totaleefree

I am really looking forward to this years show. I am hoping that it will be amazing when I see them next week. Last year I was super exited when I saw the show mid June and thought it had to be top 5, only to be deflated by the judges scores in Detroit. Hopefully this season we will wow the crowds and the Judges

Props did have a role in the CG staff changes. Coming off the Phantomettes they recruited very skilled technical guard members. But they were not as thick and built like SCV or Mandarins guard members. They had issues moving the props last year. I think you are going to see a more muscular guard this year that can move those props no problem, and guys who can pick up the girls if necessary for the show. I think most of the top corps have moved in this direction.

That is why you should volunteer with a corps. go in the corps entrance or through the tunnel take a break head out to your food truck and snack up all you want, (thoough you may have to cook for 200 people before you can snack.

Last year I heard no buzz coming from Colts in the Preseason and they came out strong. Their percussion was beating lots of higher ranked corps early on. the Colts also have a very solid foundation for the corps with a good business plan. From what i have seen they take care of the kids. Sometimes that extra little bit of support pushes the kids to go above and beyond. Troopers had a great rush last year and they rode a wave into finals. I just am not sure how good the business plan behind the troopers is right now and if things fall apart in logistics it effects the performance of the corps. I would like to see Academy back again. Music City could surprise some folks too. I think Madison has gotten their act together on the business side I just haven't seen anything innovative from them recently to give them that spark to make everyone take notice..

That was my dads corps. I may wear the 1952 Chocolatiers jacket to allentown this year http://<a href="https://www.linkpicture.com/view.php?img=LPic63d5cd394231f1033601575"><img src="https://www.linkpicture.com/q/IMG_20230128_200437.jpg" type="image"></a> so 2 weeks ago I could post pictures on here, but now I can't not sure what happened, most likely user error. Anyway the jacket has a big Hershey bat then says Chocolaters American Legion post #

Well everyone knows that the US is a racist nation, has been since 1619, So no corps should accept any donations from any Americans, or do any performances in the USA.

If it was not a mirage, it may have been from someone putting together a half time show at a Bowl game and borrowed some equipment from people in the NorthEast. or it could have been a high school band performing that borrowed the Raider truck.

I am still struggling with this thought. I am not sure what phantom safety people are. I probably know the job by a different name.

Sorry I am not sure why this came up twice. Could an admin delete the repeat please

Right now is the time of the year when Corps are beginning to fill in their rosters of volunteers. People have the tour schedule and there is still time to take that week off work to help your favorite corps make its way to Indy. Now many people say why should I volunteer and what are the benefits ? 1 For me the #1 benefit is that it is a chance to get to know the kids who are marching. almost every corps lets all the volunteers go to every full ensemble every night so you get to see what they are working on, then when they come to the food line you can ask them how it is going. It also will make you feel good about the future. With all the negative things being said about genZ, seeing these kids work hard gives you hope for the future and dispels those myths we sometimes believe about younger generations. While safety concerns keep the volunteers somewhat separated from the marchers you can still talk with them in open public environments. 2 Being able to say "We" when talking about the corps. The corps I marched with is long gone but now I feel that I can say we when I talk about the corps I work with, and I am a part of something. The Corps I have worked with the most was struggling the first summer I worked with them and last year they were a crowd favorite I get to feel the sense of accomplishment with the coprs, even though I don't work nearly as hard as the marchers do. 3 for me it is redemption, My DCi exoerience was not to good. I came in mid season in a Corps that was falling apaert. We did not get good food, or good sleep and many of the instructors had a military, tough it out type attitude. When I know that the kids are eating well when I am there I feel good and I hope that I am making their marching experiences better than mine was, 4. Inside Information. This is tricky because you know what the show is and what is being added every day at practice, but you are not supposed to tell everyone. But inside you can do a superiority dance because you know something that only a few people know. 5. Family. When you work hard with people who may have been strangers a week ago you all become family sharing goals and pushing for the same thing in helping the corps. Since many of the volunteers are parents you also find yourself spying on the kids for their parents who worked with you, as well as looking out for their kids. Last summer I left for 3 weeks while I dealt with COVID and the day I came back everyone welcomed me back and it was like a reunion, even with some people who were not know for being the easiest people to along with. Then at the end of season banquet you meet up with probably 30 people you have worked with at one time or another aver the summer and you are again like a family. One thing that I would say is that if you help with the food truck it will most likely wear you out and sign up for a week first to see how you like it because you will get worn out and a 2nd or 3rd week could be less fulfilling if you are sore and only half awake. Also if you are a parent you will see your child, but for reasons that have been pointed out many times on DCP and other forums older people are generally separated from the marchers and even the under 18 are separated from those older than 18, you may not have a lot of one on one time with them I am sure thare are hundreds of other great reasons to volunteer, but I hope that many of you will at least look into this while your summer is still being planned

