New Parking: Officially

PRESS RELEASE

 

Release Date:       For Immediate Release

Duration:              Until 7:00 p.m. on Saturday, March 7^th, 2009

Re:                       Parking and Traffic Flow South High Marathon Dance Weekend

 

 

The 32^nd annual South High Marathon Dance will be held on March 6^th and 7^th at the South Glens Falls Senior High School located on Merritt Road.  This year, there are several changes regarding parking.

 

Ø  There will be NO PARKING on the south side of Merritt Road starting at 3:00 p.m. on Friday, March 6^th until 12:00 midnight on Saturday, March 7^th. 

 

Ø  Parking at the Senior High School will be limited to past and present marathon dance recipients, handicap, and those with special permits. 

§  Several 30 minute parking spots will be in place for those who need to pick-up or drop-off items. 

§  Dancer drop-off Friday night will be the same process as in past years.

 

Ø  Parking for volunteers and spectators will be available at Tanglewood Elementary School, The United Methodist Church, Pine Knolls, and Glengate Plaza (Family Dollar/Trustco Bank).

§  Volunteers and Alumni should plan to park at Tanglewood Elementary School.

 

Ø  A bus shuttle will run from designated parking areas to the Senior High School, cycling continuously, during the following times:

§  Friday, March 6^th, 5:15 p.m. – 10:45 p.m.

§  Saturday, March 7^th, 6:30 a.m. – After Dance Finale on Saturday Evening

 

Ø  A limited number of parking spots on site at the Senior High School will be raffled off this year.

§  Five (5) Parking spots for all day Saturday, March 7^th

§  Ten (10) Parking spots for the finale on Saturday, March 7^th (valid starting at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday)

§ Tickets will be sold up until 10:00 p.m. on Friday, March 6^th at the dance.  Winners will be announced Friday evening before the dance closes to the public at 10:30 p.m. 

§  Five (5) parking spots for all weekend of next year’s marathon dance will be auctioned off as part of this year’s silent auction. 

 

These changes are being implemented as a result of the growth of this event, concerns with safety and traffic congestion, and limited parking at and around the Senior High School. 

 

Specific questions regarding parking at the High School, designated parking areas, and bus shuttles should be directed to the Marathon Dance Parking Supervisor, Pete Dudley at ptdudley@live.com.  Any questions related to marathon dance safety and operations can be directed to Dan Albert at dannyalbert@yahoo.com .

 

We thank the community members, patrons, and volunteers for their patience, anticipated cooperation, and continued support to the South High Marathon Dance and students of South Glens Falls. 

 

Advisors/Coordinators

Tom Myott

Jody Sheldon

Dan Albert

This Week…

Tuesday, February 24th is the Applebee’s Fundraiser. The necessary flyer will be posted on the website momentarily. Please print the voucher, head up to Applebee’s on Quaker Road and have a good meal, knowing 10% of the bill will be donated to SHMD.

Also keep in mind that Wednesdays in February are Dango’s Fundraiser Days. Visit any of the Dango’s Restaurants in South Glens Falls (Dango’s Dugout, Fitzgeralds or Abbotts) on Wednesday and 10% of the day’s sales will be donated to SHMD.

Coming up very quickly: Sunday March 1 is the Annual St. Michael’s Breakfast and the following day is the Annual Talk of the Town Fundraiser. Both of these are usually a huge success, so let’s make ‘em bigger than ever!

Get This Party Started!!

Yes, friends, it is indeed February again, which means only one thing in our minds…MARATHON SEASON!!

The website has been updated, in case you hadn’t had the chance to check it out. There are 720 dancers signed up this year and once again the community support has started pouring in. Keep checking the website for continued updates as the big weekend approaches.

A few pretty big changes are taking place this year, starting with some key fundraisers. The owners of the Dango’s restaurants in South Glens Falls have really stepped up the game this year. Their fundraiser was such a success last year, they’ve expanded the idea immensely. They’re offering the South High Marathon Dance 10% of all sales on EVERY Wedensday in Febraury at ALL of their South Glens Falls locations. So stop into Dango’s Dugout, Abbotts or Fitzgeralds on 2/4, 2/11, 2/18, and 2/25 to have a great meal for a great cause.

Talk of the Town will hold their huge fundraiser again this year. This one has been a booming success in the past, so we must keep it going. Come in out of the cold on March 2nd for some warm dinner and 10% of the day’s sales will be contributed to the Marathon Dance.

As tradition is rooted strong in our small town, and especially in our dance, St. Michael’s will host their annual Marathon Dance breakfast once again. On March 1st a delicious breakfast will be served from 8:30-11:30am. The cost of the wonderful meal is $4.00 for adults and $2.00 for children. ALL proceeds will be donated to the dance.

There have been some reorginizational moves made this year, to better serve the spectators of the Dance. The one major change will be parking, which has grown more and more difficult as the dance has increased so dramatically in size. To best accomodate, and ensure the safety, of every member of our incredible community support force, parking will be off-site this year. The parking lot at school will be closed and all spectators will be directed to an off-site parking lot, and then shuttled to the school. I know the first instinct of some community members may be negativity towards this plan, but there are many reasons it has been put into place and actually many benefits. In years past we have seen more and more vehicles parked all the way down to Feeder Dam Road and beyond, making the parking lot an obstacle for all, especially should an emergency vehicle need to come in or out of the lot. And, think of it this way, you won’t have to hike three blocks in the frigid cold (has anyone else noticed that SHMD weekend seems to be the coldest of the year?) just to get to your vehicle. This will eleviate a lot of stress, traffic, safety hazards, and frostbite! Please continue to come out and support the dance, just park your car and enjoy the nice, short, warm ride right to the school door.

We will continue all the great website features that have gotten tremendous response over the past couple years, including the online donation system. Pass the word to co-workers and out-of-town friends/relatives so that we can tap every resource available. We’ll also, obviously, continue the Blog this year. It has gotten a great response and though it can be difficult sometimes to pull ourselves away at 2am Friday night to write, we love updating all of you on what is going on…and you seem to love it too! And, of course, the photos of this year’s SHMD quilt have been obtained and will be posted on the website very soon…it’s beautiful as always.

Continue to check the website for all the latest news on the upcoming events and please please feel welcome to contribute suggestions or ideas. All the interactive sections of the site (the blog, dancer request list, guestbook, online donations and form sections) are a result of someone shooting us an email proposing the idea. Our goal is to make shmd.org THE central location for all things Marathon you could ever want.

Lastly, I was proud to see on Wikipedia tonight that although another high school in New York has us beat on longevity by four years, we are officially The Most Fiscally Successful High School Marathon Dance in the United States. That is a huge accomplishment…and it belongs to each of you.