Reimagining the LCA Booster Club

Reimagining

THE LCA BOOSTER CLUB

by: Madi Bixler ’14

Lynn Dupree, who was Upper School assistant principal at Legacy for four years, is now Senior Director of Athletics and Activities, and one of his primary responsibilities is to build a highly functioning Booster Club.

Lynn Dupree

Senior Director of Athletics and Activities Tim Cline

Booster Club President

Celebrating 40 years in Christian education, Mr. Dupree started his career as a varsity basketball coach and went into athletic administration. With an extensive background in fundraising and Booster Club management, it was clear that God perfectly positioned Mr. Dupree to take the reins of LCA’s program. “I felt like I could help other coaches be successful and help grow programs,” Mr. Dupree says. Today, with the help of Tim Cline — the father of three Legacy students — he’s enhancing the Booster Club.

Mr. Cline, newly named LCA Booster Club President, has been a part of the sports and events business for 25 years and recently retired from Learfield, a collegiate sports marketing company. Mr. Cline is eager to lead this initiative and has already challenged LCA to think bigger. “What would we do if our checkbook wasn’t a problem?” Mr. Cline asks.

“We have a beautiful gym for our athletics teams,” says Mr. Dupree, “but this was built when LCA had a much lower enrollment. My goal for the LCA Athletics Department is to enhance what we have and add more.” Mr. Dupree says he’d like to see our softball/baseball fields turfed, batting cages covered, lanes added to the track, a sports medicine clinic, and perhaps a new gym.

His goals may seem ambitious, but they’re based on reason. “We need to develop our athletes so we can compete at a different level,” he says. “To do that, we need to grow and enhance our athletic programs.” By developing LCA athletics facilities, he says, we can provide better resources for our athletes. One of the best ways to fund these additions to Legacy’s athletics program is through the newly revitalized Booster Club. First, Mr. Dupree introduced an advisory board. And although the board is crucial to getting the revitalized program in place, Mr. Dupree has a bigger vision: “We want to get everyone involved,” he says.

The group will begin expanding by developing subcommittees, says Mr. Cline. His goal is to get as many Legacy families involved as possible. “We don’t just want families of athletes — we want to lift the spirits of our athletes and of our LCA community as well.”

The vision for the Booster Club is to go above and beyond to make Legacy better as a whole. The volunteer committee will focus on increasing training, mentorship, and ticket sales as it’s initial strategy. Their next focus is to build a robust membership program that will help build community and engage supporters in strategic objectives.

Mr. Dupree and Mr. Cline see the Booster Club as a way to thoughtfully engage students and parents in the joy of athletics. “We want our LCA Kindergarteners to aspire to be future Eagle athletes,” says Mr. Cline. The athletic program’s aim is to teach our athletes how to move forward in the midst of adversity and to stand firm in integrity. This is accomplished by producing God-fearing, self-disciplined men and women who understand serving, sacrifice, humility, and teamwork.

Under the leadership of Mr. Dupree and Mr. Cline we can be sure that LCA’s athletic program will keep moving forward. The Bible encourages us to not be lukewarm, Mr. Dupree says. “Let’s make this as big as we can,” says Mr. Cline.