CrawFish Run to a Great Success
Left to Right: Nakalnga Paul, Chance Martelli, Caimen McDonough, Micah St. John, Jarred Rollins, Tanner Farris, and Jacob Foster
The ReSporter: How did this year stack up with your previous years?
Hawk after a downing several pounds of Crawfish
Craw Martelli: “The 9th annual Crawfish Boil was a great year! The 7th Annual was a good year but it falls short of this years success. We boiled up 1200lbs this year and sold every last one ,compared to 750lbs in 2013.”
The ReSporter: Compare your first year with this last Saturday’s Crawfish.
Craw Martelli: “The first boil was just 4 family’s eating crawfish in the back yard and maybe finishing off two sacks-70lbs. Comparing it to HCB #9,……. it would be like me comparing the Slot -T offense to a Spread offense, Veer or three separate offense but its all football, ya just cant compare them as far as fundraising goes. However, its always goodtime to hang out with all your friends for a good cause- CL Athletics.”
The ReSporter: Having the event at Brookshire’s had to be a boost based on their location and how they support the Hawks, do you think that had anything to do with this year’s event?
Craw Martelli: “Brookshire Brothers really came through for us and the community. They are 100% behind our CLHS and its causes. Kenneth Moore the store Manager and Kaci Spence – the Lakeside Café and Bar Manager, really opened up the doors for us and the crowds kept coming steadily all day until 8pm. This location helped drive out of town people into the event and it helped the cash register chiming along, at least that’s what Dr. Hartman said, they keep me in the back and don’t let me out much.”
The ReSporter: Can you give us the other sponsors that helped make this Crawfish walk or run?
Go Hawks!
Craw Martelli: “Brookshire Brothers – Captial Wright Distributors of New Braunsfels- JD Pinion Canyon Lake Recycling – Mike Jarrell , North Shore Pharmacy – Jake Lewis, North Shore United Methodist Church- Pastor Km Burke, Leprechaun Technical Services Bert Flannigan, Blanco Creek Farms- Deron LeStourgeon, Rebecca Creek Gold Club- John Weakley, Y-4Custom Homes, Jason York, Country Comfort Heating and Air- Kyle Brennan, Edward Jones Financial Services, Mike Jordan, Anytime Fitness- Beckie, Paul Swoyer Septic’s-Paul Swoyer , Security State Bank and Trust and all the great and wonderful ladies over there and lastly , you, Don Holmes the Hilltop ReSporter, where sports is not just a job,…. its a passion.”
“These sponsors are the oars that row the boat and without them we are dead in the lake. So please patronize their business CL. People ask me all the time, were do you get such big crawfish? My friend from High school runs “Dumisnil Crawfish Farms” in Rosharon,Texas and we get a heck of a deal on the bugs, it helps us be profitable. If the sponsors are the engine, Ronnie and John Dumisnil are the gas!”
“Our website averages 1400 hits per year, because we are advertising for may people as a service to the community, not just the boil, just go check it out, www.hawkscrawfishboil.com”
The ReSporter: How do you divide the money between the two schools?
Craw Martelli: “We take a Ginsu knife and chop a check in half and who ever gets the biggest piece wins the most money.
Seriously though. As everyone knows, this event is for the Athletic Coaches Funds for CLHS and MVMS and is weighted towards CLHS. The split is a 2:1 ratio, dollar in and dollar out. When our donation is made, it goes where ever it goes and we don’t care. We all just know, its not slotted to one athlete, it covers ALL athletes.”
The ReSporter: Has the Crawfish Boil become a larger event for planning and advertising time wise?
Craw Martelli: “Ya know, for as little as we do for advertising, we do ok. This year we reached out through some emails and two more banners, but being at Brookshire Brothers was the key. We would like some more support from CISD teachers and coaches in both Schools. Already the 2017 Craw Fish Boil has gained some more sponsors. Once you start getting g to the next level, them people want to always jump on board, and they have already. So Advertising will get larger but it wont break my sweat as others will do it for us.”
The ReSporter: Have you ever had weather take a bite out of money received? Or does getting the money before had help in not having a total flood of profits washing away?
Craw Martelli: “Thank the Lord no weather taken from our cause. If it does rain, we are going to cook anyway, its not going to matter, b/c it wont be the first time its rained on me cooking bugs over the last 31 years. When the swine Flu came out a few years ago people got into panic, we just kept on cooking and had a good year. Our Sponsors have stayed the course, most of then have been here since we went public in 2009. We picked up two new ‘Ad’ people this year beside BB.”
The ReSporter: When will your Crawfish be held this next year and what are your hopes and dreams as that is just around the corner….???
Craw Martelli: ” The next HCB will be on May 6th 2017 so mark your calendars now. We will serve BBQ Chicken, Brisket along with the loved bugs. You might be surprised with some of the sponsors next year. The Craw Fish Boil will ALWYAS be held on the 1st Saturday of each year, whether other local events are going on or not.
Hopes and Dreams? Dreams are what drive people to get what they want through effort, Hope is what you think you can do without effort or have no control over.
So the Dream of making the Hawks Crawfish Boil larger where we raise more money, attract more people and grow the event past 2000lbs of bugs will come true as we drive to succeed into next year. I “HOPE” everyone in CL will get out this year to a football game!”
The ReSporter: Thanks Cory for you dedication and working to help the Hawks.
