Panther Band Boosters Take on Infineon

Ahh, summertime. Carefree days and leisurely nights. A nice break from the nightly homework and weekend commitments during the school year. Oh wait, what’s that? We still have fundraisers and sectionals to attend? That’s right… we are members of the Benicia High School Panther Band Boosters, and the life of a band booster is activity-packed, year-round. And every minute is time well spent.  

When my older son decided to join the band in elementary school, I thought it was a fun activity but with no expectations. When he stuck with it in middle school, I was impressed. And now, after completing two years of high school band, I can say that the BHS band is a truly inspiring program, for both of us.

However, like most great programs, the inspiration often comes from many hours spent working with the good, the bad and the strenuous. On Sunday June 26, the good came in the form of reconnecting with some awesome band parents and students, as we were able to work an annual band fundraiser at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma – serving guests in some very nice VIP Hospitality tents. The bad part of it was that we had to meet at the high school at 4:45 AM (yes, AM!) to carpool and hike up to the tents for our 6:00 AM shift. The strenuous was pretty much an entire day on our feet, serving hot meals and cold beverages to large crowds, and stocking the cold bars with ice (I never knew ice could be so painful!). But amid the hectic day filled with roaring engines zooming by Turn #4, I did get to sit down twice for 10 minutes in the break tent – actually I sat down four times, if you count potty breaks. My tent manager Eleanor and I were assigned to the Rheem tent, in support of #29 Kevin Harvick. And I was pleasantly surprised when Mr. Harvick popped into the tent to chat with the guests and answer questions.

So, even though we didn’t get back to the high school until after 6:00 PM, it was a great day. And even though there were moments when I thought to myself, “No way am I going to sign up for this again!” I probably will. Why? Because the inspiration moment came right on cue as it often does. At the end of the day, packing ourselves back into our cars, I looked around at the weary parents and students who had worked so hard all day, and they were all still smiling. Perhaps it was the delirium setting in. But I think it was because we had given our all, knowing that the sweat was worth every drop to support the band and set good examples for our kids.

Now, on to the car wash on Saturday!