Thread: TEMECULA: Radio station accepting donations for Band, 55K

TEMECULA: Radio station accepting donations for band

KFI hopes to raise $50,000 to help send Great Oak musicians to Arizona

By CRAIG SHULTZ - cshultz@californian.com
Posted: June 1, 2010 8:13 pm

Two Los Angeles radio hosts who criticized Great Oak High School for pulling out of a band festival in Arizona are accepting donations to help pay for the band's trip.

John Kobylt and Ken Chiampou, of KFI 640 AM's "The John and Ken Show," put a link up on their website Tuesday where listeners can make donations.

Their goal is to raise $50,000, half of the anticipated $100,000 cost of the trip.

Great Oak became embroiled last month in the controversy over Arizona's new anti-immigration law when Kobylt and Chiampou were told by an Arizona tourism official that the band decided against participating in December's Fiesta Bowl National Band Championships because of the state's new anti-immigration law.

The law requires Arizona police, during the course of a lawful contact with a person, to determine whether he or she is in the country illegally if the officer has "reasonable suspicion" that the person is an illegal immigrant and if the check is "practicable."

Administrators with Great Oak and the Temecula Valley Unified School District denied that the decision had anything to do with the Arizona law and threats to boycott the state by the law's opponents.

The administrators said the band pulled out because the trip would be too expensive.

They later said the band could travel to Arizona if the money could be raised without overburdening parents. Subsequently, the radio hosts offered to raise money for the band.

The rest of the money will come from fundraisers and parents, according to Todd Wiggins, incoming president of the Spirit of Great Oak booster club.

Wiggins said the trip is dependent on the radio station reaching its goal.

"If they don't come up with the $50,000, we're not going to turn up the burden on our parents," Wiggins said by phone Tuesday.

The fundraisers need to bring in $25,000, Wiggins said. That's in addition to the money the band had already planned to raise during the next school year.

Included in that total will be $9,775 that has been pledged by Temecula City Council members from their city-provided discretionary budgets.

The rest of the money, about $250 per band member, will come from parents, said Wiggins, who was a guest on "The John and Ken Show" on Tuesday.

The $50,000 has to be raised by July 1 so hotel deposits can be made, the radio hosts said on the air Tuesday.

Donations from $10 to $1,000 are being accepted at stlth2.halfoffdeals.com.

The radio show's website ---- www.johnandken.com ---- states that a donation "is your way to fight back against the boycotts and support the Arizona Economy!"

Wiggins said he wants to stay away from politicizing the trip.

"My sheer thinking on this whole thing is what's happening is for the kids," Wiggins said. "We're not making a statement one way or another."

Call staff writer Craig Shultz at 951-676-4315, ext. 2625.

NORTH COUNTY TIMES

http://www.kfiam640.com/pages/jk2010.html



weekdays 2:00 PM to 7:00 PM


Support Arizona!

Send the Great Oak High School band to Arizona to participate in the Fiesta Bowl Band Competition in January! They need your help. Click here to donate. The goal is to raise at least $50K!

This is your way to fight back against the boycotts and support the Arizona Economy!


Listen Live

http://www.kfiam640.com/mediaplayer/?st ... nel_title=

Everyone should listen to these guys. They are hilarious, and definitely correct on immigration issues.

Ostrich

UPDATE.

this past friday at 5:00 PM
the band was presented a check for $55,000


Listen to the band perform in the 5 PM hour on the 16th

http://www.kfiam640.com/common/podcast/ ... JohnandKen