Band Booster Minutes

Hudsonville Band Boosters

November 18, 2025

Opening of meeting at 7:02pm - Mike Meengs

Approval of September meeting minutes - Mike Meengs

10/14/25 Booster Board meeting review - Mike Meengs

• The Board met with Craig VanderWall to discuss making a banquet committee 

• Committee formed for banquet will meet on 11/19/25

• Will review band point system during this committee meeting

Update from HS director - Craig VanderWall

• I am just amazed at all the hard work SO MANY people put in to help our high school band students have such an amazing season.  It is such a joy to be a part of this with our students, staff, and parents.  I am incredibly proud to be a part of all it and just thankful for the work everyone puts in!

• Pep Band is starting.  First game in December, I have sent the information out.

• Excited to get started on our winter guard and percussion programs!  The students seem excited as well.  Thankful to our parents, students, and staff, who jump back into all the craziness and support these programs too!  Good things ahead!

• Band Concert - December 18.  7pm for all students.  We are doing 1 concert this year.

Update from RMS director - Loren Koella (not present, sent update via email)

• The RMS Bands are having a fantastic year!

• 6th Grade having split classes is resulting in HUGE success. Kids are receiving more individualized attention and have built a solid foundation of skills. 

• 7th Grade class is very interested in learning new instruments. Almost half of the band has put in the work to learn a new instrument to either permanently switch or play for one song at our concert. 

• 8th Grade group is playing very musically. We are looking forward to playing at the MMEA Festival in March. 

• Jazz Band has a great group of kids showing up at 7am on Tuesdays and Thursdays for rehearsals. Huge thank you to parents who have brought in breakfast!

• We are having a great day at MidFest with 6 middle school musicians! They are learning from world renowned composer William Owen’s and Mr. Jacobs and I are lucky to be receiving PD from Dr. Tim and Scott Rush. 

• We have lots of kids performing at Solo and Ensemble this weekend. They have worked hard and are going to represent the Hudsonville Band program well!

• Looking forward to our holiday concert on December 3! 6th grade and Jazz Band perform at 6:30pm and 7th and 8th grade perform at 8:00pm. 

• Kristin Buskey mentioned that she loved that RMS had a special educator opportunity! (GVSU students) She suggested we try to get more opportunities like that for the whole program. 

Update from Northside director - Zack Jacobs (not present, sent update via email)

• It has been a fantastic few months! Apologies that we will not be in attendance tonight.

• The Northside Bands continue to push forward in a positive manner. Like Loren, we are happy to have two students participating this year in the MidFest Honors Band at Western Michigan University. This is our 3rd year in attendance and our students are being filled with great musical moments. Our fall concert and events went incredibly well and we are looking forward to the following in the near future:

• December 4th - Northside Bands Holiday Concert; 6th grade and BMS Jazz at 6:30pm, 7th and 8th grade concert bands at 8pm. 

• BMS Full Orchestra Performance - Tuesday, December 9th at 6:30pm - Select members of our 8th grade band will be performing one song alongside our BMS 8th Grade Orchestra.

• It is also time for us to start thinking about our Winter opportunities as well concerning MS/HS Band Weekend, 6th Grade Switch Camp, and 6th Grade Solo and Ensemble Night. Look for a communication soon regarding these events, however if there is an opportunity for funding for these events again this school year, we would appreciate it! Our budgets would be around the same as last year and I can communicate those at your convenience. 

• Finally, Cedar Point reached out early to schedule our performance for next year, so it is already booked for Friday, May 15th 2026! Loren has also booked for our 7th graders a performance of our National Anthem at the GR Griffins on Friday, February 20th; information should be sent out just after Holiday Break. 

Financial report - Brian Aenis

• Thank you to Ray, for reconciling old information to try to match our financials with our bank account. They haven’t matched for years. This was regarding booster credits and bank transaction recordings. 

• Prioritizing active students in band, and their accounts get attention first, get their booster credits credited to their account. Second priority are students no longer in the program.

• How long to reimburse, 1 year eventually (statue of limitations to be discussed by the board)

• Jessica Noble is working on collecting marching band fees from this past season that haven’t been paid.

• Update from Ray Llewellyn - As of 9/30 there are 1000 transactions in BH, he audited all of them. Question about Disney payments, not a paper trail of how people paid. Raise Right had shipping fees, costing boosters $500 annually. The bank also had fees that came out of student accounts, so these were not going to reconcile anyway. We are making the winter program dues cover the entire cost of the program, instead of keeping costs down and hoping to fundraise the difference. 

• Thank you to the entire treasurer committee, as this year has been a big monster of a project. More help is appreciated. 

• We are trying to wait as long as possible to pay bills, so as not to put money on the credit card. We have the same amount of money in the account that we owe out. 

• Craig VanderWall’s expected budget was $87,000. We have spent roughly $70,000. We saved money on props (donations), saved money on food, and didn’t have to fix the trailer. Even with what dues we collected, they barely covered this year. Brian thinks we need to increase dues next year, unless we can get help from the school. Brian plans to meet with Craig with ideas for the school to help, and eventually the superintendent. 

