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Thursday, July 24, 2008

Da Bears Come Out of Hibernation for 2008-09

By Harold Smith
Mountain View Telegraph
          Da Bears ain't dead yet.
        The Estancia Athletic Booster Club was officially titled "Da Bears" under its original filing as a nonprofit entity when it was founded in October 2001. But the club, after a flurry of activity in its infancy, has been in hibernation for several winters — and falls and springs, for that matter.
        That's about to change, said Nick Sedillo, Da Bears' new president.
        "The club has been around a while," said Sedillo, who also is the Torrance County safety officer. "But it's been kind of stagnant. Then the new (Estancia High) athletic director, Dusty Giles, he asked me to start it up again for him."
        Sedillo already has put together a group of citizens to act as the club's board. They include Angie Coburn (vice president), Lorena Coburn (treasurer), Janice Barela (secretary), Samuel Chavez and Tracy Sedillo, Nick's spouse.
        "Lorena Coburn was one of the first members of the club," Nick Sedillo said. "She started its 501c3 status. I thought I should bring her back in because she has all the background on the club. Then, I asked Janice and Angie to help because they have girls (daughters in EHS sports) and I don't, so I thought they'd be good for that. Plus, they know what's going on.
        "We're going to set up at all our athletic events, sell hats, T-shirts and rally towels," Sedillo continued. "One of our big plans is to be a part of our Bear Day activities during the Fourth of July festivities, sell hot dogs and hamburgers. But right now, we just want to get the ball rolling."
        The original club came out of the blocks at a sprint.
        "Kirk Cobb (the first president) and Troy and Angie Coburn (Lorena's son and daughter-in-law) got to talking," Lorena Coburn said. "And then Jennifer Montoya, and let's see, the Dominquezes, Mike and Stella, they all got this going. I helped get the 501c3 nonprofit status. Patty Ayre helped me."
        The group faded down the backstretch.
        After Cobb, Troy Coburn was the club president in 2002-03 and 2003-04. After that, Mike Hughes was the president through 2007-08, according to Lorena. But for several of those years, Da Bears were dormant with Hughes' name being submitted each year merely to retain the club's nonprofit status.
        "Now, we're hoping, we can get a bunch of young people to help again," Lorena said. "We worked ourselves to death the first few years. That's why it fell apart. We burned ourselves out. We tried to do too much."
        The club is making a comeback.
        "Everyone is looking forward to this year," Sedillo said. "I think it'll be a good year with our new athletic director. We want to get everybody involved — the parents and everybody else."
        For information on becoming a club member or a sponsor, call Sedillo at 384-4043.