The Crooms AoIT Alumni Association has started its 2023-2024 fiscal year by issuing a $600 check to the Crooms AoIT athletics department. This donation aims to support athletics teams and sports clubs in their efforts to provide a full and enriching academic experience to Crooms AoIT students during their high school years. This donation is possible thanks to the support of alumni and community partners through the 2nd year capital fundraising campaign for the Crooms AoIT Alumni Panther Walk.

The Alumni Association was also been able to deposit an additional $222 into a dedicated fund to support the Coach Geoffry Alan Haines Athletics Grant Program. This deposit will help ensure the sustainability of the Athletics Grant Program for an indefinite period into the future.

Alumni and community partners looking to specifically support Crooms AoIT athletics can directly support the team of their choice through the specialized donation page or support general athletics by purchasing a brick for the Crooms AoIT Alumni Panther Walk.

Our condolences to Stephen Bradshaw's (Class of 2007) wife (Aubrey), friends, and family on his passing on Saturday. Those interested are invited to attend a Celebration of Life on Saturday, July 22nd at 10AM. The Celebration will take place at Secret Lake Park in Casselberry at the Grand Pavilion behind the main building. Attendees are encouraged to bring a chair.

Stephen is remembered fondly by Croomies. Following his graduation from Crooms AoIT in 2007, Stephen attended the University of Central Florida for his undergraduate degree in anthropology and statistics. He went on to gain a master degree from Full Sail University in Business Intelligence. For the past 8 years, Stephen capitalized on his technology skills and worked for the Los Angeles Film School on business intelligence and data reporting. He also started his own consulting business on the side in 2019 to help companies make better decisions through data visualization. Stephen will be missed greatly.

Dear Crooms AoIT Alumni Association members and supporters,

We are pleased to present our FY23 consolidated income and balance sheet to provide full transparency into how your financial support is used. The Association's fiscal year runs from July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2023. The Association uses cash accounting but a line has been entered to recognize scholarship commitments made in FY23 that were not paid out during the fiscal year.

A summary of major activities includes:

• Matching donations helped raise $475 this year for the General Fund - a meaningful amount by historical standards.
• Crooms AoIT Girls Basketball Team was provided the $300 Coach Geoffry Alan Haines Athletics Grant.
• The first set of bricks was installed for the Crooms AoIT Alumni Panther Walk at Crooms AoIT.
• Nine (9) additional bricks were sold this year for the Crooms AoIT Panther Walk, ensuring continuous funding for the Coach Geoffry Alan Haines Athletics Grant and the Crooms AoIT Athletics Program.
• A $1,000 Crooms AoIT Alumni Association Community Scholarship was awarded to a Class of 2023 graduate - our 17th year of doing so and 20th community scholarship recipient.

A summary of our financials is detailed below:

• The Association started the year with a fund balance (excluding existing commitments) of $5,115.83 in the General Fund and $6,735.18 in the "Brick" Fund (the "Brick" Fund was established in FY22 following the launch of the Crooms AoIT Alumni Panther Walk and is intended to provide support to Crooms AoIT Athletics).
• After removing internal transfers, revenues of $2,517.13 were collected through memberships, donations, brick purchases, and other means - representing a 80.6% decrease from FY22. The Association anticipated this significant reduction in revenue in FY23 as brick purchases fell off.
• After removing internal transfers, expenses of $6,365.37 were recognized - representing an increase of 38% largely due the start of expenses for the Crooms AoIT Alumni Panther Walk. Overhead (from PayPal transaction fees) accounted for approximately 0.7% of all expenses for the year.
• An additional $1,000 remains to be disbursed for scholarships awarded during FY23.

Fund balance (after commitments) ended at $7,002.77, representing an 18.8% increase from the end of the previous year (after accounting for scholarship commitments). $3,121.51 of this fund base is unrestricted in the General Fund while $3,881.26 is restricted in the "Brick Fund".

If you would like more details, we invite you review the attached spreadsheet which includes transaction level detail for the year. Donor information has been removed to protect the privacy of our donors. Do not hesitate to contact us if you should have any questions or concerns.

Thank you for your continued support.

The Crooms AoIT Alumni Association is proud to announce the recipient of the $1,000 Crooms AoIT Alumni Association Community Scholarship. The Association is pleased to announce the Class of 2023 recipient is Ashley H..

The Community Scholarship is meant to honor a student not only for academic and extracurricular achievement, but also for dedication to community service. This year, through the multi-scholarship application process, we had a record setting 53 applicants, all with different strengths: high GPAs, involvement in school activities, and community involvement. Ashley's application shined through this year given her localized impact and contributions to her Crooms AoIT community.

Ashley worked to revamp the Pasta for Pennies program to support a local Sanford institution: the Goldsboro Museum. The revitalized program raised $1,000 to support the Museum and made a difference in our Sanford community. Ashley also served as Crooms AoIT's Student Government representative at the county level, a PTSA student representative, and a Business Advisory Council (BAC) student representative.

Congratulations, and best of luck to Ashley, our other applicants, and the Class of 2023 as a whole in your future endeavors. Go Panthers!

The Crooms AoIT Alumni Association, Inc. is proud to announce that it is providing this year’s Coach Geoffry Alan Haines Athletics Grant of $300 to the Crooms AoIT Girls Basketball Team. The girls basketball team is in its second year of building after a 4+ year hiatus. The grant will be used to:

• Invest in uniforms that can be used across multiple seasons for new team members
• Cover some start-up costs for the concession stand so they can raise their own money for future operational costs

The money for this grant comes from a previously established Crooms AoIT Alumni Panther Walk athletics fund where alumni can purchase a brick with their name to be installed at our alma mater. Individuals interested in supporting the athletics grant program should consider purchasing a brick at https://brick.croomsalumni.com

Separately, the Crooms AoIT Alumni Association has partnered with the Crooms AoIT Athletics Department to create a specialized donation page that now available on the menu bar of the Crooms AoIT athletics page.