Organizers with the Hamilton Athletic Booster Club are calling their second annual Spring Tasting event a huge success after hosting nearly 300 guests at Boneyard Pub & Grille Friday.

The band UnXpected played as local residents sampled more than 40 types of beers and 15 different types of wine. Guests also bid on merchandise from the Brewers, Badgers and Packers to raise more money for Hamilton athletics.

All the proceeds are slated to fund the new state-of-the-art scoreboards as a part of the group's Charging Forward initiative. It's an $800,000 donation-based program that will improve various athletic facilities at Hamilton High School.

"Our one high school supports multiple communities, and our athletes perform to the best of their ability every time they step on the athletic field," said the booster club's website. "We believe our facilities should reflect the same passion."

Back in February, Rumors Sports Bar & Grill donated $2,000 to the project, and while the booster club says its only collected a portion of the required funds for the new scoreboards, the target installation date is sometime this fall. 

However, after charging $35 a person for the Spring Tasting event, plus the donations from the raffle, Hamilton Athletic Boosters are inching closer to their goal.

"A great big thank you goes out to the project manager and Vice President,
Terry Schiedemeyer, as well as the fabulous venue at the local Boneyard Pub
& Grille which was able to accommodate 300 guests with their space in Sussex,
and served fabulous appetizers accompanied by great customer service," said group organizer Lori Hayes. "The funds raised are being added to Charging Forward account to fund a new outdoor scoreboard and add-on graphics for the indoor scoreboard."

The new scoreboard will feature:

• A 6x11 ft. display
• The ability to show athlete photos
• The capacity to show graphics, like "Touchdown!"
• Up to two minutes of video playback
• Advertising options for local businesses