rpbobcat

No question this is a positive sign. But (you knew that was coming) At the same time, The Cadets are ignoring their original north Jersey roots. When they first moved to Allentown, they said that they still considered themselves a New Jersey corps. That's faded over the years, to the point where the only time you hear from them is when they want a donation. As I've posted, given their schedule, they could have done a show in North Jersey, (Clifton) where there is a large group of Garfield Cadets Alumni. For people like me, who grew up watching The Cadets, their abandoning New Jersey, hurts.

What about when a soloist's mike dies, and they don't penalize the corps ? The justification "we know what it would have sounded like" really doesn't cut it.

27 ?

I live about 10 minutes from Garfield. I grew up watching The Cadets in parades ,as well their shows in the area . The Cadets have decided to abandon their New Jersey roots including local fans and alumni. They'll be in New England July 4 weekend. But they're not doing a show in North Jersey. Its on the way there or back and Clifton should be available. The only thing they seem to care about from fans and alumni in this area are their donations.

I live in North Jersey. Our Boy Scout Troop always marched behind the Cadets in the Memorial Day Parade. I wasn't happy when they moved to Allentown. But what really bothered me was when they kept saying things like "they still considered themselves a Jersey corps" or something similar whenever they were looking for money.

Presuming they get enough people to donate to make it work.

From reading the information on The Cadets web site, I'm not sure exactly what it is. Personally ,I would want more specific information about exactly how the endowment works, before I would commit giving any money. I'd also go over it my financial advisor and accountant to see what they think.

This approach may be "a good deal safer and less fraught with intrigue . . " for the corps. But what about the investors As they "the devil is in the details". The ads for investment products always say "read our prospectus carefully, before you invest ". Seems like a really good idea here.

Going to be a "negative nelly" here 2034 is a long way off. With all the turmoil in DCI, including the issues with SCV, it remains possible that Drum Corps in general and The Cadets in particular may not be around in 2034. If that does happen, does anyone know what happens to any funds that were put into the Endowment ?

Going from memory, VK was paying staff members as "independent contractors" as opposed to "employees". That provided a number of tax benefits to all parties. The IRS determined that "if it walks like a duck ... " and ruled the staff in question were "employees". That resulted in all kinds of fees, penalties, etc.

Used to be a combination DCA/DCI (Cabs/Cadets were the "hosts" corps) show at Giants Stadium. Also saw a couple of combined DCI/DCA shows at Montclair State University.

There are a couple of videos on youtube of a USC Marching Band ensemble playing at a wedding. There's also a really good video from I believe 2015 of Lindsey Buckingham playing Tusk with the USC marching band.

I'm glad it was easy for you to get your loan forgiven. I don't know what type of business you're in, or if you're a "sole proprietor" or have a paid staff. As I've posted, I have colleagues who own engineering and/or land surveying companies with between 20-100 employees. They used a portion of their PPP loans for other then payroll. Their accounts and lawyers are still trying to give the government all the additional information they keep requesting to get their loans forgiven. According to them, you give Government the "back up" they request and they come back asking for something else.

"Several " is an understatement. After looking at the requirements to have a PPP loan forgiven, especially if you wanted to use part of the loan, for other then payroll, my corporate accountant and attorney said "run away" ,which I did. I have a number of colleagues who did take PPP loans, and used some of the loan for other then payroll. They are still dealing with providing "back up" documentation to try to get them forgiven. In my case, I was able to get Employee Retention Credit funds, with virtually no hassles.

This is gonna be a bit O.T. I think it depends on the major. I have a Masters in Civil/ Environmental Engineering. The program was taught by Licensed Engineers who were required to be working in the field they were teaching. No pure academics. The program was set up to have you learn from people working the real world, in the subject they were teaching. No research papers, no thesis. Just class, homework and a final for each class. Also did post graduate work in Civil and Construction Engineering Technology. Again, just class and a final.

I work with a number of Municipalities as a Municipal Engineer. Most towns I work don't have a Grant Writer on staff. They have contracts with grant writing firms, with specific expertise in the type of grant they're pursuing. The grant writing firms provide their services to a number of towns ,simultaneously. They work either on a fee or % basis. Don't know why corps can't do the same thing.

It was nice to see OSU do a show with pretty much all traditional drill.

Dry Heat = Convection Oven

Best place I've ever been to in Philly, for Atmosphere ,Beer and Food is McGillin's Old Ale House on Drury. Found it years ago by accident ,walking around between the afternoon and evening performance of BLAST,we were in town to see. Make sure we go there every time we're in town.

The stadium will be natural grass. But it won't be a dome. According to their October 27,2022 Press Release, the stadium will have a "canopy" that will cover +/- 65% of the seats. The field will be open to the weather. I don't think a "weather dependent" Finals will be held there.

I've never worked on an indoor natural grass field, so I don't know.

Arizona solved the problem with "roll out" natural grass.

As I said, I design both natural and synthetic turf. I can't speak on pro fields. But one of the biggest problems with synthetic turf is that it is not properly maintained. Especially high school and recreational fields. The turf needs to be "groomed" regularly including replacing "infill" when needed. A turf's hardness is based on what is know as "Gmax". Again, Gmax needs to be tested regularly and adjusted, as needed. In my experience, we haven't seen appreciable differences in injuries between properly maintained natural and synthetic turf. One thing I've found is that, during a season, the condition of natural turf, especially in the Northeast where I work, deteriorates as the season progresses. It can be really bad when the weather gets cold. Another problem with natural turf is that is has to "recover" between uses. That means not using it more then 3 days (alternating) a week, including for practice. Not many schools or rec groups will do that.

Actually ,going to natural grass turf may have more impacts then this. I design both synthetic and natural grass fields. One of the benefits of synthetic turf is that it can be used right after it rains. Try to do that with grass , and you have damage, it can be a real mess. Natural grass also requires constant care. What I worry about, if places go to natural grass, they may not want to risk "damage" or more "wear and tear" then it would already get. So they could just say no Drum Corps.

Don't know about Texas. But there have been issues with weather at outdoor venues. Off the top of my head, Buffalo and Mississippi come to mind.