By Emme Hogge, Associate Editor
On Mar. 11, the El Camino Boosters Club held their annual crab feed at the Scottish Rite Masonic Center for the first time in three years.
The EC Boosters Club is a parent volunteer organization that started as a way to benefit athletic programs, but has since then extended into many more areas. Now, they support students in clubs, band, dance, cheer, the KYDS program, the Eagle Polytechnic Institute (EPI) and more. They are also involved in student scholarship opportunities, spirit wear sales, campus improvements and informational meetings.
Crab Feed Chair Angela Oates said that, since 2008, Boosters has contributed nearly $575,000 to EC for improvements and equipment.
This year, Boosters hosted over 500 attendees, and the theme was “Through the Decades.” Ticket prices included all you can eat food, beverages and live music. In addition to just crab, there were also tri-tip, pasta and salad options. The cost of an individual ticket was $95, but there were also opportunities to reserve a table for six or 12 persons, which were $500 and $1,000 respectively.
While at the crab feed, attendants could bid in a silent auction for items donated by parents and businesses and participate in raffle drawings for baskets put together by EC sports teams.
There was also a dessert auction and a live auction hosted by EC Alumni Topo Padilla. After the auctions and raffles, the band Yer Mom performed live.
Assistant Athletic Director Zenaida Kamine explained that if EC sports teams put in the effort to make a basket, they could potentially raise a lot of money.
“They can go, depending on what’s in the basket, upwards of four or five hundred dollars,” she estimated.
In addition to just the baskets, Boosters also spends a lot of time going around to different companies and asking for donations. This year, Boosters auctioned off barbecue grills from Amy Hardware.
Taking into account all these different aspects, Kamine explained that the crab feed is a very lucrative fundraiser.
“In the past, the crab feed has cleared about $30,000,” Kamine said.
Because the crab feed is such a big event, Boosters asks for the help of student volunteers. Under the age of 18, volunteers help to set up, check in, run the auctions, sell spirit wear, and prepare and serve food. To help serve alcohol, volunteers must be over the legal serving age of 18.
For more information on next year’s crab feed, contact Boosters President Rob Oates or current Crab Feed Chair Angela Oates.
The Eagle Eye Newspaper 