texasmom

Have you considered politics? You'd be perfect!

Why would you say that? Do you think this is fair? GOVERNANCE - MEMBERSHIP The Triple A corps have twice the power to influence the activity . Those who are regional have no voting power. Kids pay money to the following corps, but said corps has absolutely NO voice or voting power at all. Mandarins Pacific Crest Jersey Surf Cascades Blue Devils B SCV Cadets Teal Sound Colt Cadets GOVERNANCE - BOARD Board is the AA A CORPS … not the individuals … and the three outside directors. So, you feel the following corps should just pay up and, yet, have NO representation, right? The corps listed above PLUS... Boston Crusaders Blue Stars Glassmen Blue Knights Troopers Colts Academy Madison Crossmen Spirit Pioneer Would you feel exactly the same if you were not marching one of the G7? As someone pointed out, you may wish to read the PDF (on the first page) before calling anyone a crying old guy. P.S. I'm not a guy...old...or crying. But you should know the facts before talking trash to someone who has clearly read up on this issue more than you. Just my .02.

Sound like excuses and not reasons to me. Reason being, the lower corps consistently have not much more than a handful of people attending their performances and they are playing in the "big boy" stadiums.

Maybe it was also because the director told the kids the corps had no more money and unless they called their parents and paid their dues, Allentown was their final stop and they would not be going to finals. (We were one of the minority that paid all dues and fundraising assessments in full before move-ins.) Just think how chaotic it was to be one of the kids - or the parents - not knowing if you are going on to Madison or being dumped in Allentown. (Of course, plane reservations, etc. were already scheduled from Madison). And - big surprise - nothing was posted on the message board so parents knew what the heck was going on. Can you say "DISTRACTION"? And, maybe the little speech in Madison about how Magic was going to get shut down if they didn't at least make semi's? And how they got rid of some of the captions (as stated earlier) in Allentown - before finals? Or maybe even the kids who were in tears because the percussion head got fired in Pittsburgh after getting into a huge fight with the assistant director in the venue parking area? With all the back and forth everyone is doing, I think props go to those kids - the average age of which was 16 years old - who were part of the world's largest dysfunctional family. They put up with more childishness, name calling and backstabbing (and I am NOT referring to the kids!) while learning the whole "boot camp" drum corps experience. Even though there are a few loose cannons, like Jared, know that the majority of these kids put up with a lot and still LOVED IT!! I know that some of the Magic kids are reading this thread and I want to assure them - from my perspective - that they did a great job given the circumstances. Those on the outside can only speculate on the good or the bad. Best of luck to all of you with your endeavors this season.

Yes, you speak the truth. I had suggested some specific Div II corps to band parents for their (younger) high school kids who were interested in marching. (In this case, there was a DIV II corps within driving distance. If you have a 15-16 year old, it's a little intimidating to send them cross country on a plane and not see them for months!) Anyway, the kids were really excited. Then they talked to the band techs (several of whom had marched with one of the top, top corps) and were told it would be better not to march at all, rather than to march Div II because they only attract mediocre talent and they would teach them terrible technique which they might not be able to reverse and then they would NEVER get into a top Div I. So, now, not one of the kids will even consider Div II. If their techs told them that, it must be the truth. And they're going to sit out the next couple of years until their parents are comfortable with letting them travel to Div I corps.

Did I miss you while I was volunteering with Magic this year? The baked potato comment was a fact and no different than if I had made a peanut butter comment. There was no blame laid - just a fact. Probably cause baked potatoes are really easy to cook when you are understaffed. Did I say that is all they ate for weeks? Gosh...your second post and you are already putting words in people's mouths! :sshh: Also, did you READ that I also said it was nice of Bruce to give the kids steak a few times and even take everyone out to Chili's - out of his own pocket? By the way, did you email Curt with fundraising ideas? Did you donate any money? Did you contact people outside this forum to try to help? Did you age out in 2005? If not, why didn't you return to Magic? I don't think there's a single person involved in this discussion who doesn't hope Magic gets their act together - COMMUNICATES with people - and comes back stronger than ever in 2008! The kids who marched Magic were AWESOME. I wish them all the best of luck in finding a home for this year.

