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BradF

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BradF last won the day on February 5 2014

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  1. I keep reading some version of this and I don't really understand the sentiment. Every seat on the bus costs the same whether there is a member in it or not. So it is in the corps' - and the members' - best interest to have a member in every seat. Even when the max size was 155 most corps still had 165 members on the buses. They were called alternates. So the "top" corps are not taking any more people down the road. Every seat has a paying member in it. And now every person on the bus can be on the field in a performance role (it's up to each corps if that's what they want to do). What part of that is stupid?
  2. https://www.dci.org/news/santa-clara-vanguard-withdraws-from-2023-dci-tour
  3. SCV doesn't have a representative on the board. https://www.dci.org/static/dci-board-of-directors
  4. Not necessarily. Most didn’t actually march 165. Or it opened up the possibility of two people to split a spot. Or part of the show to be written for more. Or, or, or…. It gave corps a lot more options to get people off the sidelines and onto the field.
  5. This is a common myth. The rule change allowed corps to put 165 people on the performance field, up from 156, but it really didn't add any people to most of the corps. They were already on the bus and on tour. They were alternates. The rule change simply allowed those people to be utilized as part of the performance. Nobody added a bus to march 165 AND have alternates.
  6. Maybe the question should be why more corps don't make it a major announcement? This is a caption head level position that has as much - if not more - impact on the member experience during the summer.
  7. Of course we are always looking for issues and trying to head things off before little things become big. Our entire staff is instructed to report if they know or even suspect there is a member in distress. The point is sometimes someone can be having an issue that is not apparent. They don't have to suffer in silence.
  8. I’m truly saddened by what I read last night about this person’s experience at the Blue Stars. The bottom line is it is our goal to provide every person on our tour with an amazing drum corps experience. It seems we have fallen short with the OP. For that I’m truly sorry. Unfortunately, I can’t go back in time and change this situation. I can only examine how we operate today and make sure it can’t happen again. Do the conditions exist for it to occur? Are our staff teaching in a positive manner? Do we have people looking for individuals that may be struggling in silence? Are our reporting mechanisms in place and do we take reports seriously? I can unequivocally state yes to all of those questions when compared to when the OP marched. But we still strive to be better every day and every season. I give this message to our entire organization every season: we can’t fix what we don’t know. You don’t have to suffer in silence. We’re there to help. There are reporting mechanisms that include anonymous avenues to get your issues heard and addressed. We have and will take swift action against anyone (staff, member, or volunteer) that doesn’t live up to our values. That not only applies to the Blue Stars, but anyone in the activity. Being on tour with a drum corps is an extremely hard and challenging environment, but it should never be abusive (mentally or physically). If you’re having an issue, please tell someone immediately. Nothing is more frustrating than finding out about a negative situation after the season. Finally, our alternate program was completely revamped after the 2015 season, in large part based on the experience of the 2015 alternates, including the person that posted here. While no alternate program will ever be ideal (everybody wants to be on the field), our program is now built on transparency about a member’s position, their options as an alternate, and their inclusion as a full-fledged member of the organization (that was always the case, but we try very hard to make sure that fact is known to all). Sincerely, Brad Furlano Executive Director Blue Stars
  9. No slight taken. Just correcting information. I've had the job for a decade and first moved rehearsals to Indiana in the spring of 2007. To my knowledge the corps had not rehearsed in Indiana prior to that.
  10. The BoD was unanimously behind my decision to move winter rehearsals to Indiana.
  11. I've gone through the bidding process for bus contracts many times, and one of the great mysteries of the industry is exactly what you describe here. The lowest bids almost never come from a local (even using an extremely liberal definition of local) company. Deadheading a couple thousand miles is seemingly nothing for a tour that runs 60+ days.
  12. Don't get me wrong. Any and all fuel savings are greatly appreciated and lessens the financial pressure on corps' extremely tight budgets.
  13. What you call timid, others call smart. We tour in the early season where our support network is the strongest. However, if our ultimate goal was to lessen the number of miles on tour, we could easily slice another 2000 miles off the tour without losing any shows.
  14. Your estimate of mileage is off by nearly a factor of three. A long drum corps tour these days is typically between 11,000 and 13,000 miles. Many corps operate less than 10,000 miles during the summer.
  15. Hi, Thanks for your interest in the Blue Stars Color Guard. We are excited to have you join us for auditions. Please send a note to: michael.shapiro@bluestars.org with your questions and he will be happy to get back to you with information about the BSCG and advice about the audition process. Thanks, Brad
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