Chairman applauds those who helped raise funds for sports programs

Our 2nd Annual Athletic Dept. Tricky Tray was held Friday, May 18, at the Wallkill Valley High School, Hamburg, in effforts to bring back three sports programs which have been eliminated due to budget cuts. Our event was a huge success, raising $18,350 exceeding last year's proceeds of $17,727. Without the generous donations and support from our community, businesses, faculty, administration, Education Foundation, students and WV families, our success would not be possible.

Many were extremely generous donating baskets, monetary donations, ads and special big prizes such as an Apple IPad donated by the WV Education Foundation, flat screen TV by the WV administration and spring sports programs, an HP laptop by the WV administration, and a $3,000 shopping spree Grand Prize donated by the WV Education Foundation.

A special thanks and appreciation to our Athletic Director, Todd Van Orden, who worked very hard displaying his dedication to his work, sincere passion for the school, and most importantly, for the Wallkill Valley student athletes. His efforts, positive attitude and eagerness to assist us in many ways was truly welcomed and appreciated. I was fortunate to work with him, along with the wonderful committee which included Sharon Drexler, Judy Lodema, Karen Oakes, Patti Whelan, Ashleigh Whelan, among many other volunteers that helped throughout the evening. They were not only a pleasure to work with, but their tremendous teamwork and dedication were truly exhibited through our outstanding results

We are very excited and pleased of our proceeds and only hope it can help make a difference for the sports programs that have been eliminated. There are still many funds needed to be raised, therefore it is vital that our school community realizes the importance of collaborating with one another to support our events, so together, can help allocate funds for those programs most in need.

Thank you again for your generous support

Lori Stuart Athletic Dept. Tricky Tray Chairman