School Attempting To Raise $10K To ’Raise The Banner’

Milan News Leader, Lori Maranville

http://www.heritage.com/articles/2012/01/15/milan_news_leader/news/doc4f12e904ac71d134052149.txt

A proud athletic history at Milan High School will get a chance to shine if the school’s “Raise the Banner” fundraising effort is successful.

Milan’s athletic director, David Kaiser, said the goal is to sell 400 raffle tickets at a cost of $25 each to raise $10,000 to buy banners displaying the district’s athletic teams’ accomplishments.

Winners of the raffle will be announced Feb. 28 during half-time of the boys’ basketball season finale against Gabriel Richard. Two $1,000 prizes will be awarded.

Money raised will go toward purchasing custom-printed 4-foot-by-8-foot vinyl banners that will highlight achievements of each of the district’s 22 school-sponsored sports. The banners would be hung from the rafters in the main gymnasium of the high school.

“We want to see to it that a banner hangs for every sport that we sponsor,” Kaiser said.

Whether it’s football, track, golf or equestrian, Kaiser said, the emphasis will be to give every Milan school sport a place of honor and a special spot to feature conference championships, as well as district, regional and state championships.

School-sponsored sports also include baseball, basketball, bowling, cross country, soccer, swimming, tennis, volleyball and wrestling.

Right now, he said, since the high school building is fairly new, a visible display of the “rich athletic tradition at Milan” is lacking in the school.

The banners, he said, will give everyone who comes in the gymnasium, including community members and high school alumni, a sense of accomplishments past and present of Milan sports teams.

“It will allow us to bring all that history to the forefront, and anytime you make an effort to bring history to the forefront, I think the community benefits.”

Thanks to old yearbooks and newspapers, Kaiser said, he has statistics of athletic achievements from as far back as 1930.

He said staff members from the Monroe News have been helpful with providing historical sports information.

He said the athletic department will be able to continually add dates to the banners as they confirm them.

The banners will cost from $240 to $300 each, Kaiser said, depending on the design and printing costs.

Currently, he is looking at a design that allows school staff to add years to the banners themselves, without having to send the banner back to the printing company.

“Once we get a basic design, it will be just a matter of dropping in championship years.”

Kaiser said he has sought staff input on the overall design of the banner, hoping to select one that represents Milan “for many years to come”.

“I would like something that combines the past and future — something that says ’That’s who we are.’”

He said he thinks it may take some time before students understand the significance of the banners.

“They may not understand the significance until years later when they return,” Kaiser said.

If the fundraiser is successful, Kaiser hopes to have the banners installed in March.

The raffle effort, so far, is going well, Kaiser said, with tickets made available to head coaches to sell just before the holiday break.

Anyone interested in purchasing a raffle ticket may contact any of the district’s varsity coaches or call the Milan High School athletic office at 439-5088. The tickets will be on sale through mid-February.