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The Legends REALLY Need Our Help!!!


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22 minutes ago, Stu said:

If this is not a hoax, according to what was just tearfully presented, this was not an unexpected emergency on their part. It follows the exact same path of Revolution, Memphis/Forte, recent VK, ad infinitum;. They all placed their performers and staff out on the road knowing full well they did not have funds to begin with. They all hoped funding would materialize; and now, again if this is not a hoax, this corps is apparently seeking $100,000 in less than 24 hours. When will people learn that running a DCI corps is a 'business' that facilitates a performance organization. If the youth are in dire trouble stuck out on the road without food and shelter, I am willing to help get them home safely. However, I will not financially support an administration that would follow the same poor planning path of Revolution and the recent VK. And for those about to flame me please notice that I do indeed want to make sure the youth are safe.

No flaming from me.

You're absolutely right that this sudden need is almost certainly a sign of poor management.

And I don't think that they have members stuck on the road. I didn't hear Sodawalla say that. Their next performance is Saturday and is a home show just north of Kalamazoo, where they are based. So if no one supports them, I suspect the worst that would happen is "only" that they shut down and send the members home early.

But I still urge people to support Legends now. They have some sort of structural financial problem: their expenses are too high and their revenue is too low, and there are probably timing issues with cash flow too. Obviously those problems need to be addressed. Cut staff positions, reduce the tour length, increase the membership fees, go kiss a bunch of rich old ladies. Find a financial adviser who likes the corps' mission and can help them make prudent financial decisions. Sure, maybe the board needs to fire Sodawalla. Or maybe they need to step up and support him better. I don't konw. Whatever it takes, they need to do it. And they need to be more transparent. No more surprises.

Starting next season. Which means three weeks from now.

But right now, all of us will be diminished if the corps goes under.

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5 minutes ago, DrumManTx said:

Some red flags popped up for me too.  I'm guessing they were on a pretty thin line when the season began and then some housing stuff happened on the road and it pushed them over the edge.  

I'm not defending the decisions of the adults running the organization and hopefully if they get through this they will have learned their lesson and will use this as a reminder to operate within their means.  They were a corps I heard/observed as incredibly smart and steady in their growth as an organization and smart with what they did.  They've really exploded in size/touring the last few years.  Might be time to scale back again a little bit and recover IF they get through this.  

In the end it's about the kids, and it would really wreck me if something were to happen to them.  I donated some for the MMs.  They don't deserve any of this.  

The youth do not deserve this, that is true! But stupid, and I mean STUPID, adults are who place the youth in this situation! This corps should never have gone out in the road to begin with if there was not enough capital to support the tour with an emergency reserve to get the youth home if needed. I have no sympathy whatsoever for any adult running a business called a drum Corps that has failed you learn from the thousands of fails corps before then that did the same STUPID business decisions. The youth are under their care, their watch, and the well being if the youth is placed in danger in situations like this. And if this is a true situation, yeah I am mad as H###!!!!

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Just now, Stu said:

The youth do not deserve this, that is true! But stupid, and I mean STUPID, adults are who place the youth in this situation! This corps should never have gone out in the road to begin with if there was not enough capital to support the tour with an emergency reserve to get the youth home if needed. I have no sympathy whatsoever for any adult running a business called a drum Corps that has failed you learn from the thousands of fails corps before then that did the same STUPID business decisions. The youth are under their care, their watch, and the well being if the youth is placed in danger in situations like this. And if this is a true situation, yeah I am mad as H###!!!!

I don't disagree.  

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7 minutes ago, Stu said:

And the excuse is always, "We did this for the kids". Well how the #### is placing them in a situation like this looking out for the best interest of the youth!!!! That is what makes me so Livid!!!

Sure, agreed. But what good comes of not helping Legends right now? None that I can see. Unless someone's going to argue that the members will learn a valuable lesson by having their summer cut short.

Think of it this way: Legends should have made this ask six months ago. Back in February, Ibe Sodawalla should have said, "We've examined our expenses and revenue, and we project a large shortfall. In order for this corps to have a 2017 season, we need to raise $100,000 in the next week." It was a big screw up on his part not to do that. Granted. Fine. But if it happened then or it happened now, the result for the members' experience is much the same.

We can help now.

And for those who want to help but also want to make sure Legends learns a lesson, besides Sodawalla's personal phone number in that video, there's another phone number on their Facebook page, and there's a way to leave a comment when you make your donation.

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But I suppose any discussion about how tough it is to compete in the business of DCI would be a disservice to the needs of the Legends at this time.   I hope they get the cash and find a way to right the organization.   I have met Ibe and spoken with him a couple of times.  He seems like a genuinely nice man, sincere in his commitment, and has done many wonderful things to help build that organization.   This proclamation had to be very tough for him to do.  I commend him in doing so.

 

Again, hope they make it.  We need many more corps out there.  Just need them to be financially secure.  The kids who choose to go on the road with them and pay their tuition deserve nothing less.  But sometimes, things happen.  No one wins here.

Edited by drumcorpsfever
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2 minutes ago, N.E. Brigand said:

Sure, agreed. But what good comes of not helping Legends right now?

The good would be in directly helping the youth not the Corps. And donating to that call is bailing out a Corps apparently ran into the ground by a stupid adult, not directly helping the youth. By the way if this turns out to be a hoax I will retract all and issue an apology for the remarks about stupidity.

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9 minutes ago, drumcorpsfever said:

This is yet another wake up call that, as we enjoy the productions of the top corps, that smaller organizations cannot possibly run their own corps close to any scale of most of their "competition".   

Just to compare, go to Guidestar.org.  Search the 990's of the some of the "non-profits" of drum corps.  For example, if we were to have a placement order based on revenue, it would be something like this:

[...]

Nonetheless they have to figure out how to sustain themselves. The ones who are in the best shape did that. The ones who aren't, didn't.

(But right now, let's see if we can't help Legends stay around long enough to make that plan.)

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Just now, Stu said:

The good would be in directly helping the youth not the Corps. And donating to that call is bailing out a Corps apparently ran into the ground by a stupid adult, not directly helping the youth. By the way if this turns out to be a hoax I will retract all and issue an apology for the remarks about stupidity.

Again, the youth aren't helped by having this summer cut short.

"Hey, my corps experience ended early because some guy named Stu on DCP convinced enough people that it was a bad idea to donate to an organization whose financial status I was unaware of. Thanks Stu! I'm so grateful you've taught me this important life lesson."

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