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Rick was a dear friend to many. I marched with him in the Watkins Glen Squires and when I went on to work with the Guardsmen (Illinois) and needed a percussion instructor, Rick willingly signed on for the infamous summer of 1982. He had to re-write a major chunk of the book and had a few other "trials" to deal with as well. In spite of it all, he came to work every day with a smile on his face. He was a major chunk of the glue that held things together that year. Since then, when I have needed percussion help, all it ever took was a phone call. Rick Rogers was TRULY in this activity for the kids and was always happiest when he had people to teach or a drum to fix. I can't believe he's gone. I can still remember riding to Squires practice with him as he simultaneoulsy drove and drummed on the dashboard. We are all a part of the huge family of drum corps. We cherish our moments on the field and we constantly look forward to next season(s)- We cherish the friends we make along the way, and I am willing to be that we'd each willingly go to the mat for a drum corps buddy or two, if asked. What we sometimes forget to do is to let those uber friends know how important they are to OUR quality of life. We just expect to see them at a contest in the summer or to have a beer or two with them in the parking lot after a show. We forget that in some instances, "tomorrow" might not come. If we truly want to honor the memory of this gentle giant, we will take a moment to call a friend or two (or twenty) and let them know just how much we value them. I wish I had taken the opportunity to send a Christmas card or something to Rick this season.. We've been out of touch for the past couple years, but I always enjoyed hearing about his activities within the senior corps realm. I will mis him every day. On behalf of the Racine Scouts family, our most sincere condolences go to Cheryl, Sara, and Josh. Your dad/husband was one in a trillion and he will never be forgotten. Andrea Birbilis, Corps Manager Racine Scouts Drum and Bugle Corps Racine, Wisconsin

After a VERY successful winter season, the Racine Scouts are looking forward to our first contest on June 21 in Rockford Illinois. If you are still looking for a place to march this summer, we have limited openings, and are looking for: 2 lead trumpets 1 mellophone 1 second baritone 1 third baritone 1 mallet player (MUST be able to play 4 mallets, and should also have some timpani experience) 1 snare We are also hoping to augment our colorguard with additional male and female dancers. Rifle/Sabre experience is a plus. Our 2008 production is entitled: Frankly, Sinatra. Move In weekend is scheduled for June 13th. Tour fees for the summer are assesed at $800.00. For more specific information, please consult our website, www.racinescouts.com, or call 262-331-3092

The Racine Scouts are searching for a food trailer for the upcoming season. If you know of a trailer that is a minimum of 18 feet long, and one that will NOT require a CDL driver, please contact the corps at infor@racinescouts.com, or call 414-305-7420. The trailer does not need to be previously outfitted as a food service vehicle.

The Racine Scouts are searching for a food trailer. If anyone out there knows of a trailer for sale that is a minimum pf 18 feet long, and one that will NOT require a CDL driver, please contact the Racine Scouts at info@racinescouts.com, or call 414-305-7420. The trailer does NOT have to be already functioning as a kitchen trailer.

Yes.. all information is available on the corps website, www.racinescouts.com- Thanks in advance for anything that you care to contribute. I hope to get some picture up on the website this afternoon.

In response to all of the people who have inquired about our recent equipment trailer mishap, we are all fine, but the trailer has seen much better days. Considering what COULD have happened, we were very lucky. Unfortunately, the contras and some of the mallet instruments took the brunt of the hit when the trailer flipped over. The contents of the corps freezer flew all over the interior of the trailer, and the freezer itself will now make a fine lawn ornament. In spite of everything, we had a great camp, but now the task looms as to how to replace that which was destroyed. The trailer has been totaled and we are searching for a newer one. This, coupled with the expense of replacing two key pieces of front ensemble equipment and three rather large horns will require some long range fund raising. People have asked if the equipment was insured, and the answer is yes, but insurance doesn't always pay for what it actually costs to replace things. On a brighter note.. our attendance at winter camps has been very good, and we would like to wish our fellow corps well as we ALL prepare for the best drum corps season yet.

