Hurricane Isaac made landfall on Aug. 28, causing widespread power outages across southern Louisiana and Mississippi. St. Paul’s School also lost power for a few days, causing major concerns for the Band Boosters who had recently purchased thousands of dollars of concession food items for the upcoming football season.

“Coach Ketelsen informed the band president, Mr. Benny Miller, and told him that St. Paul’s was going to lose power and that something had to be done about the concessions. Mr. Benny called me asking if I had a generator. I had an extra, so I was able to go and set one up for the concessions,” said Band Booster Secretary Beth Cannon about preserving the concession items.

“We used an extra portable generator from home for the freezer in order to preserve meat items such as hot dogs and for the ice,” said Cannon. “We had the generator hooked up for around two days. We hooked up the generator early on during the storm when the weather wasn’t too bad. After about a day, we had to go back and check if the generator was still running and refill the fuel,” Cannon added, noting they had to wait for a break in the weather to check on the generator.

After Hurricane Isaac, the Band Boosters were able to run the concession stands for the St. Paul’s/John Curtis game on Sept. 1. Despite the heat and lower than usual attendance, the concessions were a success and sold a considerable amount of items during the game, said Cannon.