Alumni Association to Offer Annual Grant for Crooms AoIT Athletics, Create Grant Committee to Oversee Process
This past Wednesday, the Crooms AoIT Alumni Association's Board of Directors unanimously approved a measure to offer an annual grant to a Crooms AoIT sports team. The grant comes after Crooms AoIT Class of 2006 graduate Frank C. Bracco signed a four-year gift agreement with the Alumni Association. As part of the agreement, the Alumni Association will offer a grant of at least $250 to Crooms' athletic teams for at least the next four years.
"Although the amount of the grant may be small when compared to the overall expenses our athletic teams face, it is my hope this grant can provide some moral and financial support to the athletic activities that played a pivotal role in the development of so many Croomies - myself included," Bracco declared. Statewide budget cuts to education over the past several years have erased financial support for extracurriculars, which Bracco cited as a motivating factor for the gift. He also noted the shuttering of the Crooms AoIT Athletic Boosters as an issue that encouraged him to earmark his financial support for athletics.
Some members of the Alumni Association's Board of Directors saw the grant program as something long overdue for Crooms AoIT. "Considering the massive budget cuts for Seminole County Public Schools next year, this grant program can help Crooms' student organizations remain intact and strong,” stated Board member James “Brock” Mangus, Class of 2007. Mangus has been advocating for increased financial support for Crooms AoIT from his fellow alumni for the past several months.
The grant process will be overseen by a newly formed grant committee. Over the next several weeks, the committee will determine the criteria for the grant and will invite the physical education department and sporting teams at Crooms to file a request for funding. Membership on the grant committee is open to all alumni, but preference will be given to Alumni Association members. Individuals interested in serving on the grant committee should e-mail scholarship@croomsalumni.com.
