Applications for a position on the Allen Band Booster Association Board are open for the 2017-2018 school year. They are due by Friday, March 31.

The Allen Band Booster Association, or ABBA, fundraises and organizes functions for the band throughout the year. The board votes on decisions regarding ABBA, including the upcoming mattress sale moved to spring.

“First you have to submit your name, or somebody submits you, for nomination, and then from there, the ballot gets cast for who is nominated for each position, and then the booster club will get to vote on who they want for those positions,” interim director of bands Joel May said.

The application is available via Google form. Positions are open to all parents of band or colorguard members who will be in the Escadrille next year.

“After the nominating committee sits down and finds who would be a good fit for each position, they’ll give [May] a final list of what they’ve come up with and he can say yes or no,” ABBA board President Karen Perry said.

There are a total of 12 positions, including the President, treasurer, secretary and nine vice presidents who each head a section of the band’s functions, like food services or volunteer coordination. The details for each position are entailed in the Google form. All board members, however, should be prepared to attend monthly ABBA board meetings, registration day, Watermelon Bust, March-a-thon, Tailgate, UIL events and any major fundraisers.

“We want who wants to do whatever it takes to help their kids succeed as well as all of the other kids succeed in what they’re doing, to want to get out and talk about the Allen band, talk about the Escadrille, get out and fundraise for us to help us do anything and everything we can,” May said. “Any kind of backup of funds allows us to make decisions as we go before we really need to do this, and they help us make that happen.”

Although each position has different responsibilities, May said prospective members should expect more work than they anticipate.

“They should expect to get to know other parents on a closer setting than they had before,” May said. “You kind of build your own band friends the same way that the students do.”

For those who cannot take on a board position, volunteers are still needed as a part of ABBA and for events like the mattress sale, Watermelon Bust and other events throughout the year.

“For me, I think that the overall booster association and the board, we as a band program can’t function without [parents],” May said. “We’ve got some great directors, and we have great students, but we have great parents, and without the parents, we really couldn’t do what we do. That is a vital lifeline for our program.”