The Gilroy High School Quarterback Club’s firework booth was
quiet Friday morning, but the calm won’t last for long.
Tony Travis, the club’s president whose two sons will be seniors
next year, knows the drill: the big sales don’t start rolling in
until over the weekend
The Gilroy High School Quarterback Club’s firework booth was quiet Friday morning, but the calm won’t last for long.
Tony Travis, the club’s president whose two sons will be seniors next year, knows the drill: the big sales don’t start rolling in until over the weekend.
“The Fourth is, by far, the busiest,” said Travis, decked out in a blue-and-gold Mustang jersey. “If they took this booth away from us, it would be a tremendous hardship. We wouldn’t be able to sponsor the kids.”
The proceeds from the club’s firework sales – which hover around $15,000 each year – account for about 25 percent of the club’s fundraising efforts throughout the year. That money pays for team camps, meals and gear. Though sales have dipped slightly in recent years, a loyal customer base keeps the club on track, Travis said.
The Quarterback Club runs one of the 16 city-sanctioned fireworks booths and has been at least as far back as the 1980s, said Tim Fortino, whose son, Niko, plays quarterback. Dad also played for GHS when he was in high school. The selection of fireworks at their booth was a bit more exciting back then, Fortino remembered.
These days, each of the booths stocks a similar selection of “safe and sane” fireworks that can be used inside the city limits from July 1 through the 4th. It’s the sparkling personalities at each of the booths that set them apart. From quarterbacks to Pop Warner cheerleaders to those donating their time on behalf of Victory Outreach, the volunteers return faithfully to help raise money for their organizations and new ones sign up every year.
“It really is for the kids,” said Janae Chapa, whose 9-year-old son plays Pop Warner football.
The fireworks cost anywhere from a few dollars for a pack of sparklers to more than $500 for the Big Bang, a six-foot tall box packed with pyrotechnic goodies. Excited to have already sold one of the Big Bangs, David Vanni, who volunteered at the Gilroy Elks booth Friday morning didn’t have past years’ sales as a guide – this is the club’s first selling fireworks.
He and fellow Elk, Jerry Everman, agreed that allowing Gilroy to continue hosting firework sales benefits both the residents, who get to enjoy festive fireworks displays, and many local community groups who benefit from the proceeds. This past spring, the local Elks Club gave away about $6,000 in college scholarships to graduating seniors in the area as a result of their fundraising efforts.
“Gilroy’s going to have fireworks anyway,” Everman said. “We might as well sell them here to benefit the community.”
Gilroy is the only city in Santa Clara County that allows fireworks, and many restrictions still apply. The fireworks sold at the 16 booths scattered about town may be used within Gilroy city limits, but not on public property or in areas adjacent to wildlands. As a good rule of thumb, any fireworks that leave the ground or explode are illegal, said Sgt. Wes Stanford. The Gilroy Police Department will be stepping up patrols this weekend in anticipation of any Independence Day related incidents. Officials will be issuing administrative fines for $250 and misdemeanor citations, with penalties of up to $1,000, for violations, depending on the situation.
Last year, the city issued about 20 administrative citations and the fire department received about 200 calls from residents complaining about illegal fireworks, according to Fire Marshal Jacqueline Bretschneider.
“If you didn’t get (fireworks) at a community booth, it’s not legal,” she said. Just one more reason to support local organizations this Fourth of July.
To report illegal fireworks, call 846-0350.
