The Franklin Panthers Athletic Booster Club is under new leadership.
For the past several years, the club has been headed up by longtime FHS coach Tom Westbrook, raising money and operating concessions for Panther athletics to ensure its teams have the equipment, uniforms and pregame meals they need. Recently, Westbrook took a job with the Rabun-Gap Nacoochee School football team, creating a need for a new Booster Club member to take over.
“I think coach Westbrook decided, because he had taken the job at Rabun Gap, he wasn’t going to be around here a whole lot to do the things that needed to be done,” said the club’s new president, Barry Breeden. “We kind of talked about some things and he asked if I would be interested in taking it over, and I told him I would step in and fill the shoes. … I think it was just a timing thing. It worked out to where I was able to step in, and he felt comfortable handing it over.”
A member of the FHS Class of ’99 and the father of two current FHS students, Breeden takes over the Booster Club at a unique time in its history. After a year of depressed revenues due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the nonprofit group is still rebuilding its finances to keep Franklin’s athletes fed and equipped, even as fall sports return to action. For its new president, the first order of business will be strengthening the club’s relationship with the people of Franklin.
“I think the biggest thing for me is building the trust with coaches, the community, people that are volunteering their time or paying for advertising with the Booster Club,” said Breeden. “It’s just me building the trust with them that we’re in it for the kids – that we’re doing it for the right reasons.”
After questions of impropriety several years ago caused some in the community to distrust certain now-departed members, the club has spent the intervening years slowly and painstakingly rebuilding its public image. Although the club has virtually no overhead and spends 100% of its revenue on FHS athletes, Breeden says he’d also like to create a public disclosure form for the group’s finances.
“I would like to implement some transparency items there,” he said. “That way, every quarter or every year, we’re putting something out – whether it’s through Facebook or The Press or wherever – saying, ‘We’ve raised this amount of money, and we’ve spent this amount of money.’ That way people feel like they can trust us and say, ‘I don’t mind advertising with you guys because I know you’re spending it on the kids.’ I think that’s the biggest thing I’ve heard so far – to just be transparent. We just provide what we can for the kids if they need it, and nothing more than that.”
Between taking over the Booster Club presidency, rebuilding its finances after COVID-19, increasing the group’s transparency and building relationships with the community and potential advertisers, Breeden has a lot on his plate in giving Panther athletes the tools they need. In addition to providing for FHS teams, the club is even expanding its footprint with athletes at Macon Middle School.
“A new thing that we’re implementing is to try and help the middle school as well,” said Breeden. “[Some MMS teams] sell concessions at their games and they’re selling our stuff, so we feel like we should try and help them out as well. That’s kind of a newer thing that we’re trying to implement to help the middle school.”
Because MMS is the only public middle school in the county, its teams act in a certain sense as a farm system for the high school. Because a strong MMS program means more talented athletes playing for FHS, Breeden says the club will gladly provide a wrestling mat or blocking sled if and when it has the means.
With the myriad challenges facing the Booster Club this year, Breeden faces a tough task in strengthening the club’s outreach and financial standing. While new ideas like public disclosure and expanding the group’s footprint should help it grow for years to come, the club’s new president said he’s not trying to reinvent the wheel.
“As far as the volunteer stuff and advertising go, Macon County always responds really well with that,” he said. “There’s no reason to go and try to do anything crazy-different – just stick to the plan. … These kids should always be taken care of as long as they’re playing here, and I think that’s what the Booster Club is all about.”