On behalf of the entire Racine Explorer Scouts organization, our sincerest condolences to the family of dear Bianca. Our hearts are heavy for the Vocke family. We also send our sympathies to the Colts, who have lost a dear sister. We encourage everyone out there to continue to support the families of these two young people in the days ahead. Once the formality of services and rituals passes, these folks will need our support more than ever. Consider the season as well, and give a gift to a family who can really use it. Rest in Peace dear Bianca. You will never be forgotten.

Good morning to everyone! As of early this morning, Bianca Voecke continues to fight. We, as members of the great drum corps family, need to help her at this crucial time. More than ever, she needs our prayers to give her the strength to recover. Her parents and family members need our prayers to give the strength to face whatever lies ahead. Maybe you don't consider yourself very religious. Maybe this request makes you uncomfortable. Perhaps you wonder what you can possibly do for someone that you have never even met. I myself do not have children of my own, so I can't even comprehend the agony that her parents and family are dealing with. What I DO know is that when any of my corps kids are hurt or in trouble, I would move heaven and earth if it would ease their suffering. The drum corps fraternity is one big family, so when the chips are down, we must take care of our own. Seventeen is far too young to die. Bianca has so much more living to do. She needs all of our love and support NOW. Prayer is a very powerful weapon that transcends boundaries that mere mortals cannot. This is the SEASON of love and miracles.. anything can happen. When you attend your house of worship this week, please send a message to the man upstairs to keep this family in the palm of his hand. No one should lose a child at Christmas of all times. If you are a parent who has kids, you can certainly relate to the situation facing the Voecke family right this very minute. Greg Orwoll has a "Bianca update" on the COLTS website that is pretty current. Please do what you can for this family, and by all means, PRAY. If we all hold hands together, those prayers and good thoughts can and WILL get her off the critical list and on the road to recovery.

The Racine Scouts are in need of two licensed CDL drivers for the tour to California. The corps will depart from Racine on July 24 and travel through TN, AR, TX, AZ and CA. (Yes, we will be in Pasadena for ALL of DCI week) We can also use one or two more people on the kitchen crew. If you are even remotely interested in traveling with a corps to Championships this summer, please contact the corps manager as soon as possible for more information.- 262-331-3092

This argument rears its ugly head several times a year. The Division I gang doesn't like to hear it, but the truth of the matter is that many of the kids that are cut from those corps are NOT encouraged to go to Division II/III to march. We are not the ######## stepchilds of the activity. Let's state the facts.. for as far as "we" have come in 21 years (YES! it's been that long since the smaller sized corps took an active role in charting their future) some things just haven't moved as quickly as we might have liked. As a music educator who is involved in drum corps, I cannot tell you how much it infuriates me to receive recruitiment materials for Div. I corps in my school mailbox. Especially when I teach at the junior high school level- there is no way that ANY div. I program wants my 7th and 8th grade students. I encourage kids to do Division II/III because I believe in the programs, I know that they will receive good instruction and I also believe that this particular level is still what drum corps is all about. Our kids can sometimes hold down a part time job, do family stuff, go to summer school, etc. Vince Lombardi once said, "winning isn't everything.. it's the ONLY thing".. what he forgot to elaborate on was that there are many different ways to "win". I have friends in the teaching business who tell their kids to only audition for Division I corps.. how sad.. many high school programs do not teach at the level that is necessary to succeed at the Div. I level. However, most high school musicians could make a HUGE impact on Division II/III programs across the continent. You tell me. What's the better choice? There are still too many people out there who believe that bigger corps means better corps, and that's very sad. There were a lot of "bigger" corps on the field last summer that weren't exactly "better" corps. Before you take a stand one way or the other.. why not attend a division II/III contest and decide for yourself? If you want to see drum corps on ALL levels prosper and grow, put your money where your mouth is and encourage EVERY student that auditions to march somewhere. Merely purchasing Corps "X" drum video and watching it ad nauseum all summer will not make as students as viable a candidate in '08 as marching someplace in '07 will. Contra John makes a good point when he says that corps need to assess their recruting programs and fix what is broken, but that is only half the problem. It's all about respect. If you truly respect the drum corps activity, encourage everyone to march SOMEPLACE. The Div I gang will always have more potential students than they know what to do with. Make the world a better place..mentor a corps in your area.. get to know their staff, stay in touch with their director.. set up a stiuation where YOUR age outs will have a place to teach in '08 if they so desire. We ALL need the same things.. young men and women between the ages of 12 and 21 who like to march, play an instrument, or spin flags and rifles. Yeah, yeah, I can hear it already... I'm just another disgruntled II/III person who feels that big bad DCI is out to get me.. Not the case.. I just want to see all corps survive. Some corps DO need a little help from time to time, and that spans all levels of the activity.

