Julian Khoury is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Horizon High School for AZPreps365.com

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — On Friday nights, when fans take their seats as the lights switch on, ready to support their local team they rarely think about the hours it took to get the bleachers clean and the snack bar restocked.

At Horizon, many of the families who sit in the stands know exactly how much work went into it, because they did it. Some are a part of the Husky Gridiron Booster Club, the parents whose game day starts long before kickoff. 

Horizon football runs on sponsorships and funds reeled in from the outside, from businesses that sponsor stadium banners to those that provide pregame meals. External help is only part of it, though, as the Huskies also have their own in-house support system.

The booster club is a volunteer group with over 30 board members, led by club president Quinn Tompkins. When public school funds aren't able to cover what is needed, or the stadium needs a pick-me-up, her team is there to step in and keep the ship sailing, even when temperatures are working against them.

On a Saturday in mid-August, when it's "120 degrees outside," Horizon athletic director Dena Anderson said, "they just all come together and work hard on a hot day."

The club hosts a stadium cleanup day, where everyone comes together and spruces up anything from hanging senior banners to repainting Husky paw prints on the ground.

On game days, members prepare the press box, set up the end zone camera, run the snack bar and make sure coaches have the gear the program needs to play back footage during games 

"We would not be able to have the successful program that we have without the boosters," head coach Tyson Ditmore said. "They're a part of the team."

Endeavors like these are done on a selfless basis, as everyone involved is a volunteer.

"It's a very tight-knit group of parents," Tompkins said. "Everyone works so well together."

While the participants off the field are all constantly in each other's vicinity, that hasn't been the case for the football team itself until this season.

This summer, the booster club completed one of its biggest goals, raising money and working with district facilities to create a new team room that can hold more than 100 players at once. Before, coaches struggled to fit the entire squad in one vicinity.

"It's something that coach and I have wanted to do," Anderson said. "Then the boosters made it happen."

The project has been in the works for the past couple of years finally culminating this season. 

"It's nice that we were able to provide them with that this year," Tompkins said.

Tompkins is in her third year with the booster club; she started on the social media side and was persuaded into becoming president a year later. However, her roots with the program run a little deeper than most.

When her son, Logan, was younger and her husband coached the Junior Huskies, she helped out too. Since then, Tompkins has watched  the players grow up and has helped  wherever needed, which has created a special bond with the team.

"You see big smiles on their faces when they're like, 'Oh, hi, Ms. Tompkins,' or they know parents in the booster club," Tompkins said.

Since she joined the club, it has grown every year, and sponsorships have continued to increase.

"Every year they're motivated to do better than they did the year before," Anderson said.

In turn, the drive has changed how the club operates. 

"It's gotten so much better over the years; it's a whole business," Ditmore said.

Behind the business-like operation is a crew that looks after its own. Anderson explained how the club has stepped in with meal trains and covering booster fees when a player's family is dealing with a medical emergency or a tough stretch.

"They probably help more people than I'm even aware of on a daily basis," Anderson said. "They take care of each other, which is sometimes hard to find nowadays."

Ditmore said it can be as simple as a forgotten item; if a player is missing something, all hands are on deck and a booster will go pick it up or grab it for them. Members of the club volunteer their time, and with a combination of care and wanting what's best for the program, they give it their all.

"It's really a selfless act," Ditmore said. "They don't get paid anything; (everyone’s)  a volunteer."

Tompkins said the club isn't close to slowing down, as it hopes to improve the stadium bleachers and press box over the next year and possibly add a new scoreboard..

After years at other schools in different states, Anderson said she has never quite seen a community like Horizon's.

"You can't find a group of people like this," she said. "It's really hard to come by."