Walkersville, founded in 1892, is a prideful community located in the beautiful rolling hills of Frederick County, Maryland. That pride extends to Walkersville’s devoted commitment to education. Walkersville High School (WHS) exemplifies their motto of “Quality teaching is our task-- Excellence for all is our goal.” The school rallies behind the slogan of “Lion’s Pride,” with the blue-and-gold Lion being the mascot. Academics are a proud tradition at WHS. And so are athletics
When the gates to WHS’s Lion’s Stadium first swung open in 1976, the student population was 620, with 131 of those students participating in sports. The current student population has grown to over 1,300, of which 700 are student-athletes participating in 27 different sports. So successful are the athletic programs that the grandstands get filled beyond capacity.
Insufficient seating, however, is far from the only issue plaguing the aging arena. Mounting repair and maintenance costs, safety concerns, limited usability throughout the year, and inadequate team facilities are among the problems.
Walkersville High School has teamed with their Athletic Boosters on a capital campaign aimed at raising $3.6 million through 2008-2009 to comprehensively restore functional excellence to the 32 year-old Lion’s Stadium. Major improvements-- including new grandstands, synthetic turf, and a clubhouse-- will significantly enhance the universal functionality of a school and community-wide resource.
The Walkersville High School Athletic Boosters (www.geocities.com/whsab2006) is a hardworking, volunteer, non-profit organization formed to support every WHS athletic program. All parents with students who participate in WHS athletics automatically become a booster member. 100% of their fundraising efforts go to providing much-needed equipment, scholarships, transportation, and facilities that are regularly used by our teams and fans. Among the recently funded projects are: updated sound-systems for the stadium and the gym, softball dugouts, the mule cart, and scorer tables in the gym. In 2007 alone, $15,000 was turned over to the Athletic Department to be used for new softball/baseball bleachers. Since the WHS Athletic Boosters are recognized federally as a non-profit 501 (c)(3) organization, all donations are tax-deductible.