Racine Scouts begin the 2007 season this weekend with move in day on Saturday followed by 9-9's until their first performance at the Kilties contest in Racine. Taylor Home 3131 Taylor Ave Racine b**bs

Racine Scouts are looking for a few key players to fill out our program this season. 1 lead sop, 1 mellophone, 1 lead baritone, and one additional vibe player (must play four mallets) We will also expand the color guard if there are still people looking for a place to march. Our next rehearsal will be the weekend of June 8 in Racine, and move in will be the following weekend. Please check our website for more information, www.racinescouts.com. Membership fees for the remainder of the summer (including the CA tour) are VERY reasonable We WILL be traveling on the southern leg of the II/III tour to California.

Racine Scouts have openings for one mallet player,(vibraphone) one mellophone, 2 lead sops, and one lead baritone. Wonderful summer housing facilities, and VERY reasonable travel fees. Yes, we're going to California. Next rehearsal is weekend of June 8-9-10. Move in scheduled for June 15. Check corps website for more info. B)

That rule is no longer in effect. (January DCI mtg in Atlanta) While it is still up to the corps director to keep a good paper trail on each member who comes in the door, the members are no longer held to that March deadline. They can now come and go (or be recruited) right up until the day prior to the corps' first show. Meaning: Suzy joins corps A in January. The director has her fill out all the necessary paperwork and Suzy is an offical member of corps A. Sometime in May, she gets an itch to march with Corps B, or finds out about somehow about a vacancy in corps B. There is now no "rule" to prohibit her from joining corps B, although depending on the paperwork that she signed with corps A, she might have to honor some financial committments. Suzy is a "free agent" right up to the day before corps' A's first contest. For corps in division III, this could have disasterous effects. If you go below the 30 member minimum, through no fault of your own, you're basically screwed. Most of the division I corps did not see this as a problem. <**>

I am not placing the blame squarely with DCI, but they must shoulder some of the responsibility. What we do IS for the long term servival of our organizations, but it gets harder and harder each year to do this because the priority is not on doing what's best for ALL; it's focused on what's best for SOME. DCI doesn't legislate how much money corps must spend to be competitive. They don't tell us how to program our shows, or who to hire for staff. Those who spend money foolishly have only themselves to blame when their organizations cease to exist. On the flip side, there seems to be fewer and fewer "paid" shows for II/III corps to compete in each year. It doesn't cost any less for our corps to fuel their busses and/or trucks.. and in some cases, it probably costs MORE if not every seat on our bus is occupied by a dues paying member. After the association fees are paid, and the show entrance fees, and the fuel bills, and the huge fees for championship week housing, AND food costs, it's usuallly a break even deal if most of us are lucky. If everyone would just work toward the creation of MORE corps, and by this I mean that those who HAVE should be willing to help those who may NEED, we would have a bigger and better activity. There are things that the Division I corps HAVE/NEED that many II/III corps don't need. I am willing to bet that most II/III corps (and the activity as a whole) would benefit from some type of mentoring system between the divisions. This is a two way street. I am not standing here with my hand out.. we all have skills that could be used to make this a better activity. If you really want to know what goes on in the division II/III ranks of today, I encourage you to volunteer with a II/III corps that is touring in '07. Lots of good things happen here. I guarantee, you'll learn a lot of things that you never knew before, and you will have a entirely new appreciation for drum and bugle corps as a whole. Yes, I realize the number of division I corps that came up through our ranks. But there are a many other potential Blue Stars, Esperanzas, Mandarins, etc. who just need a little more help to cross the bridge. The current system makes that crossing difficult if not nearly impossible. And for those who really WANT to stay under 75 members, their days are numbered. In Wisconsin alone, there used to be a plethora of corps from Kenosha to the north end of Milwaukee. Where did they go? Doesn't it make you sad that there isn't a single junior corps from New York State in existence? Good grief, there used to be well over twenty junior corps along the I-90 corridor alone. Yes, time marches on.. but those who refuse to learn from the past are often doomed to repeat it.

