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Update posted today on the Crusaders Facebook page....... Throughout camps and on tour, we are fortunate to receive care from our fully staffed medical team. To help prepare for the summer ahead, this weekend Chip Vokey, RN, Rick Vale, RT, and Brian Hebbard, ATC met one-on-one with members to began preventative screenings including: -Blood pressure checks -Concussion baseline screenings (cognitive retention, balance and coordination, and ocular motor function) -Arch and foot posture testing -Health history reviews By taking the time to establish baseline measurements early in the season, our team is able to effectively prevent, quickly identify, and appropriately treat injuries throughout the summer. Thank you BAC Medical Team for all that you do to keep the Crusaders safe and healthy!

Yes, absolutely. Most certainly within a reasonable margin of error. The problem is over the course of an audit that at the end of all that time it turned out SCV couldn't make their numbers match between all the revenues and expenses in the accounting system to match what the bank said they had as their balances. This is why when I was the Treasurer that I wanted to see the actual bank statements and printed by the bank (not a photo copy) or at least log onto the internet and log into the account right in front of me.

I’ll take a closer look at this when I get home from work, I’ve been curious in waiting for this all to be released too.

The best Contra/Tuba feature of the year.

Thanks for the perspective! Yah i think there's enough ambiguity here to basically say, "Let's keep watching and hope that the 2023 audit and 2024 audit can clear it up." Otherwise, somebody's "cookin with the books"

OK Unable to verify Bingo Revenue and related Expenses, Fixed assets and related Depreciation, Cash on hand, and Accounts Payable. Did miss I anything? Wow.

Yes, anything other than unqualified is the exception, not the norm. It is very rare for an organization in the $1mm+/yr revenue range to not have their books together, as anything else is either incompetence or actually cooking the books. I’m still pretty new to the industry (will hopefully be a fully licensed CPA by the end of the year) but I haven’t run into anything but unqualified yet either.

so basically the whole board and previous admin was grossly negligent with possible borderline to way over the line criminality

I don’t specialize in Government & NFP accounting so there may be a regulation about the specific (mis)use of these types of funds and possible resulting lawsuits, though I can’t say for sure given that we don’t actually know whether the funds were misappropriated or not. Everything could be perfectly fine - just that the accounting manager did a terrible job of maintaining records and evidence - or their stated numbers could be completely off due to fraud or error, there just isn’t evidence to say one way or the other.

I am an auditor at a public accounting firm and can clarify the accounting lingo and provide some general insights into this report, AMA.

It's not like this stuff is easy to follow, tbf. 👍🏽

So basically, their records are such a mess that they can't verify a lot of what they claimed, but they also can't find proof of it NOT being what they claimed either? Weaponized incompetence at its best.

BOOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Also, literally anyone could bring us back on track lol.

It's Vanguard Mania!

That was my favorite show last year. The whale had to win.

Were there not also the Seymour (CT) Vanguards?

It should have been me lol!!!!!

We were the Saint Clair Shores Vanguards. Let’s just say in 1975, SCV would have beat us by 60 points.

I was in accounting for 15 years. This is the first qualified opinion I have ever seen. And yes, it means SCV’s accounting is really ####ed up.

well i guess i picked a good time to do my day job

Beats the “throw dirt on it” from the old days, that’s for sure.

This is another example of how drum corps members are cared for now better than ever. I still remember trumpet soloist Noah getting bonked in the forehead by a wayward rifle during ensemble in Castleton in 22. The corps doctor and one of her assistants were on the field treating him before the rep was even finished. And, she did the stitches herself!

I am not super well versed in SCV’s financial statements specifically, however some of what RL is saying certainly appears to be true - though he certainly has a negative/pessimistic view - but the issue at hand is that SCV’s accounting records are so bad that it is impossible to verify whether the numbers they are claiming for 2021-2022 are accurate. In most instances where there is a scope impairment due to a lack of sufficient appropriate audit evidence the auditors would choose to deliver a “disclaimer of opinion”, however the missing records cover so much of the organization’s operations and are of such material amounts that Qualified or Adverse are really the only options left.

We were rooting for you @Hook'emCavies We wanted to see what 165 tubas marching on the field would be like a whole lot.

Apparently the DOJ cleared the org with this document included, as it's listed among the docs in the online charity registry. Again, compliance was always a low bar. But the registry exists so the public, partners, and stakeholders can access such documents and draw their own conclusions. If (universal) you don't care, great, you do you. The authority with jurisdiction over bingo would be the county, and county police I believe. Maybe municipal. Seems that DOJ has washed their hands of this so it likely wouldn't come from the state level. IDK VMAPA, maybe don't ignore, avoid, and retaliate against the over-qualified alumnus who caught and cleaned up bingo fraud in the past? Maybe I'm crazy.

That sounds vaguely familiar.

I loved Boston’s show this year! And let’s be honest … on any given night the 2-3-4 place corps could have ended up in any of those positions. It was a topsy-turvy year for those three corps, and sadly, Boston ended up fourth this weekend. If I was the sole deciding judge, Boston would have a medal but I was t given that vote. Keep it up, Boston … I concur with the sentiment it was the best 4th place corps ever!

And bingo is a cash operation…..

SCV is merely practice. Maybe I can get laws changed that impact Bingo state wide.

