scheherazadesghost

That's cool but best-practice is a max of 3 two-year stints to prevent problems like groupthink. That is plenty of time to ensure institutional knowledge is being passed along sustainably (and get everything else done.) There are all kinds of strategies for ensuring the right mixture of new and old blood, as I agree balance is important. Of course drum corps is a fragile castle. All nonprofits are. Vanguard is especially so. Any one thing can tip it over. Weallknowdis. And... also... some of us have been trying to point that exact thing out for a while... but few wanted to listen. If it falls (and I sincerely hope it doesn't) it's because external and internal factors have been weakening it for a while, not because someone pointed out that hey, I think I saw a major leak in the basement last year... maybe that has something to do with it? All that said, the sacrifices and risks young members are willing to make to march in '24 (to keep our legacy alive) are powerful. I was also taking such risks as a member... I just had no real way of knowing about it. These young members should know about the issues by now, and they are choosing Vanguard anyway.

Gross. "Keep it in the family" means something a little more gross now. Why do you think I'm so vocal?

I'd also like to see the board's anti-nepotism and conflict of interest policies.

I would be curious to read it. Also, an honest, open discussion within this organization needs to happen regarding BoD term limits. One director has been there for 17 years total, with their latest term exceeding the best practice of 3 2-year stints. If the nose for term limits isn't even developed here, that could be yet another flag to watch. Term limits exist across professional fields for good reason.

... and somehow still cutting away from the catch at the end of their solo.

The drum judge's tape from 04 complimented them in just the same manner: "Sometimes that's where music belongs, not safe but expressive." That said, I was talking about the organization as a whole, but we can certainly look at the design as a metaphor. But honestly, they can stay formulaic in the design for all I care in the end, just at least clear the management and financial issues once and for all. Doing so would free the members to achieve any book put in front of them.

The general public may be under the impression that they know the real Vanguard (organizationally, branding-wise, legacy-wise) and therefore associate any change, even if positive in the end, with bad or too cumbersome. That and Vanguard likes to paint a pristine, unvarnished image of it self. They have to. I get it. With all the challenges this organization has faced for decades, I'd argue that audiences have never seen a Vanguard membership (at least since GR passed) that wasn't enduring serious, multi-faceted issues. These issues get in the way of member achievement somewhere down the line ultimately. I'm here to say that with such aforementioned stipulations firmly in place, audiences have the potential to see a Vanguard unchained for the first time in decades. Set free. Firing on all cylinders. I'm aching to see that. And willing to demolish my rep via online hate if that's what it takes. The members are worth it AFAIC.

I'm guessing we've been too naughty here on DCP to get audition camp updates. Still, as concerned as I am for the org, I'd love to know more about my future fellow alum. Saw some faces from 22 that I recognized which kinda made me tear up. 😎

I'll bridge this gap. I think it was largely well intentioned. It was the execution for me what was concerning, as it was, by some measure, still a recruiting tool. It's best-practice to have a salaried employee in charge of alumni/prospective member contact info/databases, rather than volunteers. For the same reasons we don't see as much unvetted alum housing new members, AFAIK. I'll eat my hat if alumni volunteers underwent background checks or some such other safeguarding measures. Also, I'm assuming those contacted weren't minors, as that could break some serious laws without explicit guardian consent. Posted policies and procedures would go a long way to clear this up.

This is exactly why my empathy for them is unending. Look at the timeline after JWK leaves alone: about half a decade of stability with RV, but bingo fraud is exposed RV, Myron (bedrocks in our community) leave after 2006 a few years with JP, he leaves after 2008 season JF for almost a decade, but there are skeletons I think since then we've not kept a director for more than two years, is that right? They've been enduring challenge after challenge since before I marched. I'm immensely grateful they're still around... and also, I'm still seeing too many red flags. And also feeling bittersweet toward all my fellow alum who endured these challenges and nonetheless fielded powerful shows.

You just gave me flashbacks... from when working them was required or you paid a fee.

Their FB/Insta has stuff. Don't think the SCV circle in-the-know hangs out here.

Thanks. Helpful to know. Right. Guess I'm curious if the policies delve into the rationale behind every group being a nonprofit. Seems arbitrary in this day and age...no? Or am I missing something?

Yeah, you know that staff better than me. But my followup question would be... okay, you need to be nonprofit to be a guest/participant (as VMAPA is now) OR do you need to be a nonprofit to be a member?

All this and... ...I would be more supportive of their recovery attempts if they hunkered down and created a strategic plan/annual report. They had one under the previous CEO and... before that right?? Sure hope so. Or in this case, an emergency strategic report. This is a formal document healthy NPs produce every several years in order to scrutinize, democratize, and (possibly) broadcast their strategies, budgets, lessons learned, mission, and vision statements. Any of these awful outcomes above could be averted in an orderly plan. If they have one, then not broadcasting it for any number of reasons almost makes it worse than not having one at all. I'll just leave this here: https://bloomerang.co/blog/nonprofit-strategic-planning/