12 Lessons After 10 Years: Our President's Thoughts on Serving Schools

Written on May 05, 2012 by McCall Dudeck

In celebration of the Boosterthon Fun Run’s 10^th birthday, I asked our President and Founder, Chris Carneal, to share a few lessons he’s learned over the last 10 years serving America’s top schools. Though he’s learned countless principles, check out these 12 lessons (one for each year and two for good luck!)

1. “School teachers and administration are some of the hardest working people I know. Compared to any other industry, I have never come across a group of individuals who dedicate more of their time, energy, and heart into their occupation than educators.

2. “When given the opportunity, students want to help their school. I have learned that students, even at a young age, take ownership of their school. It is exciting to see how they rally together to make a difference.”

3. “There aren’t enough funds for educational needs. Public or private, schools constantly have needs to enhance learning. In order to create great learning environments, schools need additional funding outside of their allotted budgets.”

4. “American families are the most generous in the world. Even in a tough economy, I have seen American families generously give to causes they believe in.”

5. “School culture matters. When learning environments are engaging, fun, and motivating, the best learning happens.”

6. “Teachers love to have fun. Believe it or not, teachers, like their students, love to have fun—sing, dance, cheer—and to celebrate and be celebrated.”

7. “Principals will do anything to help their school. And I mean anything. I have seen Boosterthon principals dress up as chickens and cartoon characters, spend the night on the roof of the school, kiss pigs, and more. I am amazed at the lengths they will go to motivate students and build excitement in their school.”

8. “Leadership is a skill that can be learned. Every time I walk into a meeting with an administrator, I scan their bookshelves. I have found that the administrators that study leadership are, in fact, some of the best leaders. While adults can learn leadership by reading, kids learn best by watching others model the behavior and then live it out in small ways.”

9. “Character must be modeled. Posters on the walls and words alone are not enough to impact a student’ s behavior. Students need enthusiastic role models who exhibit integrity and character and teach it creatively.”

10. “Technology advances at an incredible rate. If you can believe it, 5 years ago one of the most desired prizes was a keychain camera—with actual film in it! A kindergartner today probably has no idea what a film camera is.”

11. “Music makes a difference. Our very-first Boosterthon Fun Runs didn’t have music. It was just me standing on my car, encouraging students through a bullhorn (That’s how far we’ve come). Now, I can’t imagine a Boosterthon Fun Run without teachers, parents, and students dancing to their favorite songs. Incorporating music into fitness definitely helps motivate people to be active.”

12. “Who we are is more important than what we do. What makes Booster unique is the high-caliber people who work in every level of our organization. At the end of the day, the Boosterthon Fun Run is about people, and we think our people are some of the best in the world.”

The Boosterhon family is thankful to Chris and Lyndie for their hard work and leadership over the last 10 years. As our organization grows, we are constantly learning how to serve Boosterthon schools better and develop exceptional leaders.

Check out how we celebrated our 10^th birthday.

The Boosterthon Fun Run is a fundraising company designed for America’s top schools. Since 2001, Boosterthon’s taught millions of students across the nation about the importance of fitness, leadership, and character while helping schools raise needed funds. To inquire how our unique fundraising program can help with your school’s fundraising needs, visit www.boosterthon.com/contact.

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