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The Cadets 2019


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 The first order of business for the Cadets is to come off DCI Hg. imposed Probationary status. If things go as hoped and planned, the Probationary status should be lifted sometime in September, with an announcement. That will be good news for all. Cadets, DCI, and Drum Corps fans. DCI needs a strong Cadets, imo. The 2nd order of priority is for a workable, sustainable plan to retire the reported $300,000 current debt hole the Corps is in. With the removal of George Hopkins now, there is an opportunity for Alum sideline sitters to step up to the plate now in both volunteerism and with their anticipated increased large levels of financial donations. Preliminary reports are that this is about to take place. I'm optimistic those preliminary reports come to fruition. Its evident that the next few months are crucial here. Everyone is crossing their fingers that they'll be no legal defense cost issues coming forth regarding the decades long abuses there by George Hopkins. If there are none, this will be huge welcomed good news as well. After  the large debt is retired, YEA/Cadets  will need to build a long term revenue stream that is far better than the one George Hopkins fashioned there, as what worked a decade or so ago in revenue stream generation has to be elevated and improved upon. The Cadets have weathered this past off season in a remarkable manner. That provides cautious optimism that they can continue the current rebuild infrastructure wise in a sustainable manner.  We fans wish them well is these upcoming endeavors.

Edited by BRASSO
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As far as revenue generation, I think USBands remains a good branch for YEA, which both generates funds for Cadets but also provides an already established framework and system for competitive high school marching band in the region.  According to YEA, they numbers of bands registered this year are substantially at the number from last year, so they don't appear to have taken much of a hit.   Should they be working to expand their footprint?  They currently only hold State Championships in NJ, NY, PA, MD and VA, with regional championships in New England and Southern States, so I presume there are still plenty of areas they could expand into.

What about leveraging relations with those high school bands further?  They have  hosted "Music is Cool" camps with the Cadets while they are on tour, but frankly I think those have (a) interfered with Cadets rehearsal time, and (b) based upon reports not always been very valuable to the kids.  What about piloting a program to provide instruction to  HS marching bands during their late-summer band camps, and into their season?  Instead of letting each HS find and contract their own techs, free-lancing, from Aug - Nov, the "Cadets Training Corps" would gather and train a collection of instructors in various areas, and they could contract directly with the school music programs to provide services.  That has happened in a lot of youth travel-level sports over the past two decades, where instead of each team finding its own "professional" coach the club would contract with an organization that supplies the coaches for teams, and provides clinics and camps, etc.  The schools would benefit in knowing that their techs are [hopefully] qualified through the Cadets vetting/training, and that band directors would not have to search far for their own techs.  The techs would benefit from having a greater network for finding work, as well as getting Cadets training on how to tech.  The Cadets would charge appropriately, and hopefully make a little money out of it, as well as having another opportunity to get their brand name out there among the high school set.

 

Edited by Eleran
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Whatever happens in the future here is hoping the alumni support the goal of getting their feet completely under the organization financially BEFORE being concerned with the competitive outcome on the field. There will be time to worry about being competitive at the top again but only after the financial situation is in order. If that means taking a step backwards for a year or two to set yourself up to move forward you do that. 

Patience is the key word alumni should be saying to themselves. If they can do both great but don't sacrifice financial stability over the possibility of moving up a spot of two in the short term.

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1 hour ago, Spatzzz said:

Whatever happens in the future here is hoping the alumni support the goal of getting their feet completely under the organization financially BEFORE being concerned with the competitive outcome on the field. There will be time to worry about being competitive at the top again but only after the financial situation is in order. If that means taking a step backwards for a year or two to set yourself up to move forward you do that. 

Patience is the key word alumni should be saying to themselves. If they can do both great but don't sacrifice financial stability over the possibility of moving up a spot of two in the short term.

You guys need to have a little more faith in alumni instead of worrying about whether or not we will support the organization. Alumni are much more "united" in keeping the corps alive then you all may think.

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1 hour ago, GUARDLING said:

Well, time will tell I do know for fact so many more people are stepping up who did not in the past few years. You're right thunderous applause and well deserved doesn't necessarily mean money BUT it  can. Cadets have been through much worse in their history and always rise above then succeed. Their long history shows it, I will bet on them

I know we need to remain positive. I know a bit about Cadets history and know of the near disasters, and I’m sure there is a great deal I do not know, but nearly folding is not the same as recovering and rebuilding after a director who left the organization after being accused of behavior that could have criminal consequences. I guess my concern is not that drum corps fans or alums will step up, my concern is that the former director has supposedly “burned bridges” with folks in Allentown and while he is gone, will non musical contributors be so quick to support the corps? That’s a huge question and the answer could be not just yet. A few years down the road, when a healthy, transparent organization with a track record emerges, no question. Right now, it could be wait and see. Though I hate to be wrong, if I am wrong about outside support, I will be happy. 

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1 hour ago, Spatzzz said:

Whatever happens in the future here is hoping the alumni support the goal of getting their feet completely under the organization financially BEFORE being concerned with the competitive outcome on the field. There will be time to worry about being competitive at the top again but only after the financial situation is in order. If that means taking a step backwards for a year or two to set yourself up to move forward you do that. 

Patience is the key word alumni should be saying to themselves. If they can do both great but don't sacrifice financial stability over the possibility of moving up a spot of two in the short term.

Need you to go tell this to the folks in the Madison thread, please.

