LAKEPORT — The Bass Bowl Committee distributed $3,000 in fundraising profits to Clear Lake and Kelseyville high schools Thursday afternoon, more than three months after the Cardinals won the rivalry football game 7-3.
Committee executive director Phil Smoley called the group”s efforts “a successful attempt at a new idea” while speaking at TJ”s Downtown Bar & Grill Thursday afternoon.
Smoley presented the principals of both schools with a $1,500 check at the luncheon, which he said represented the remainder of the profits from events leading up to the Nov. 4 football game in Lakeport.
“We certainly appreciate the additional funds for the school,” Clear Lake High School (CLHS) Principal Steve Gentry said. The money would likely go to CLHS athletics, he added.
Kelseyville High School (KHS) Principal Matt Cockerton said the school had not decided how its funds would be disbursed.
Smoley reported the committee had roughly $14,300 in expenses for its fundraising efforts.
Approximately $7,700 represented gameday costs ($3,500 of which went toward a jumbotron and camera crew), about $3,400 for advertising and promotion, and about $2,900 for other Bass Bowl events and miscellaneous expenses, according to Smoley.
Gentry said CLHS noticed about 100 more people attending the 2011 Bass Bowl compared to the previous year”s game, which was also played in Lakeport.
Smoley said it was difficult to tell what role the committee”s marketing efforts, which included posting signage and purchasing radio and newspaper ads, played in the attendance increase.
“All of that either drove traffic or it didn”t,” he said.
On the profits side, the big donor was Konocti Vista Casino, which gave $5,000 to the effort, according to Smoley.
He reported that other donations included $3,500 from CPS County Air Properties, $850 from Taco Bell, and $200 from Kelseyville Lumber.
Wells Fargo already gave $1,000 directly to each school, and KHS previously received $500 from Lakeside Family Fun & Event Center for winning the Bass Bowling contest
The Kiss My Bass event raised $4,450 and the Bass Bowl beauty pageant grossed $1,795, Smoley said.
Pageant winners Laura Pankratz and Brianna Vargas received $450 scholarships soon after the Oct. 29 event.
Smoley reported the committee raised about $20,700 overall.
In total, KHS received $3,000 and CLHS $2,500. The other $900 in profits went toward the pageant scholarships.
Smoley said the reason it took the committee more than three months to give out the final $3,000 was “more me than anything.” He cited a few late bills as well as his own other personal and professional obligations as the main causes of the delay.
During the luncheon, attendees talked about ways to improve the committee”s efforts for the 2012 Bass Bowl.
Smoley introduced several ideas, including combining the pageant and Kiss My Bass into one event, selling tickets before the game online, offering reserved seating and allowing some people to receive 10-percent commissions for collecting donations.
Cockerton said he was concerned that aggressive Bass Bowl fundraising in Kelseyville might negatively affect other school groups trying to seek sponsors in the town.
“I don”t want the merchant to think twice because ”I already gave,”” Cockerton said.
KHS will host this year”s Bass Bowl.
