CascadesDirector

I just wrapped up camp with the Madison Alumni Corps...pretty warm all weekend. The weather reports had most of the grainbelt at 8 or 10 degrees above average temperatures over the weekend, with no forecast for real relief until later this week. Lucky for us at the alumni corps, we can stop at the gas statiion and buy ice for our coolers of gatorade at every meal break. We were watering up every 20-30 minutes, but still had a heat casualty on both days. Suiting up on Saturday night was a lot warmer than I remember. I was pouring sweat straight through brass warm-up. And dealing with intonation in an environment like that was no treat. SA will be tough for the hornlines with the temp change from the lot to the dome. As far as Cascades, they beat the heat with a dip in the swimming pool this afternoon and are looking into some matinee movies for tomorrow afternoon in the Tulsa area if the temperature stays up. Everyone seems to be very wary of the heat and its impact on the kids (much more so than I remember from my marching days, I think). I have also found that having the kids run through the showers to cool their core temp helps them energy-wise through the afternoon rehearsal block. --Jimmy

:) I am amazed at how much attention Apollo 13 gets around here. This is an interesting thread...I'm not much for public hypothesis, but I might have some good facts for further thought/discussion. -- We have spent less than $300 on Apollo repairs this tour so far. That is the best ever by mid-July. [And Dan, it only broke once last year, with the starter going out. Geez...that poor bus gets no respect] It sounds great BTW. If you sees on the road come sit in the drivers seat and see if you can even hear it start. :) -- Our reefer did break down. It has broken twice a year since we bought it in 2001. Turns out it was meant to cool bananas in Seattle, not freeze ice cream in Texas. The new one is twice as powerful and under warranty until after tour. That thing has been on my hit list for 3 years now and so I am glad to have that finally solved correctly. -- Our long-time Brass Caption Head, Steve Menefee is on tour with us now. So is long-time Visual Caption Head Jon Freeman. Our guard staff is the same as the last 2 summers as well. The percussion staff is being led by veteran staffers Matt Little and Pat Charles. Of the 20 folks on our staff this year, 8 are rookies. Of those 8, 5 are Cascades alumni. Most everyone with us has seen the history of the corps over the last fews years and is well placed to help us grow. -- We closed our Bingo on May 15th, but have not seen any cash from it in almost 18 months. It covered overhead things like offices and storage, though. We've worked hard to move the office and stay functional, all while putting the corps out on the field. Our gambling license is still active and we are working on multiple options to raise revenue through it in a non-smoking world. -- Sal's departure in March was pretty abrupt. Catching up on a lot of transitional issues has monopolized my time from then until now. The corps has dedicated and loyal boardmembers, staff, kids, alumni and fans. We have gone through so much as an organization this spring, that I know we are going to be just fine. I think any one of the issues we faced would have folded a less beloved corps. That says a lot about the Cascades, to me. -- I depart for tour on Monday and will stay until the end. [Hallelujah!] While I don't add any abilities that that staff doesn't already possess many times better, I am a coordinator by nature. I think all of the elements are there in the show, we just need to dig and make sure everything is timed correctly and coming off well. Sometimes not all the synapses are firing and it takes a fresh view to make it obvious. I think you can all expect to see an amazing rate of growth in the next 3 weeks. I think everything from here is moving upward and outward. The kids are just the greatest. It breaks my heart every time I have to leave them and come back to my desk. Jimmy