[BillyMac]

End of the year banquet the week after the state finals. Over the past thirty-three years we've gone from simple catered affairs in church halls, to having a "fancy" banquet in some of the best banquet facilities in our little corner of Connecticut. Open bar. Cheese, crackers, and hot hors d’oeuvres, for cocktail hour before dinner. Most of us get dressed up (suits, blazers, ties, etc.), but a few will wear polo shirts (once a jock, always a jock). No spouses. No plus ones. Retired past presidents (we call them "ole" timers) are invited guests.

Raffle (prizes (some donated), and 50/50 cash). Years of service pins (five year intervals), and certificates, awarded. State final officials awards. Bye bye to departing president. Award to most cooperative athletic director. Scholarships (not part of banquet budget) awarded for summer camps. No real speeches.

About $30.00 of our $125.00 annual dues goes toward the banquet, but because only about 75% of our 325 members actually attend the banquet, those of us that actually go get more bang for our buck. About $10,000.00 is budgeted for the banquet, open bar, raffle prizes, awards, and pins.

We've cut down on invited guests. We used to honor coaching staffs of conference, and state, champions that we service, but that's been cut back to only state champions that we service. It got out of hand when Title IX kicked in, and even more out of hand when we started having conference tournaments champions, in addition to regular season champions. It got worse when some of our superconferences broke down into geographic regions (North, South, etc.), each with their own regular season champion. We were having almost as many coaches as officials (exaggerated, but still costly). Sportsmanship awards are now presented at the schools, rather than at the banquet.

Every few years it is suggested, to cut down on our dues, and some drunken shenanigans, and possibly some legal liability for any DUI accidents after the banquet (none so far), that we go to a cash bar rather than an open bar, but that's not going to happen (basketball officials like their bottomless, unlimited, adult beverages). To save money, we've switched from a Friday night, to a Thursday night (it's cheaper if you don't have your banquet on a weekend night), and we've had some complaints from guys that have to get up for work the next morning, some with a hangover.

I have a feeling that if we went to an "only pay if you come banquet", and an "only pay if you drink cash bar", that a lot of officials wouldn't attend (far less than the 75% we presently get). After all, it's baseball, softball, and lacrosse, season, and a lot of golf courses are open for business. As it is now, a lot of guys figure, hey, it's $30.00 of my annual dues already out of my pocket, I might as well get my money's worth, go out and eat a nice dinner, and imbibe some, or a lot of, adult beverages, even though I have to get up for work the next morning.