The Gift of Music is proud to sponsor and partner with Strategic Boosters to present the 2026 Booster Club Institute on Saturday, May 9 from 8:30am – 4:00pm in the band room at Kennesaw Mountain High School. This event will feature a full day of information sharing and discovery and is open to all band, orchestra, and choral booster club programs. The seminar, entitled “How to Build Sustainable Booster Leadership for a Growing and Thriving Organization” will be presented by Dr. David Vandewalker, founder/author of Strategic Boosters. https://www.strategicboosters.com

“I’ve spent my entire career as a teacher and arts administrator passionately working to provide amazing experiences for students. As a young director of bands, I had great students and a dedicated booster team of about 10 people. But it seemed like there was always too much work and never enough time. I needed help! As a team, we launched into a journey that ultimately became the Strategic Boosters System®. It was created and time-tested by REAL teachers and REAL parent boosters…just like you who desired to provide a thriving program for their students. For the past fifteen years, I’ve had the joy of sharing the system with teachers and booster clubs all across the country. The resources are available now to help you turn your POTENTIAL into PERFORMANCE!” – Dr. David Vandewalker

The presentation will be broken into multiple areas, focusing on pertinent topics such as volunteer engagement, fundraising, 501C3 guidelines, band director and staff support, creative ways to engage your school administration, as well as fostering relationships and networking with other booster organizations on campus. For the cost of $100.00 per booster club, schools may send as many booster club officers and members as they wish to have participate. Directors are strongly encouraged to attend in an effort to interface with their booster club members, as they plan for the upcoming school year. The seminar will offer breakout sessions that will encourage discussion with other booster clubs in attendance as well as strategic conversations within each booster organization.

Finally, this seminar is designed to expedite booster club goals and procedures while not “reinventing the wheel.” Through the research and vast experience of Dr. Vandewalker as well as the opportunity to network with other booster club parents, participants will receive valuable information that have proven results! The Gift of Music welcomes your booster club to this unique event, specifically designed and created for music booster organizations. We look forward to seeing you on Saturday, May 9!

David W. Vandewalker, a third generation wind band conductor, is an elected American Bandmasters Association member, four-time elected National Band Association Board of Director, invited ASPIRE Commissioning Project Board of Director, Sousa Foundation’s Sudler Flag of Honor Selection Committee member, and author of music education resources distributed internationally. Dr. Vandewalker is the founding artistic director and conductor of the professional ensemble, Cobb Chamber Winds, the former associate conductor of the nationally recognized Sudler Scroll recipient ensemble, Tara Winds, and the administrator, artistic director, and principal conductor of the Metropolitan Atlanta Youth Wind Ensemble.  As the Coordinator of Performing Arts for Fulton County Schools (Atlanta, GA) he supported the music education and music therapy faculty in 57 elementary schools, 19 middle schools, and 17 high schools who serve nearly 100,000 students.  He earned degrees at Baylor University, Central Michigan University, and Boston University where he received the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Music Education. As a performer, Dr. Vandewalker enjoys artistic development as a vocalist, cellist, and clarinetist with twenty-nine years of teaching experiences spanning elementary, middle school, high school, and higher education as a conductor of both choral and instrumental ensembles. Additionally, David studied with Jos Wuytack, student and friend of Carl Orff, for his Orff-Schulwerk Level 2 certification and served as a lead curriculum writer for both Cobb County School District and the Georgia Department of Education. Prior to his appointment with Fulton County Schools, Dr. Vandewalker served as the associate director of athletic bands/ assistant director of bands at Georgia State University (2012-2016) and Director of Bands at Harrison High School in Kennesaw, Georgia (2000-2012). A Conn-Selmer Artist/Educator, he has led concerts before esteemed audiences such as the CBDNA/NBA Southern Division Conference, Music for All National Concert Festival, and the Midwest International Band and Orchestra Clinic. Marching Bands under his direction received honors including participation in the 57th Presidential Inaugural Parade, 2009 & 2014 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, ranked top-ten nationally by the 2013 College Band Directors National Association (CBDNA), and Bands of America Grand National Finalist (Top 12). Dr. Vandewalker is a recipient of the Sudler Flag of Honor, ten-NBA Citation of Excellence Awards, three National Wind Band Honors Awards, is recognized in multiple editions of Who’s Who Among American Teachers, and is an elected member of the American Bandmasters Association.  He has published numerous articles in professional journals, chapters in multiple volumes of the Teaching Music Through Performance in Band book series (GIA) and Rehearsing the High School Band (Hal Leonard), books including Boosters to the Rescue, and Strategic Plans for a Successful Booster Club (GIA), and Foundations for Wind Band Clarity- Arrangements for Concert Band, Foundations for Wind Band Clarity- Instructional DVD, and Everyday Stuff Every Director Needs to Know (Vision Publications). Additionally, Vandewalker is a nationally-renown staff development presenter with multiple clinician appearances for GMEA, Music for All Summer Symposium, Smith Walbridge Directors Institute, Texas Bandmasters Association, and the Midwest Clinic. David and his wife, Pamela, reside in Marietta where she is Minister of Creativity and Worship Programming at Johnson Ferry Baptist Church where she has over 900 children actively involved in music making each week.