Booster Club

The time was the fall of 1971. The place was the office of Mr. Clyde Bond, Friendswood High School Principal. Those present were Mrs. Patsy Trammell, Mrs. Joy Senter and Mr. Bond. The topic of conversation---the organization of a drill team for Friendswood High School. After many meetings and several hours of discussion, Mr. Bond agreed to present a proposal to Mr. John Ward, Superintendent of Schools, and Mr. Ted Thomas, Business Manager, that a drill team be established at FHS. Following a great deal of discussion, looking at the pros and cons of such an organization, Mr. Bond was given approval to take the necessary steps to organize a drill team for the 1972-1973 school year. Several guidelines were set down by the school's administration, agreed to by the parent committee, and the FHS drill team was born.

The next step was to select a director. After meeting with some of the junior girls who planned to participate, Mr. Bond suggested that they talk to Nancy Seaman, a math teacher on staff at FHS. Mrs. Seaman agreed to take on the task of organizing and directing Friendswood's first team.

In January 1972, a club was organized for the purpose of preparing the young ladies who were interested in being on the team the next year. With all of the major stumbling blocks removed, it was time to get down to work. The first item on the agenda was to select a name. Finding every possible word that could be in any way associated with a Mustang proved to be a time-consuming job in itself. The list was finally complete, and the voting was conducted. When the ballots had all been counted, the name "Wranglerettes" was chosen. The "Fillies" was considered, but it was eliminated because it was already in use by a local drill team.

On January 28^th, twenty-four prospective members and Mrs. Seaman attended a drill team camp held at the Shamrock-Hilton in Houston to gain information and routines for tryouts. They learned a "line dance" and an umbrella prop routine, which was used for tryouts. Following a month of practice, tryouts for the Wranglerettes took place. Twenty-six regulars were chosen to perform at every game and seven reserves, known as the "Pistols," were chosen to perform in the absence of a regular. The first team consisted of 5 seniors, 7 juniors, 9 sophomores and the reserves had 2 juniors and 3 sophomores. The reserve group did not last long---it was dropped for the 1974-75 school year.

Officer tryouts were the next item on the agenda. More research was done to find manes for the six officer positions. They would be called the Wranglerero, Pistolero, Bandolero, Foreman and two Ramrods. These names only lasted a year. The titles of Grand Marshal, Marshal, Sheriff, Deputy Sheriff and Deputy were established the second year of the team;s existence and are still in use today.

Now the newly formed team needed a "look." The officers and team drew sketches of the type of uniform they would like to have. Once again the team voted. The uniform selected consisted of a white skirt and blue long sleeve top with white fringe and white gauntlets. The head officer wore solid white, trimmed in blue, and the other officers wore blue skirts and white tops with blue fringe. The girls also selected a blue school uniform to wear to school on Fridays during football season. With the design chosen, it was time for material to be selected and ordered. The mother of each team member was given the task of either making the uniform herself or finding someone to make it for her.

The first year was a busy one for the Wranglerettes, who were sponsored by Mrs. Seaman and assisted by Cynthia Willingham. They performed at football and basketball games and attended various competitions. The officers attended their first competition in Commerce, Texas, that year while the team attended a clinic sponsored by Haden;s Halftimes in Houston. Tryouts were held on March 24^th , with the audition dance being a piece choreographed by the officers to "Smackwater Jack" by Carol King.

In the summer of 1972, Gail Gautreaux took over the busy job of directing the Wranglerettes. That summer 12 of the 32 members attended camp at SMU. Candi Walker, Cindi Trammell and Dawn Button received blue ribbons. The team enjoyed an exciting football season as the Mustangs won the State AA Championship in football. The Wranglerettes attended its first competition at Dobie High School winning first place in jazz and prop categories and second in high kick.

The Wranglerettes were a success from the start due to the vision of a few girls and their parents and the hard work of many members, parents and directors. Below is a time line of important events in Wranglerette history.

• 1975-First quilt raffle - the girls each made a square for the quilt, football buddies began
• 1976 - Kathy Wood becomes director
• 1977 - May 4th - The first Spring Show
• 1978 - Seventy-five girls try out for the team - the sophomores trying out for the team would be the last 3-year members.
• 1979-80 - The team consists of only juniors and seniors. The drill training class was formed to train prospective members (class of 1981-82), and the Wranglerette Booster Club was formed.
• 1980 - First place and Best All Around 3A at the Texas Drill Team Associations - first State Competition.
• 1981 - First place and Best All Around 3A at the Texas Drill Team Associations - second State Competition.
• 1981 - Judy Hamrick becomes director in September due to contract obligations with another district. The team starts football season with the help of the officers and college students hired to come in to polish routines.
• 1982 - Lori McNitzky Harvey becomes director
• 1986 - Sondra Schaaf becomes director
• 1991 - Laurie Belcher Bowers (now Boren) becomes director and creates the Dream Ensemble and Junior Line Officers
• 1994 - Susan Boldman Clark takes over as director, uniform skirt changes to blue
• 1997 - The Wranglerettes' new (and current) uniforms with blue skirts were debuted at the Homecoming game.
• 1998 - Barbie Parker becomes director, sets the stage for hosting a competition and sophomores joining the team
• 2001 - Kara Baker becomes director, Drill Training class open to Freshmen
• 2002 - Wranglerettes host their first annual January Jubilee competition, Sophomores join the team, Juniors allowed to become officers
• 2003 - Wranglerettes travel to New York City
• 2000 - The Wranglerettes get a new home as the band hall is refurbished as a dance facility.
• 2001 - The team travels to Orlando, Florida.
• 2004 - The first Illusion Ensemble.
• 2005 - The Wranglerettes travel to NYC once again.
• 2006 - A full time Assistant Director / Dance Teacher position is created. Mrs. Somer Compton Brown was the first to fill this position.
• 2007 - The Wranglerettes travel to Los Angeles.
• 2008 - Former Grand Marshal Melissa Jones becomes the Assistant Director after Mrs. Brown moves away.

***Note - This history of Wranglerettes is sure to be missing some milestones! If you have anything to add, please email our Webmaster. Thanks for your input!

Kara Baker, Director

The Wranglerette Banquet used to be for team members only. During those years, the Mother-Daughter Tea was held around the time of the banquet outside on picnic tables. Everyone brought a dish to share. Now the Wranglerette have a Mother-Daughter Tea and a Father-Daughter event as well. The banquet is open to any family members who would like to attend.

Mrs. Martha Griffon (our Principal's mother) was the first Wranglerette Booster Club President. She held this position for three years.

The Wranglerette banner went up in the Space Shuttle Discovery during Mrs. Sondra Schaaf's tenure. Her teams also appeared as honor guards for President Ronald Reagan, then Vice President George H. W. Bush, and Senator Phil Gramm.

The current officer strut was choreographed to an original composition in 1988.

The Wranglerettes had a "Beau" for many years. This lucky young man received a t-shirt and a "little black book" with each Wranglerette's name, phone number and address among other gifts. Wranglerette Pamela Prince married Patrick Crespo, the Wranglerette Beau of 1982.