Just a Few Tickets Remain for Novato High Baseball Crab Feed Fundraiser

Just a handful of tickets are still available for one of Novato High's most popular annual fundraisers, the Baseball Crab Feed and Auction. The event starts at 6 p.m. Saturday at the Our Lady of Loretto Church Hall.

The crab feed attracts about 285 people and sells out each year — “as much as the fire marshal will allow us,” said Jeff Barro, president of the school's sports booster club.

The shindig started six years ago when Bob Scheppler took over the varsity baseball program and got his staff together. Mark Stutzman was one of those coaches who took inventory and found that the program was basically bereft of goods.

“We were $30,000 in debt and had no gear whatsoever,” Stutzman said a few weeks ago. “We had to find some sort of fundraiser that was going to be something we could build on each year. I love crab and I know a lot of people who love crab, so here we are, six years running.”

Barron credits Stutzman for coming up with the idea and handling the crab part of the event, and he showers Michelle Scheppler, the coach’s wife, with praise for spearheading all the rest. He said Michelle Scheppler, Sallie Tanaka, Matt Tachis and Susi Lynam said they’d “grabbed the reins and take it on."

Stutzman gets a deal on crab from Ports Seafood of San Francisco and brings in about 600 pounds of crab that is caught the previous day. The crab is cracked by freshman baseball players who wear hazardous materials suits while they’re doing the job for about three hours in the facility’s kitchen area.

“It’s a rite of passage,” Stutzman said. “Imagine trying to corral them and keep them focused long enough to crack 600 pounds of crab. It’s hilarious.”

 The baseball program welcomes donations whether its from crab feed attendees or not. For ticket details and more information, call 798-0445 or e-mail novatoboosters@gmail.com.