Right now is the time of the year when Corps are beginning to fill in their rosters of volunteers. People have the tour schedule and there is still time to take that week off work to help your favorite corps make its way to Indy. Now many people say why should I volunteer and what are the benefits ? 1 For me the #1 benefit is that it is a chance to get to know the kids who are marching. almost every corps lets all the volunteers go to every full ensemble every night so you get to see what they are working on, then when they come to the food line you can ask them how it is going. It also will make you feel good about the future. With all the negative things being said about genZ, seeing these kids work hard gives you hope for the future and dispels those myths we sometimes believe about younger generations. While safety concerns keep the volunteers somewhat separated from the marchers you can still talk with them in open public environments. 2 Being able to say "We" when talking about the corps. The corps I marched with is long gone but now I feel that I can say we when I talk about the corps I work with, and I am a part of something. The Corps I have worked with the most was struggling the first summer I worked with them and last year they were a crowd favorite I get to feel the sense of accomplishment with the coprs, even though I don't work nearly as hard as the marchers do. 3 for me it is redemption, My DCi exoerience was not to good. I came in mid season in a Corps that was falling apaert. We did not get good food, or good sleep and many of the instructors had a military, tough it out type attitude. When I know that the kids are eating well when I am there I feel good and I hope that I am making their marching experiences better than mine was, 4. Inside Information. This is tricky because you know what the show is and what is being added every day at practice, but you are not supposed to tell everyone. But inside you can do a superiority dance because you know something that only a few people know. 5. Family. When you work hard with people who may have been strangers a week ago you all become family sharing goals and pushing for the same thing in helping the corps. Since many of the volunteers are parents you also find yourself spying on the kids for their parents who worked with you, as well as looking out for their kids. Last summer I left for 3 weeks while I dealt with COVID and the day I came back everyone welcomed me back and it was like a reunion, even with some people who were not know for being the easiest people to along with. Then at the end of season banquet you meet up with probably 30 people you have worked with at one time or another aver the summer and you are again like a family. One thing that I would say is that if you help with the food truck it will most likely wear you out and sign up for a week first to see how you like it because you will get worn out and a 2nd or 3rd week could be less fulfilling if you are sore and only half awake. Also if you are a parent you will see your child, but for reasons that have been pointed out many times on DCP and other forums older people are generally separated from the marchers and even the under 18 are separated from those older than 18, you may not have a lot of one on one time with them I am sure thare are hundreds of other great reasons to volunteer, but I hope that many of you will at least look into this while your summer is still being planned

I know this will be controversial, but I don't think brass technique was a major factor in SCV opting not to march this summer. Looking at this it appears that SCV Bingo is a somewhat lucrative venture making maybe a million a year, however sending 2 corps to Indy required maybe 2 million a year. Which makes you say if they finances wern't quite there why in the world did they opt to send 2 corps to Indy last year ? But it seems that the Bingo is still going making money and should easily repay debt and should be able to field an more Austerity minded corps shortly. I know they bought a new food truck in 18 I believe but I think it was paid for with donations and not by picking up debt. But with all that money into a food truck they need to get back out and use it soon. I have been an SCV fan for a long time and I had alwys looked to them as an example in performance and corps admin. Usually over the summer the volunteers from the corps usually have opportunities to talk with each other in parking lots and you can get a general feel of what is going on within the corps. I think that this year (22) we still had covid issues so I didn't spend as much time talking with other corps and I was caught by surprise hearing about SCVs troubles. I hope to see them back on the field by 2024

People can't handle the truth

One reason Bluecoats revenue has held up is that most of their Bingo revenue is from instant Bingo machines. While they still run a traditional bingo hall, they have 27 machines spread throughout the area that operate 24/7 and don't need volunteers or others to staff.

Unfortunately the jonzes might not be there this summer for folks to keep up with.

If you have a bus you need to fill it. so dropping numbers you would have to drop 55 marchers or so to save money on a bus. In 2019 Jersey surf cut a bus and it helped their finances. also it allowed then to not have to recruit in the late spring and early season.

I cried when I heard the announcement, I told people to not jump to conclusions when SCVC announced they were not going out. SCV had been my fav since 1985, even though I neverr marched with them and spend most of my time helping other corps SCV still has a place in my heart. In the early 80's we had an arms race and many top corps killed themselves by going into debt for one season hoping that it would be the year that they broke through only to not be able to fund a run the next season. Blue stars though did mount a comeback, a long and winding process but they are back in the top ranks again and I am sure the lessons learned are still in their leaderships minds

I know a corps that relied mainly on volunteers, had an old food trailer and spent about a third of that on food. I know food is an important part of keeping a corps going, and I was a big advocate of increasing what they spent on food. However things like this need to be looked at if other corps are spending a lot less and feeding their folks well.

DCI go to schedule hit phantom regimebt

I see we are not doing Crown's show in Winston Salem again this year. Which means the long night driving from ATL to Huntinton WV. Last year it rained and stormed the entire trip. I think we hit every construction zone in the state of TN. Then we had horrible accommodations, the worst I saw on the tour. It was my first night driving, as I had been on the food truck earlier An experience to remember for sure.

Blue Vanguard Regiment (BVR)

They announce minor caption heads, and the food crew has as much to do with keeping the kids marching and happy as the assistant color guard caption head. It shows that the corps cares about the wellbeing of the marchers. It also is rewarding someone for long term service. This is a paid position but that recpgnition lets volunteers know that a corps appreciates their efforts. As a volunteer it means a lot to me that the food truck manager is a part of the corps structure. I have been in spots with corps where I volunteer and wind up running to the store and spending a lot of money so the kids have something to eat when the food truck was an afterthought. ( this was not a top tier corps, I think this does not happen in world class anymore) I think parents are interested in this because it lets them know the kids are being taken care of, at least in the food nutrition area.

I am glad they are recognizing the work she has done. Feeding a corps all summer is a tough job.

I don't think 2nd weekend in August is filled with too many football games. Years ago when DCI was later in the month that could have been an issue, may be why they moved DCI a week earlier.

James was at Phantom Regiment at least 2019 - 2022 as a battery instructor. Very enthusuastic