I'm not sure of the logistics and costs to keep a corps active enough for parades, etc., but it sounds like a good idea depending on how severe the reason for their inactivity. Speaking for Magic's brass staff, some were local and some weren't. But maybe there could be enough people to keep it going in this lessened capacity. I've been to three Florida marching band competitions. Saw Teal Sound (D2) represented at one and Heat Wave (DCA) at another. Perfect opportunity to recruit for local kids. The corps that were there had a ton of people interested in coming to their first meeting/camp.

Man....dont' tempt me! That's where he wanted to go after tour this year. They were great this year and he liked a number of the other corps members whom he met. He's only 16...so maybe next year when he graduates from high school. I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

I've been campaigning for that here. Teal Sound is only a few hours out of Orlando. Comments I've heard from the kids: 1. They don't want to go "backwards" by going from D1 to D2 2. The fees are the same as D1's but they perform less The Teal Sound management appears to have their act together and I think they have a good future ahead of them. But convincing teenagers is like trying to push a rope!! Mine has decided to sit out this year. :(

My son hasn't eaten a baked potato since he came back from tour this August. Seems that baked potatoes constituted a lot of lunches and dinners on tour. Not sure if that's from a lack of funds or the fact that Pam was on her own much of the time (as far as volunteers were concerned). However, I will say it was nice for Bruce to buy steak for the kids several times, as well as take the whole corps to Chili's one night. Am sure that came out of his own pocket.

Truer words were never spoken. I ran into a corps director from a different corps a few weeks ago, so I figured this was coming. I won't say anything else since the rest was third party.... :sshh: What makes me mad is that they pretty much knew they weren't going to be active in 2007, yet they strung those kids out. Now, they have to scramble around like you said. I think it's inexcusable. I don't believe for a moment that they didn't know about this at the end of the season. Why else would there be non-existent communication? You are right - there is no excuse. Maybe there's a way they can get all new blood in there and come back strong in 2008. At this point, tho, they best have new blood, a good game plan, and demonstrated COMMUNICATION - cause three strikes and you are out!

Just curious what that has to do with anything? Boston Crusaders are in Clearwater, which is a lot closer to Sarasota than Orlando. The 2006 Magic corps had a handful of kids from Orlando, but had a lot from south Florida and other areas, including Germany and Japan. Is the Sarasota community more supportive of fundraising? Again, please be more specific. Not sure what the point would be of moving to Sarasota.

Any reason why you want to be so negative? Your post stands out like a sore thumb. Unless you are gazing into your crystal ball...this is hardly the time or place.

You realize you aren't helping matters, right? And if Curt has approved some of these comments well.....you have bigger problems than we first thought. If you guys are so infuriated about the "Magic at a bar meeting", you should have started your whole discussion as a new thread and not continued this thread. How about a title like "Suggest ways to save Magic" or something like that. That being said, I agree with the other comment. Magic still has not communicated on their web site. Curt has not answered some emails sent to him. On the Magic site it says, "Key show staff are returning and we're actively looking for quality people to fill the remaining holes. We have a show concept in development (with no "chaos" in the book). We have the largest response of veteran RSVP's we've seen in years. We have a tour schedule planned. We're readying details for auditions and camps. We're ready to purchase new equipment. " Who is the show staff returning? What is the show concept in development? What does the tour schedule look like? IF - and only IF - you got the funding when and where would the camps be held. What kind of new equipment are you "ready to purchase"? If they are primarily looking for donations, I would suggest that Magic do a better job of COMMUNICATING. Let me smell, taste, hear, and touch how it will be in 2007 so I want to do whatever I can to make it come true. What kind of ideas has Curt gotten so far? Is there going to be a follow up meeting? What is the time frame needed to pledge or receive the funds? What happens if the 50K is not raised? So many questions....so little time. I can donate a conference call line that will hold 250 people, so he can communicate cross-country instead of just to those in Orlando if he wants to hold a telephone meeting. I can also donate a web conference room for the same thing.

I agree. I think there are 11 or so alumni within about 15 minutes of each other. I would think some of them would help out.