Big changes are coming to the Fountain Hills Athletics Booster Club.

For starters, sharp-eyed readers may have noticed that the words “High School” have been removed from the club name, signifying that its activities now encompass all Fountain Hills Unified School District athletics, including those hosted out of the middle school.

According to club President John Hoyt, that’s just the tip of the iceberg for the local organization, which this year is aiming to redouble its efforts and get more parents and community members involved than ever before.

“We’ve kind of had a changing of the guard and most of the board is new,” Hoyt said.

To help get everyone up to speed, Hoyt said the new board started by reading the Booster Club’s bylaws in order to define their focus and scope.

“One of the things we noted was that the charge is to support school athletics as well as join community and school through athletics,” Hoyt continued.

“I think that piece of it hasn’t really been focused on in the past and that’s something I really want to focus on. I want to bring the community together.”

One facet of that will be getting more groups involved in things like the Friday night football games, hosting special events to honor local veterans or making sure nearby senior citizens can come out and enjoy the games.

“The other thing we decided to do was shift our focus to include the middle school, which we’re really excited about,” Hoyt added.

“Now that [Mike] Briguglio is the athletic director for both schools, that’s creating a uniform philosophy in athletics from the middle school from the high school. We want to provide that same support between the schools and programs, too.”

By creating this consistency between schools, Hoyt said that the goal is to also create a sense of community that encourages students and their families to stay involved and stay within the local district.

“We want the kids to be excited about the program and get involved early,” he said.

“Not only does that develop talent, but hopefully it also helps build loyalty. That’s something we want to strive to accomplish.”

As such, Hoyt said that another major focus for the 2015-16 school year is to get more middle school families involved with the Booster Club, taking part in activities and chipping in at events.

While running concession stands and holding fundraisers on a regular basis, the Booster Club funnels that money back into athletics, covering everything from the athletic trainer attending games to look after the athletes to supporting the athletic travel bus, providing recording equipment, sound systems, etc.

According to Hoyt, the more participation they can get from the community, the more local student athletes will reap the benefits of those efforts.

“The one thing I want to make sure gets reiterated is that we want to stick to those words in the bylaws,” Hoyt said.

“Bring the community together through athletics. That’s our goal.”

Getting involved

Being a volunteer-run organization, the Fountain Hills Athletic Club is always on the lookout for new members, volunteers and sponsors.

For parents and community members who wish to offer their talents to support local athletics, as well as businesses and organizations interested in providing sponsorships, contact FHABC President John Hoyt at president@fhsports.org.

Additional details can be found on FalconAthletics.com.