A major milestone will be marked at halftime of Tuesday night’s Jefferson boys basketball game when the Jefferson Athletic Booster Club formally presents its latest donation.

The $55,000 check will put the contribution of the club to the high school athletic fund to more than $2 million since the volunteer organization was formed by parents in the 1957-58 school year.

“It’s $2,013,834.54 to be exact,” said Mark Fiala, a longtime member of the J-Hawk booster club and president for the past 10 years.  “It’s amazing how much money can be made by selling a candy bar or a bag of popcorn one item at a time.”

While a variety of fund-raising events are held each year, the main source of revenue over the past 50 years has been from the concession stands operated at all Jefferson school events, including sports but also dances and other activities.

And by far the biggest money-maker is the club’s traditional exclusive operation of the concession stands at Kingston Stadium.

The Jefferson group not only owns and maintains the equipment, but year-after-year it has provided the 40-or-so volunteers needed for the high school football and soccer games, band competitions and other events at the school district-owned stadium.

“Obviously,” said Fiala, the 28th president in the club’s history,  “September is our busiest time of the year.”

While the club’s 200-plus members average more than 5,000 hours of volunteer time each year, a total of 1,953 hours alone was logged last September.

And the Kingston proceeds benefit more than the athletic coffers at Jefferson.  Fiala points out that 15 percent gross sales go the school district to help support the Cedar Rapids middle schools as well as at Washington and Kennedy.

The club’s goal is to raise $100,000 each year for the Jefferson athletic program, with more than half of that going for operational expenses.

Fiala noted, for instance, that it costs $45,000 a year to pay for game officials, such as referees and umpires.  The rest goes for one-time expenses, primarily upgrades to athletic facilities.

In the past, the booster club has funded improvements  to the fields for baseball, softball, soccer and sophomore football.  They’ve also bought new scoreboards for the gymnasium and swimming pool. There are new nets for the volleyball team and new bags for the golf teams, new dugouts and new rest rooms.

“Our motto is, ‘A proud tradition working for kids,’” said Fiala, the technology facilitator at Jefferson High School.

To keep it going, the organization depends on its vast army of volunteers.

“They come in all genders, ages and sizes,” said Fiala.

The youngest are the elementary students who pick up trash around the softball complex in the summer. Then there are the women who prepare Four-Star quality food at the concessions stands.  Far from candy bars and popcorn alone, the Jefferson booths offer delicacies from barbecue beef sandwiches to chili, biscuits and gravy, grilled steak sandwiches, strawberry shortcake and hot fudge sundaes.

“We have active members whose kids graduated back in the 1980s,” according to Fiala. “Let’s just some of them celebrated their 30th birthdays a few years.”

Members pay annual dues ranging from $10 to $225.  And many have been volunteering for many years.

There are currently 138 individuals in the Booster Club Hall of Fame and 17 area businesses.

For their long commitment, four individuals have been awarded the “Crystal J-Hawk” for lifetime service: Don Lagerquist, Dick Langguth and, most recently, Jane and Ric Pike.

Current officers, besides Fiala, are Mike Kadlec, vice-president; Deb Winter, secretary; and Bob Hackney, treasurer.

While the adults have provided the driving force throughout the years, Fiala says it also is heartening that Jefferson students (present, future and former) have always been active participants in booster club projects.

“I’ve always said that our students are not afraid to roll up their sleeves and pitch in for the cause,” Fiala said.  “It presents a great public image of our Jefferson community when people see our students taking an interest in their school.”