is a work in progress.

  • JV concessions raises about $3,000 every fall. Volunteer spots are posted in Booster Hub. Grateful for middle school families stepping in to help!

• Committee updates

  • Fundraising (see above)

  • Transportation, 

• Committee updates:

  1. • Fundraising, Kristin Buskey (see above)

     • Transportation, Josh Groen

       • Josh is reaching out to a few people with CDLs to assist with winter programs. Need help with percussion. Josh is helping with guard.

       • We have lawnmowers we can use to push props out. They are not currently working. Unsure if we need them for State Finals. Asking for approval to get these up and running. (oil changes/batteries/etc)

     • Props, Josh Groen

       • Wrapping them with foam, getting vinyl cut. Hoping to have them for this coming Rockford competition. Getting close to being completed. 

     • Uniforms, Christine King

       • Unsure when they will be here, hoping soon. We need to get rid of the old ones. Possible fundraiser? Possibly selling off pieces of the uniforms. Provided a proposed cost sheet to sell items. Also proposed a pillow fundraiser.

       • Will need help when new uniforms come in. Student leaders are willing to help. 

       • Undergarments - black compression, whatever is most comfortable. Tank/long sleeve. Stay tuned for uniform washing.

       • Friday's game (9/12) will be competition shirts and bibbers. Provided a checklist for chaperones, and what kids should be dressed in. 

       • Note that Christine has a senior this year, extra help to step in is appreciated. Andrea Fay is doing a wonderful job helping so far. 

     • Feed the band, Ian Orndorff (not present at meeting, update per Ray)

       • Will give the students the best experience possible, but corners may be cut a little depending on funds available. Hoping fall fundraiser helps with this need.

     • Band camp, Tasha Veltema

       • Tasha did great!

     • Chaperone, Pam Dankaert

       • All opportunities are in Booster Hub. Looking to get more men involved, especially with moving props

     • Senior parent, Jenny Harig

       • Senior banners are up, and look great. Looking for support with taking them down after the tame, proposed chaperones help. Going to talk with Craig VanderWall about the senior night football game. Planning on honoring them at the banquet, TBD on what that looks like. 

     • Party planning, Jenny Harig

       • The Halloween party will most likely be at Post Family Farm on 10/27. Last year we charged a fee, worked well. Will most likely do the same this year, around $10.

     • Grants, Greg Rios (not present, update per Ray)

       • Greg is doing well, and we appreciate him.

     • Website, Becky Stellema

       • The website is being updated, thank you to everyone helping get it up to date!

     • Social media, Kristin Buskey

       • Working on Instagram

• New Business/Open discussion

  1. • No new questions/comments

• Meeting called to close by Mike Meengs at 8:02.

Hudsonville Band Boosters 

July 15, 2025 Meeting Notes

1. Meeting called to order by Mike Meengs at 7:01pm.

2. Updates from High School band director, Craig VanderWall

• Attendance has been a struggle for pre-camp band camp.

• Props in progress. Show shirts are in, new traditional uniforms will be in the 2nd week of September. 

• The opener and part 2 drill are ready to learn!

• Proud and happy about how all the moving pieces are falling into place. 

• The parent meeting is July 29th. This meeting is to touch base with parents about marching band, and the opportunities for parents to help. 

• The fall concert moved from October 8, to October 1st, due to the regional soccer game. This concert will be a celebration of marching band. (no Jazz or concert band at this concert)

• Introduction of “student reps” (drum majors). Senior drum major, Maddie LaFontsee. Junior drum major, Lily Henry.

• Work around for student emails? No! 

• Request for information about coin wars.

3. Updates from Riley Street Middle School band director, Loren Koella

• Loren Koella will have two 6th grade bands. One band with assistance from Craig VanderWall, one band with assistance from the RMS choir director. 

• Zack Jacobs will have his bands at Baldwin Street Middle School and at the ⅚ @ Georgetown school. The BMS choir director will assist with the 6th grade bands. 

• Noticing retention between 7th to 8th grade band participation. We need more staff! 

4. Approval of previous meeting minutes from May 20, 2025 meeting

5. Financial report by Brian Aenis 

• Discussed treasury committee. (3 people assisting as of now)

• Inheriting “a bit of a mess”. Currently trying to place items into the correct season/year. Cleaning up 2024/2025 years as well as continue on this upcoming academic year. 

• Credit card balance paid down to ZERO. The Booster account has about $9,000-$10,000. We have roughly $20,000 upcoming bills to pay. Booster Hub money to transfer over.

• Still in need of Sub Sale information from the previous treasurer. 

• The goal is to be transparent, to provide real time information going forward. 

• Next treasury committee meeting scheduled for July 21, 2025. 

6. Committee Updates

• Fundraising

• Van Andel Arena, Ray Llewellyn. There are no dates in August scheduled. The average for June events was $259. 

• Hudsonville Fair Booth, Lynn Clarke. Organizing SOPs. Plans to post these inside the booth. Need to make another key, as we only have one. The freezer died, we need to buy another. Request for donations, plan to create an amazon wish list and possibly post it to Booster Hub or the HHS newsletter. Discussion about making August 20 a middle school band night, due to marching band practice conflicts. Discussion about the possibility of earning band points for volunteer hours. 

• Concessions, Pam Keen. Working on finding the JV football schedule.

• Corporate Sponsorship, Kristin Buskey. Push for getting sponsors by January/February for the following school year. Need for consistency/timing of sponsorship. Need to update the PDF letter. 

• Coin Drive, Kristin Buskey. Friendly/fun competition between the sections during band camp. (Winds, Brass, Percussion, and Guard). The winning section gets donuts on the Friday of band camp. 

• Transportation, Josh Groen. Not in attendance. 

• Uniforms, Christine King. Uniforms arriving 6 weeks early, should be in mid-September. Show shirts are in, and will be worn with old bibber pants until new uniforms arrive. Black compression tank/shorts/socks to be worn under uniform. Working on washing instructions. Need to get rid of old uniforms, discussion on how. 

• Feed the band, Ian Orndorff. Not in attendance. 

• Props, Josh Groen. Not in attendance. 

7. New Business

• The Hudsonville Band Boosters meetings occur every 2 months. The Board meets separately on the off months.

• Discussion for this month’s Board meeting include: 

• What the Board votes on vs what the Boosters vote on.

• Moving the annual Boosters meeting from September to May.

• Discuss terms/limits.

• Addition of a 5th Board member, Kristin Buskey. 

• Discuss bylaws.

• Need to update Hudsonville Bands website. Loren Koella is interested in being involved. 

8. Meeting called to close by Mike Meengs at 8:57pm.