Mike

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43 minutes ago, Tim K said:

I know we need to remain positive. I know a bit about Cadets history and know of the near disasters, and I’m sure there is a great deal I do not know, but nearly folding is not the same as recovering and rebuilding after a director who left the organization after being accused of behavior that could have criminal consequences. I guess my concern is not that drum corps fans or alums will step up, my concern is that the former director has supposedly “burned bridges” with folks in Allentown and while he is gone, will non musical contributors be so quick to support the corps? That’s a huge question and the answer could be not just yet. A few years down the road, when a healthy, transparent organization with a track record emerges, no question. Right now, it could be wait and see. Though I hate to be wrong, if I am wrong about outside support, I will be happy. 

Sure it's a wait and see BUT things do move on and even a closed door does open another. I have seen it happen probably more often than I would like. Cadets misfortune can also spread to even the most financially secure corps because it just wasn't a black eye to 1 corps but the entire community. My guess, like most things, time will for sure tell but there is also a bigger picture that I do think will prevail. Remember KIDS were the victims and that can also be a powerful tool which can bring on even more support. Can it go the other way, Maybe, but I do think most will support the many projects which support kids, ( not just Cadets ) but YEA, and all other programs within The Cadets.

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27 minutes ago, GUARDLING said:

Sure it's a wait and see BUT things do move on and even a closed door does open another. 

have you been watching Spirit on repeat? be honest.

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4 hours ago, Eleran said:

Maybe we need a teary-eyed video plea to raise $300,000 in 3 days.

nope. However given all of the turmoil and issues from the past, fund raising and creating true, reliable and stable funding and revenue pst what they get from DCI and USBAnds will take some time. Also, with alumni feeling welcome, you should see an uptick there.

The Board I am sure has been working on that. It seems USBands may take a hit as I see several new bands signed up for shows in TOB and Cavalcade that were exclusively USBands for a while, most likely because of everything in April. I know I fielded a call saying "hey my school wont let me go there anymore, how do I join you guys?"

The shortfall could also relate to the fact that in the wild weather of PA this summer, the June show got low attendance, mainly because it was hotter than hell, and the C2's DCA show was the day the monsoons hit. Also, with Allentown being a few days before Clifton and not that much distance, some may have chosen one over the other.

Also...I think their pricing scheme for shows needs re-evaluated. they dont sell out the super seats with all of the perks. Any YEA show i have attended since they created the scheme saw myself and many others slide to the middle a few corps in to take up empty seats. $35 for the 40 is better than an unsold seat priced at $100 right?

I also see in this era of school budgets being tighter the USBands pricing model also chasing some schools away. I get it...MEt Life isn't cheap. But they constantly runs dozens of other "championships" with high registration costs, and their dues increase the more shows you do.Granted, I'm ok personally if more bands join my team, but, ya know.....despite the economic claims you see elsewhere, it aint that great in many respects.

 

Plus.....anyone thinking that this will be an overnight fix is delusional. Yes the corps did much better than anyone imagined, and by all accounts I have seen the kids had a great summer and crowds loved them. They had the sympathy factor going for them. Now...the hard work truly begins because realistically, this year was about getting through this year

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15 minutes ago, Jeff Ream said:

nope. However given all of the turmoil and issues from the past, fund raising and creating true, reliable and stable funding and revenue pst what they get from DCI and USBAnds will take some time. Also, with alumni feeling welcome, you should see an uptick there.

The Board I am sure has been working on that. It seems USBands may take a hit as I see several new bands signed up for shows in TOB and Cavalcade that were exclusively USBands for a while, most likely because of everything in April. I know I fielded a call saying "hey my school wont let me go there anymore, how do I join you guys?"

The shortfall could also relate to the fact that in the wild weather of PA this summer, the June show got low attendance, mainly because it was hotter than hell, and the C2's DCA show was the day the monsoons hit. Also, with Allentown being a few days before Clifton and not that much distance, some may have chosen one over the other.

Also...I think their pricing scheme for shows needs re-evaluated. they dont sell out the super seats with all of the perks. Any YEA show i have attended since they created the scheme saw myself and many others slide to the middle a few corps in to take up empty seats. $35 for the 40 is better than an unsold seat priced at $100 right?

I also see in this era of school budgets being tighter the USBands pricing model also chasing some schools away. I get it...MEt Life isn't cheap. But they constantly runs dozens of other "championships" with high registration costs, and their dues increase the more shows you do.Granted, I'm ok personally if more bands join my team, but, ya know.....despite the economic claims you see elsewhere, it aint that great in many respects.

 

Plus.....anyone thinking that this will be an overnight fix is delusional. Yes the corps did much better than anyone imagined, and by all accounts I have seen the kids had a great summer and crowds loved them. They had the sympathy factor going for them. Now...the hard work truly begins because realistically, this year was about getting through this year

the cash flow "shortfall" is not the same thing as a debt - or an emergency need

in the video it was described as manageable and would be addressed through a combination of cutting expenses and increasing revenue

seems like a realistic approach

reportedly USB is now back up to the number of 2017 bands - if not a few more

the pricing structure for the circuit is a concern - as is YEA pricing structure for DCI/DCA shows

Music is Cool has a terrible reputation - get a tshirt and watch us practice, join in a drum circle = not exactly a life changing afternoon

I would personally rebrand it ("Music is Cool" maybe worked in 1988) and there's some value there - it shouldn't be a revenue engine - it should be a "relationship engine" IMO

If I were in charge of the whole thing - I would probably move the Cadets to either MD or NOVA - leave C2 in Allentown (or Harrisburg) and have a couple smaller offices rather than 1 larger one - it would allow better networking and position YEA in a much more wealthy community (similar to Boston hint hint)

I'd also consider rebranding "YEA!" itself - PEAK Youth - or something like that... 

All JMO

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