Jordan Maxwell is a special education teacher at Martinsville Junior-Senior High School, a parent of three children spread across the district, and the wife of a school board member. She was also the PTO president for seven years before being asked to lead the Martinsville Booster Club. She said yes. It was, apparently, a natural next step for someone who has never been short on ways to serve.

The Booster Club exists to support athletics at the junior-senior high school — football, basketball, volleyball, cheerleading, softball, scholastic bowl, band, and track and field (through a co-op with neighboring Casey). Its work is quieter than a game-winning shot, but just as essential.

Funding comes primarily through an annual membership drive, with tiers ranging from $25 to $100 and beyond, and a spring memorial golf outing held at the Casey Country Club during the Martinsville Ag Fair weekend — a timing choice that brings former residents back to town and gives the event a natural built-in audience. The golf outing also honors the memory of someone from the Martinsville community, with family members invited to participate in the luncheon.

That money gets put to work in ways that touch every team. The Booster Club funds team banners with player photos hanging in the gym, pays for a team meal for every sport each season, covers athletic fees for students who need assistance, hosts banquets for all junior high teams and three high school banquets each fall and winter, and maintains a uniform rotation — picking up half the cost when each sport's turn comes around. They also help pay for a Huddle subscription that allows football and basketball teams to review game film, recorded by student volunteers.

One of Maxwell's proudest moments as president came when the Booster Club approached the school board about covering game admission for all junior and senior high students at every regular-season home game. "We are in a low-income community," she said, "so getting that money to come to ball games is kind of hard sometimes. If you can get a ride here, then you can come in and watch the game." The board didn't just approve the idea — they took it over entirely, funding it through the school. "That was great," Maxwell said simply. And when the girls' basketball team made the regional championship this year, the Booster Club paid admission for every student who made the trip.

Each fall, the Booster Club hosts Meet the Streaks, introducing all fall athletes to the community with a meal and a chance to purchase Bluestreaks apparel. The homecoming tailgate — grilling at the end zone, selling spirit items, and celebrating before the game — has been a long-running tradition, though last year's was canceled by weather.

Now the club is building something new. This year, the Martinsville Booster Club launched its Hall of Fame program, with an inaugural class set to be announced at homecoming this fall. A carefully assembled committee — Booster Club officers, the superintendent, athletic director, principal, a board athletic committee member, and three community members representing different eras of Martinsville graduates — spent their first meeting establishing criteria for four induction categories: coaches, teams, individual players, and a community impact category for people like a longtime volunteer photographer whose work captured memories for families who couldn't always be there in person.

Nominations will be open to anyone in the community through a Google form linked on the District's website and the Booster Club’s Facebook page. Nominees who aren't selected in their first year will remain on the list — no need to re-nominate. Inductees will be celebrated before the homecoming game and recognized on the school's digital Wall of Excellence near the athletic entrance, where yearbooks, team rosters, and school history are already on display.

"We have a really great community of people who always come together and support our kiddos," Maxwell said. "It's great to be a part of it." For the Bluestreaks and everyone who cheers for them, the Booster Club is making sure that's never in short supply.