Countryside Colorguard Program in Critical Condition

By Local Editor Jeffrey Rosenfield

The Countryside High School colorguard/winterguard program is considered one of the best in the area, winning state competitions last year and getting promoted to a higher level due to its sustained success.

But now the fate of the team is up in the air, as a budget shortfall threatens to cripple the program.

According to Cristine Kreplick, the organization's vice president and fundraising chair, the colorguard program is $10,000 in the hole. Failure to plug the gap could result in the winter season being cancelled and leave the coach without a contract.

"The Winter season is the elite Colorguard and Drumline teams," Kreplick wrote Patch. "They travel around the state and compete on a high level. Guard WON competitions last year and got promoted from AA to A!"

"Now, because of budgeting challenges and fundraising shortfalls the last few years, it is in jeopardy of being cancelled."

Kreplick says the booster organization pays for everything for the band and colorguard, from uniforms and instruments to buses and competition fees.

It costs each kid about $600 in the fall and then again in the winter, and no kid is turned away even if they can't afford it; they just use booster funds to pay for the child.

Now after years of relying on the boosters' contributions, the funding has run dry. 

"Because they have NO money and are about $10k in debt..as a solution, the president and the accountant are suggesting that the Winter season is cancelled," she wrote.

"I'm determined to raise $10k really fast," she said. "I want these kids to have the same opportunity that every year before them had."

Kreplick is furiously trying to come up with ways to raise the money.

Her ideas include selling sponsorships for the concession stand and their travel trailer; selling items like gift bags, scented pencils and jerky; organizing a 5K run; and possibly setting up a collection booth at Third Friday where she can solicit silent auction items.

She has already asked the city for help, and she is hoping a big donor might come forward and bail the program out before it's too late.

"This is about a bunch of kids...who practice all year round," Kreplick wrote. "They don't have discipline issues, they don't have dress code issues. They are respectful and stay out of trouble."

"These are good kids and loving parents who are trying to do the right thing. They just need some help from the community."

To help the Countryside High School Colorguard program, email Cristine Kreplick at countrysidecristine@yahoo.com or call 727-564-3925. A budget meeting is at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 13, at Countryside High School, 3000 State Road 580. Kreplick hosts a fundraising meeting at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 14, at Nolan's Pub, 230 Main St., in downtown Safety Harbor.