That’ll teach ya. 😂

In 79 a CG member brought down her flag hard on my horn. (This was 27th, so clearly I was in the wrong spot … our CG didn’t make that sort of mistake.) Long story short, the next day, I had to put a soprano together from three salvaged horns.

As I was going through the IRS 990's of other Bingo operations in California I could compare to SCV I found that the Blue Devils and the Aquamaids (local Santa Clara bingo I can compare one on one) were the exception, not the norm. My mission in life right now is egging on SCV in a direction to get fixed. If I wanted to take on Bingo state wide there is plenty to pick from.

It’s a question of whether the bank(s) archived these records, because VMAPA clearly didn’t. If the auditors couldn’t find evidence then it’s probably because the bank(s) don’t have them either. Otherwise, it could be an issue of the numbers in VMAPA’s records not actually matching the bank statements, and if the difference was large enough that could be the reason for the qualified issuance. I don’t know when VMAPA/other corps’ fiscal year typically runs through but if they have truly been committed to fixing the organizational issues over this last year, their 2023 audit should paint a much clearer picture.

where is the full doc viewable? found the link nevermind

no joke.... in 1995, some DCA corps performed at DCE championships in Allentown. we parked in the park before warmups like you could back then, and bass 2 decided to run over to the convenience store across Hamilton. Wellll.......him being him, he didn't watch traffic closely enough, and from my car while starting to change into the party duds, i hear screeching tires. yup, he got hit by a car. my bass tech immediately grabbed the notes book, told me to start learning to be basses 1 and 2 for at least that night, and ran to go check. our corps director also ran over, and upon seeing bass 2's now badly broken leg to go along with myriad other bumps, bruises, scrapes etc., looked down at bass 2 and said "well, ok i guess you don't have to march tonight. think you'll be ok for next week?" well, he never did make it back and in fact an alum hanging for the day was quickly recruited to become bass 2 for the rest of the season. but yes the director said he could skip a show after being hit by a car.

I'll take up an AMA too. I sense a lot of "well the numbers don't seem like outright lies to us here and the math checks, but if something breaks about where that Bingo money went, don't come at us with a lawsuit, bro!" in this letter. Is that an accurate read?

Ok. I’ll take you up on the AMA: Are you in general agreement with what our esteemed colleague RL is saying about this letter & the documents, with published numbers, behind it? I am not accusing RL of being wrong or misleading us, just asking to see if what he is saying is supported by the facts publicly available. You understand the nuances & terms of art. I don’t. Sort of a Trust, but Verify situation

I appreciate you wherever you are. 😎

The full doc is 24 pages of CYA. Mostly above my head. I thoroughly understand this part though: Other commentary about internal control override potentialities is also concerning. Again, these aren't technically legal conclusions or opinions, I don't think... but they're pretty #### strong hints... as strong as they can legally make them I'm guessing. Oh, and the firm has an office in Santa Cruz. I miss Santa Cruz. sigh

lol, yeah off topic but in a nice way. With exception of SC were the other corps Vanguard or Vanguards? 🤔 Gets confusing looking at old scores. And kind of 😈 Long Island Sunrisers were called “Santa Flushing Vanguard” because of their music(little ahead of usual Sr music at the time) and look.

Thank you for sharing this valuable information regarding the hotel block for the 2023 DCI Championships in Indianapolis. It's wonderful to know that The Cadets have arranged a block of 20 rooms at both the Crowne Plaza Indianapolis Downtown Union Station and the Omni Severin Hotel. This will undoubtedly make the trip more convenient for friends, family, fans, and alumni of the corps attending the event.

So unless you're marching a top 6 program with tons of resources, your experience will be similar to the performers. You may or may not have your own bus. You might just ride in the front of the member busses or in a van. You will likely have a staff room or area within the housing site, like a band room or cafeteria while the students are in the gym. You will also have communal showers, though at different times than the students, usually during rehearsal. You may or may not have other supervisory duties, though most corps have volunteers or "tour admins" for that. It's highly unlikely that you will have a high-end tour bus unless you're in a massive corps, and you won't be staying in hotels or dorms except in very special circumstances. I would plan on it being pretty much on level with the student experience, except with some more freedom for leaving the housing site, or free time within your schedule. This is all corps dependent, I would ask your admin or caption head.

My son is being pretty secretive, but he LOVES the music they have so far. He's a lead mello and I've heard him practice the last few days. That mello book is crazy and I can only imagine what the ensemble will sound like. I expect another year of Crown Brass excellence.

Exactly...an honest congratulations for getting over the finish line, but there is a big difference between dealing with the actual issues, and limping from one crisis to the next.

I was thinking about this. I’m not sure it will matter. I went to TOC shows where BD went on first in the daylight and it didn’t matter. They still won the shows.

I admire BD and their competitive dominance, and I absolutely love their shows. With that being said, I would like to see more competition for that top spot. Now with THAT being said, I don’t want ANYONE to be judged unfairly. If BD is the best on the field, then I want them to win it. If another corps manages to be better, then I want that corps to win it. There’s not a single championship BD has won in the last 20 years that they did not deserve. Which means everyone else just needs to step up their game. THAT’S what I would like to see happen.

For DCI history buffs here, Boston Crusaders 4th place score last night at Finals ( 96.925 ) was the highest 4th place Finals score in DCI's 50+ year history. The previous highest 4th place Finals score was SCV's 96.850 in 2013 ( with their " Les Miserables " show).