• Next year we will have hopefully 30 more kids in the band, so it should be an easier year. This year in particular was just very hard. 

Committee updates:

JV concessions - Lynn Clarke

• All done with JV games, it was fun!

• Lynn would like to have volunteers earn $10 per shift. Ray mentioned it’s a slippery slope with all the other volunteering opportunities. 

Chaperone - Pam Danckaert

• Thank you to all our amazing parent volunteers who served as Chaperones during the 2025 Marching Band Season. We truly couldn’t have done it without you and we’re so grateful to each of you!

• Pam will be stepping down and retiring from the Marching Band Chaperone Coordinator Lead role. A new volunteer will be needed to step up and fill the position for the 2026 Marching Band Season.

• Ray mentioned we should be more involved with Guard, which would also help some more of the guard families to join us in the Boosters. 

Uniforms - Christine King

• New uniforms are in and fitted - Thank you to everyone who helped!

• Buttons falling off is an issue. Spoke with the company, and they are sending more (50) and told us they shouldn’t be falling off. First washing is this Wednesday. We have the plumes and wraps, waiting on shakos. 

• Sale of old uniforms/pillows - Approx. $1600 in profits. 40 chacos sold, used 50 uniforms for either pillows or sales. 

• Moving into Winter Percussion, Phil Matthews wants to fit the students on Dec 6. Need to create a tag prior to that date in order to email members. 

• Chris King to transition out of role after 4 years - would like to see additional help. Andrea Fay is going to take over, and Chris will stay around as an advisor. 

• Needs - Bins for organizing Shako Wraps and other new items, and hangers

• Needs - Washers for last washing, 6 people have signed up

Props/Pit - Ryan Noble

• 2025 marching band props have been moved to storage under the bleachers.

• When ready, we need to be brought up to speed on the desire and budget regarding props for winter percussion. The earlier the better.

• There are many tarps and props currently in storage which could (should?) be sold or discarded. Where does this responsibility land?

• Willing to help with winter if needed, even though there are no props. Trailer help?

• Having a budget for props would be helpful. 

Fundraising - Kristin Buskey

• A general school wide fundraiser is kicking off! It is called Music Makes Cents! Hopes to raise $15,000, with a realistic Goal of $10,000.  Pushing for 100% participation across all 4 schools. Booster Hub keeps 5%, we keep everything else. 

• See flair Kristin made. Once kids raise $150, they get 30% of ALL personal earnings in their own band accounts. 

• Kristin needs a contact that can help with the district calendar. Needs to set a date for the craft show that has the least amount of interference at the high school level. (prom etc). She emailed Rebecca Fabiano for directions, but has not yet received a response. Boosters suggested going through CVW to communicate with her.   

Seniors - Jenny Harig

• The senior banners were a huge success. Cost: $0. Made a profit for the boosters of $100. 

• The senior football night went great! Has notes on how to run it next year, all the parents loved walking with their senior and other athletes. Cost for sashes and flowers: $72.30 or $5.16/senior

• The senior gifts this year were a blanket and a keychain that said “Hudsonville Marching Band Alumni”. Hopes the students enjoyed the change of logo. Also the boosters donated old shakos that were made into centerpieces for each senior. Cost for senior gifts: $387 or $27.64/senior

• Looking at what is needed for seniors in Spring. Also needs someone to honor winterguard and drumline seniors. Meeting Wednesday with the committee. 

• Discuss the rest of the year at future meeting

Party planning - Jenny Harig

• The Halloween party was a huge success. 80 students paid to attend. Many parents donated almost all of our needs. Post farms was gracious to give deep discounts and we charged each student “at cost” for entry. Cost for Halloween Party out-of-pocket: $200 for prizes and last minute additions that can probably be covered by donations next year. 

• The fall banquet didn’t need much other than set up and tear-down. Should have asked for more volunteers! Thank you to those who came early. Cost: $0

• Planning for spring banquet with committee 

• Needs - restock plates, napkins and plastic-ware for future banquets

Feed the band: (Ray Llewellyn, Ian Orndorff not present)

• Successful marching band season

• One lunch we had to buy subs from costco, which wasn’t planned due to last minute schedule change (weather related)

• Need a lead for next marching band season

Grants: (Ray Llewellyn, Greg Rios not present)

• This was a created position this year, and we are grateful for Greg!

• Brought in close to $3,500 to the band

Social media - Kristin Buskey

• We have a NEW instagram account, the old one has been discontinued

• Jenny Harig suggested to create “events” (booster board meeting, concert dates, full orchestra concert on 12/9, etc) withing social media

Transportation (Ray Llewellyn, Gosh Groen not present)

• Suggestion of a back up CDL driver

New Business: 

• The Booster Board has been discussing a possible scholarship program. Some of the money Greg has brought in needs to cover low income families. 

• The Booster Board is in the works of developing a policy for former families with booster credits. Will have 3 options, give credits to a current band student, donate to the general fund, or donate to the scholarship fund. 

Close of meeting 8:39pm - Mike Meengs

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 8/12/25. 

• 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:

  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.