Okay.. so what would YOU call it? Every year it's one more thing that makes it harder and harder to operate at the II/III level.. Let's see here.. we used to be able to continue on through the championship week and elevate some of our corps into the Top 25... then that got taken away. Next off.. let's see.. the elimination of our corps from the televised broadcast. For pete's sake, what would it hurt to at least mention the freaking champions? We won't even go into all of the "reasons" for putting the II/III championships in a seperate stadium, pitted against either Friday night semi finals, or worse yet on a Saturday morning. I would like to see just ONE of the Division I corps deal with the staff that II/III has to deal with on a regular basis. How about PAYING to be in shows? How about doing an entire tour for far less than $1000.00 per performance? When was the last time the Cavaliers or the Blue Devils did a championship prelim show at 8:30 [/b]? Where have all the division II and III corps gone? What happened to the Patriots, the Railmen, Delta Brigade, Court of Honor, the Americanos, Academy Musical, and East Coast Jazz , to name a few? For awhile there, the smaller corps were dropping like flies. And now the latest insult is the new plan that was voted in, dealing with kids moving from one corps to another.. there used to be a cut off date in early March. Not any more. Kids can move (or be recruited) right up to the day before their first official DCI contest. The reasoning behind this? I can only imagine. If we had any level of respect for the smaller corps and what they acheive, this ruling would have never come to pass. This IS a threat to anything with less than 130 kids, and it WILL cause more corps to fall by the wayside. The saddest part of all is that nobody seems to mind. Before everyone climbs on their soapbox and says that if the II/III corps were run properly they wouldn't have to worry about losing members, let me remind you that it won't stop with us.. Corps 13 and beyond will also feel the effects of this. Stuff like this makes it too hard to function in an already difficult landscape. One by one, the smaller corps get wiped out. Systematic? Perhaps.. Intentional??? New world order? ... Is it necessary to get rid of everything that marches fewer than 100 students? Not on your life.

"Seperate but equal" was outlawed by the Supreme Court in 1954.. Putting the smaller corps in their own show, in a seperate city, on a seperate date is akin to genocide. The II/III corps get precious little "press" as it is; sending them off into the wild blue yonder to fend for themselves is not gonna work. Pay themselves more? Where do you think the money will come from? Certainly not from the large share of ticket buying America, who has been taught to believe that smaller is less entertaining. If you want to see the II/III corps flourish, get out there and support them. Go to their competitions. Purchase their merchandise. Advocate for them to be televised. Drum Corps Midwest championships were successful back in the day because everyone involved realized (at that time) that when we all cooperate, we all advance. It was a great thrill and an honor for the Division II/III champions to be able to compete on the same field as their Division I brethren. We weren't considered as "lesser" there- we were part of the Best of the Midwest. Trust me, there is a lot more to the drum and bugle corps experience than Saturday night finals during championship week. As for keeping the community ties alive, I fully support this and would also offer that ALL corps, regardless of size, should pay attention here. Back in the day, almost the entire membership of a drum corps came from the home city. Nowadays, you're considered local if you live in the same state. Once you lose touch with your community roots, it's all downhill from there.

