sopbabe

I was so sorry to hear of Gil's passing. He was truly a kind spirit and so full of life. A laugh that was so infectious and joyus it was incredible. He always made being a part of the Crusader family fun and memorable. Another Giant to look over all of us. Gil was a shining example of a True Blue Crusader...all my love and prayers are with Pat and her family today.

Then it makes sense. I have to remember that members I am sure come from various areas of the State of FL to be with TBT..So sorry to hear about the East Coast as I did not know of the damage on your side. Hope all is well over there!!!

I live in SW Florida and all we got was Rain...nothing was too bad. Only some school cancellations for Monday for a few counties here but that was it. No real stories of damage??? Strange...I live 1 hour south of Tampa. Maybe there was more damage there than here? Not sure. I was looking forward to see how they did in finals. That is too bad. Hope that all is okay with them.

Way to go Jeffe!!! Well said... Sadly the divisions are shrinking as the corps that used to be nationwide and even in Canada are no more. It all comes down to interest in the activity and money..I remember in the late 70's and 80's that Drum Corps were EVERYWHERE!!! Sadly we will keep hearing this story. From what I hear the cost to march nowadays is unreal. Plus fundraising for these corps now is much more difficult than it used to be. Especially if they are expected to go to all ends of the country to compete. The more established corps have an alumni base that they ask for donations and I am sure some of them also have corporate sponsorships that donate. However for the smaller corps it is a struggle unfortunately. I hope that this unique but sad situation is an example going forward in running a Drum Corps. And hopefully DCI will take note and make sure that something like this never happens again...

Best of luck to all...

Quote from CNN Story by Mr. Hopkins: "What people don't get about me is I love it the way it is, I really do," Hopkins said. "But it's not going to survive if we don't let other people in -- the next big wall is woodwind instruments." If the woodwinds are let in then what would be the point to march Drum Corps? High School and College Bands are at these kids grasps and by far it is cheaper to be involved with their High School and/or College Band instead of Drum Corps? I may be wrong but that is how I see it in the future...

Have fun guys Be safe!

Your site looks great! Best of luck to you!

So sorry to hear the news. Unfortunately it seems that Drum Corps is suffering from this economy. Unless each corps has a piggy bank filled with money we may see more and more of these unfortunately... I wish the Brigs well and hope for a speedy return.

The greatest recruiting tool of all is performing - so get out there and perform. Whether it's for 20 people, 200, 10,000 - go play. (And no joke - I've done gigs for audiences of all three of those sizes.) One of those folks in the audience is going to think "man, if they can do that, so can I." And they might have a friend or two. No performance is beneath you. And stick with the plan - don't panic. Sometimes you will have only 6 brass at a performance. It happens. Don't overreact. Your line will eventually gain critical mass. Well put Mike...when starting a drum corps your community needs to know who you are. When I marched in the Crusader Senior Corps in Boston we did many performances and that was our biggest recruiting tool. We did not compete we were just a "Park and Bark" Drum Corps. There were many members I marched with (including my husband) that joined simply because they seen us perform. Especially when it comes to fundraising for your corps in order to operate, the community needs to know who you are because when you start knocking on doors asking for donations...you will always get the answer that sounds like this.. "Who are you? I have never seen you locally or even heard of you" Best of Luck to you!

Congrats to all but especially to some old and good friends... Connie Cronin Ed Devlin Jack LaSelva Michael Woodhall Wish I could be at the banquet always a blast...maybe I could come up to play Conquest? Who knows...

Hey Artie! Sorry I missed you! Eddie told me you guys caught up during your last visit. The Sun Devils are definately off to a great start this year. Hope to catch up soon!!!

Very Jealous....have fun guys!!!

Best of luck to you!!!

That is a very true statement. I had marched competitively 2 years ago with the Sun Devils here in Florida and it was great however after that I now know that I am a bit too old to be marching competitively so....doing the alumni thing works. I miss doing it!