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2012 Teal Sound "Letter of Explanation"


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Just make it East, Central/Mid and West. Straight lines down the map, geographically.

Then have Regionals in each, then Finals.

AJMHO

:-)

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DCI West

Troopers

The Academy

Blue Knights

Seattle Cascades

Oregon Crusaders

Spokane Thunder

DCI California

Santa Clara Vanguard

Blue Devils

Mandarins

Pacific Crest

City Sound

Gold

VK

Impulse

Blue Devils B

Blue Devils C

Vanguard Cadets

Renegades (DCA)

So Cal Dream (DCA)

*Denotes All-Age affiliate corps

Heh....DC-California....SO true!

I would, however, put Academy in the CA group....right next door compared to those you have in West.

Edited by 84BDsop
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It's a neat idea, but if you look at a map, the South regional doesn't make a lot of sense. Might as well blend the real southern corps with the eastern.

So, we'd go with DCI Southeast, DCI Midwest, and DCI West. So pretty much what we had with DCM, DCW, and DCE, just losing DCS? Seems like it could work

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Regardless of what is and isn't true, we DO KNOW that 1. Some members didn't pay their dues. 2. Some didn't pay the full amount. 3. Some payed in full. That's enough for me to figure this situation out, and it should be for anyone with a head and a brain. How else is the organization supposed to prosper if kids didn't pay a dime of their dues?! That's non-sense to blame it on a bus issue or blame it on DCI. Sure...the members not paying their dues may have led to the still-rumored bus leaving and equipment truck repo, but still.

That's about like asking a 4-year university to thrive with no students paying tuition. It will not happen.

And just out of curiosity, why does everyone keep being so negative about the drum corps activity in the state of Florida?...I'm being totally honest, I have no idea why people are saying that.

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Now this letter just doesn't sit well with me. At fault isn't the members for not paying, but rather the organization and management for not running a well-oiled machine and having contracts in place and fee deadlines (that you stick too!). Scholarship and sponsorship programs should be developed to help those in need. Take some responsibility Teal Board of Directors/Corps Director.

This is the type of argument I loathe: "surely it can't be my kids' fault, it must be management." I'll grant you that blame can be shared all the way around in this situation, but to say that the fault isn't the members for not paying is ludicrous! If the majority of the members said they would pay, then the organization likely made plans based on the good faith of the members. When the members/parents continued to fail to fulfill their end of the bargain, there was little the organization could do. Non-profits typically do not have an abundant cash flow, and most of their revenue gets put directly back into the organization. Money is budgeted based on what members say they'll pay, and when a large percentage of members fail to pay their fees the organization is left with little choice. It's too bad the organization let this go on as long as they did before pulling the plug; one could argue they were hoping for the best, and I can get that logic, but I think the second worst thing to do to members on tour is pull the rug out from under them mid-summer.

That being said, at least the corps management didn't let this continue to go on, with members being treated to a summer of inadequate care, housing, feeding, etc. I've seen corps do that, and it's despicable and without a doubt THE worst thing an organization can do.

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Regardless of what is and isn't true, we DO KNOW that 1. Some members didn't pay their dues. 2. Some didn't pay the full amount. 3. Some payed in full. That's enough for me to figure this situation out, and it should be for anyone with a head and a brain. How else is the organization supposed to prosper if kids didn't pay a dime of their dues?! That's non-sense to blame it on a bus issue or blame it on DCI. Sure...the members not paying their dues may have led to the still-rumored bus leaving and equipment truck repo, but still.

That's about like asking a 4-year university to thrive with no students paying tuition. It will not happen.

And just out of curiosity, why does everyone keep being so negative about the drum corps activity in the state of Florida?...I'm being totally honest, I have no idea why people are saying that.

Sadly, non-payment of dues does seem to be as old as drum corps itself. I think I saw on a historic thread that a pre-DCI era corps threw a kid off the bus who laughed about not paying dues and claimed he wasn't going to, but this may be a drum corps tall tale. While non-payment of dues is a reality, I guess I still have a hard time believing that kids not paying dues is the reason Teal Sound had to cancel the remainder of their tour. Deadbeats would have exacerbated an already difficult situation, but it can't be the only factor. Teal Sound may have waived dues, or told people not to worry about dues because it needed numbers to field a competitive corps, and that I would understand, but waiving dues or allowing unreasonable late payments would not be the same as non-payment and really shouldn't happen if the corps does not have a financial cushion. Also the corps themselves usually know what's happening with other corps. If Teal Sound was a collection of deadbeats, the other corps would probably not have reached out and offered to let kids march free of charge. They would have demanded payment up front if they let them march at all.

As someone in the non-profit world, I need my business manager to tell me what I can and can't do. Non-profits exist because of visionary people who want what's best, but business people make the dream a reality. A good business person advises not only on finances, but personnel and management of resources. Teal Sound probably needed more sound business advice. I'm sure the leaders were dedicated, and perhaps a bit too optimistic, but again sound business practices seemed to be lacking.

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Teal's Equipment truck was not repossessed. That was a rumor started by an uniformed person, even funnier was the fact that one of the ones who started this rumor is one of the non payers, as have much of the rumors started about what happened with Teal. The truck left the housing site to ensure that no equipment "inadvertently" walked away.

The truck returned after the members of the Corps left to finish loading equipment that was not loaded after the show and then it returned to Jacksonville, I personally loaded the truck so I know it happened. The equipment trailer and food trailer were and are fully paid for and owned by Teal. The tractors used to pull these trailers were paid in full, till finals, prior them being picked up at the leasing company. So there was nothing to repossess, so much for some peoples posting what they "know" on Facebook and other sites as to what they "know" and starting rumors.

Only 4 people know the whole story about what happened to Teal and most everything else is rumor or misinformation. I know for a fact that some throwing rocks at Teal are posting false "colored" things to cover their part in what happened this year and last to Teal.

SDW

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Regardless of what is and isn't true, we DO KNOW that 1. Some members didn't pay their dues. 2. Some didn't pay the full amount. 3. Some payed in full. That's enough for me to figure this situation out, and it should be for anyone with a head and a brain. How else is the organization supposed to prosper if kids didn't pay a dime of their dues?! That's non-sense to blame it on a bus issue or blame it on DCI. Sure...the members not paying their dues may have led to the still-rumored bus leaving and equipment truck repo, but still.

That's about like asking a 4-year university to thrive with no students paying tuition. It will not happen.

And just out of curiosity, why does everyone keep being so negative about the drum corps activity in the state of Florida?...I'm being totally honest, I have no idea why people are saying that.

theres a history there with alot of the same problems,,,,not that it doesnt exsist other places BUT many corps ( Great corps ) have been from Fl and no longer exsist and dont for many of the same reasons.............yet some corps are full of fl. members

bottom line is the ADMIN. of Teal did let it happen , maybe with very good intention....what members dont get sometimes is they are also invested in the activity and their corps, noone owes them a free ride, there is another talented person that could take their place and its THEIR CORPS..so if they try to beat the system you only hurt yourself in the long run............and here the proff. Sad is there have been so many who plain just dont care beacause someone else gives them a spot

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