I wonder just how many Div II/III shows some of you have been to in the last five years.. When I hear comments like "I hate to say it, but Div II/III just has to get better", I realize that the commentator is just one more person passing the buck. The truth of the matter is that the shows in Div II/III HAVE gotten better, as evidenced by the crowds who packed the stadiums in Denver and in Malden for the II/III championship shows. Before you say another word, please get rid of the idea that smaller unilaterally means less successful. Year after year, the smaller corps are told to get bigger/better/ These words are NOT interchangeable. There are a great many "bigger" corps in Division I that are NOT better. Students do not flock to the smaller corps because these groups are not "promoted" on the televised broadcasts and in most DCI centered media. There was a time when our champions were at least mentioned on the PBS show, but no more. At the recent Atlanta meetings, it was brought up that there are more than 4000 students who audition for Division I corps and do not make the cut. Where do these kids end up? Most sit home with an expensive copy of Corps' X or Corps' Y latest "how to" video, in hopes of attending the same set of try-outs the following fall. This is a crime. I have heard all sorts of reasons why our division I brethren do not want to "share" their human resources with us. Here are some things to think about: Some corps just enjoy being small. This doesn't mean that their students can't play. believe it or not, we have a significant number of annual age-outs. Most II/III corps own their own vehicles and have equipment that is in very good shape. Most II/III corps have money in the bank and are not heavily in debt. Most II/III corps allow their members to learn a new instrument, if they so choose. It's doubtful that a #1 high school bassoonist would go to Madison and be given an opportunity to learn to play the mellophone. We "teach" kids every day. The primary thing that sets Div II/III apart from Division I is access to good and services, based on competitive reputation. It really has very little to do with the kids. Most II/III corps have staff comprised of professional music educators. We also have directors who have run these corps far longer than some of the Div I people have run THEIR operations. What we do is not easy. Try to exist on $500-$1,000 per show all summer and see how much fun it is. Remember.. we still pay around 2.55 a gallon for fuel.. there are no housing or fuel stipends for our corps. Championship week for a non division I corps costs each unit at least 600.00 per day, and that is just for housing. Most of us do this because we remember what drum corps did for US back in the day and we want to share this activity with the next generation. We do not want to become all age corps and many of us resent the idea that you think this is what we "need"- There are lots of you out there who would never think of joining (helping) a division II/IIIcorps, but you sure wouldn't mind TEACHING one, especially if you were getting paid to do so. As a music educator who works with a Div II/III corps, it really makes me angry when I receive numerous flyers, posters, etc for the Division I corps, especially when it's more than apparent to me that none of my middle school students will be marching in Madison, Phantom, Cavaliers, or Pioneer in 2007. I can tell you from my experience recruiting students, not everyone who went to a division I corps had a memorable experience. When everything is all said and done, we should remember that all three division share things in common, and these commonalities are young men and women between the ages of 14 and 21 who have an affinity for marching music. If you REALLY want to see the division II/III corps prosper, make a point to go and watch them in action this summer. These students work just as hard, sometimes against incredible odds, to succeed. They do not need anyone's pity or sermonizing.. they just need your acceptance. they need to know that what THEY dedicate their summer to MEANS something. Not everyone wants to get on the bus in early June and be gone non stop until the middle of August. How about developing farm-team programs between some of the division I corps? Let's make sure that every kid who walks through any corps door gets a place to march. Let's stop talking about our differences and let's make this happen-

The Racine Scouts will celebrate their 80th anniversary in 2007, making them the oldest continually competitive junir corps in north America. The corps will compete throughout the midwest in June and early July and them embark on the DCI II/III tour, begining on July 23. They will travel through TN, ARK, TX, AZ and then on to Pasadena. Total cost for participation is $900.00 per member. This includes all winter camps, summer in-town meals and housing, AND tour. The only additional cost to members is spending money and laundry costs while on the road. As of this listing, their are approximately 24 performances on the corps calendar for June, July and August. There are a limited number of scholarships available which cover membership costs. Partial financial aid is also available and is need-based. Anyone who wants more information on the corps programs should go to www.racinescouts.com Next camp is Feb. 2,3,4 in Racine.

Racine Scouts are going- they are celebrating their 80th anniversary in 2007- the corps last performed in California in 1953.