The community showed up at Hiddenbrooke Golf Club in Vallejo for the first-ever tournament fundraiser for Benicia High School’s Panther Band. (Photo by Kyle Awayan)

Benicia High School’s Panther Band Boosters held the program’s first-ever golf tournament fundraiser at Hiddenbrooke Golf Club on Sunday where money was raised and fun was had by all.

Benicia High School’s band program– including its jazz band, Color Guard, drumline and two concert bands– remains one of the school’s proudest organizations. The program has won an ocean of awards over the years and traveled all over to participate in band reviews, competitions and other events. After all, this was the same program that was part of the Rose Parade for two years and has even performed outside the state in places like Chicago and Georgia.

However, it does cost money to participate in these events, so the Boosters group puts on a variety of fundraisers to benefit the program. These include the Jazz ‘N’ Crab Fundraiser in January, the Benicia Bay Winter Review Fundraiser and the Classic Car Show Fundraiser in the spring. With three fundraisers in the spring semester, Booster President Holly Ojendyk said the parent group was looking for another one to hold in the fall.

“We thought a golf tournament would be fun, the right time of year and we would find interest from the community,” she said.

The tournament was originally scheduled for Oct. 15, but the unhealthy air quality resulting from the Atlas Fire in Napa pushed it back a week. Lots of excitement was to be had, and the prize for scoring the closets to the pin went to Matt Regnart, longest drive to Gene Frederick and best foursome to Myk Bigornia, Kenny Barug, Jeffrey Barug and Rick Alemania of Got Plate Lunch who scored 292 points.

Ojendyk said the proceeds will help cover the costs of competitions and other events, but they will also go toward other incentives as well.

“We also pay for coaches’ salaries, instrument purchases and any other financial requirement we can assist with,” she said. “It is the Boosters’ responsibility to provide for the bands’ needs and we do that to the absolute best of our ability.”

The Benicia High Panther Band performs at the Golf Tournament Fundraiser. (Photo by Kyle Awayan)

Ojendyk said having the funding to keep the band program going will be vital to the school, especially as other schools have had to cut or reduce their band or music programs.

“Music programs in the Bay Area are struggling to keep going because they are the programs that get cut along with other performing and visual arts,” she said. “It is essential that we as a community and Boosters keep them financially sound so we don’t lose their program. Music has proven again and again to be a vital part of a students’ overall educational strengths. It adds to their creative mathematical and logistical education. Our band kids have a higher percentage of students going on to four-year colleges than many other areas.”

Ojendyk hopes the community will continue to support the band program through its various fundraisers and invites them to come to the second golf tournament fundraiser next fall.

“As the only high school in Benicia with a band program, we rely heavily on the community for their support,” she said. “We always are so grateful for their attendance at any event from a city parade to our fundraisers and concerts. Our students look forward to sharing their talents and the efforts of all their hard work with the community and love their enthusiastic response to their music. We hope that the community can come to our concerts and fundraisers to enjoy what the kids have to offer.”

The band has a lot on its plate for the next few weeks, including a pep band performance at this Friday’s Homecoming game, participation in the Foothill Band Review on Saturday, the fall concert on Nov. 8 and additional band reviews in Merced and Fairfield in November. For more information, go to bhspantherband.com. To learn more about participating in the golf fundraiser next year, email pantherbandgolf@gmail.com.

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