CadetDood
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Posts posted by CadetDood
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11 minutes ago, Tim K said:
If moving to Erie makes sense for Cadets, fine. I don’t think it will make too much of a difference on the field though where behind the scenes issues can impact morale, perhaps it will. I guess I wonder how much in this day and age, location matters for many corps. Drum corps is a non profit and in more than a few cases drum corps does little to build up the local economy. For World Class especially, it does little to serve the local youth. Don’t get me wrong, I believe drum corps does serve an important purpose and contributes to the overall economy, but local businesses want to support programs that reach local residents. Relationships can develop by joining the Chamber of Commerce, Rotary, Kiwanis, etc., but that takes years.
People can point to Boston Crusaders as an example of local support, and Inspire Arts does incredible good work, but Boston Crusaders has been in the same vicinity its entire history, there are BAC alums everywhere in the area. Most moved from the city to suburbs and retire to the the Cape for the summer and Florida for the winter. It’s not as true for the under 45 or so crowd. BAC has built new relationships, no question, but it built on the past.
I think a big point of the move is a hope to have more local involvement. The Cadets used to do a lot of community involvement in Allentown, but I think a lot of those programs have gone away over time thanks to all of the Hopkins stuff. Now that the corps is in a solid financial position I think it's a great time to move somewhere that actively wants the corps to be involved in the community (through clinic programs during the summer, parades, and potentially programs that take place during the off-season). There's already strong relationships with Erie Sports Center for the corps, and with the older local drum corps, the Erie Thunderbirds. The hope is to further develop relationships in the area, but I think the point is there already exists stronger relationships for the corps in Erie than there are in Allentown.
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15 hours ago, kdaddy said:
So the Cadets are potentially relocating to Erie?
This is from the Facebook of a disgraced former director...
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Just after the summer , I addressed the “word on the street” that the Cadets were relocating to Erie, Pa. I also included that the Blue Devils would be acquiring the Cadets as part of the Blue Devils Pagentry Association . Pretty much the airwaves have been silent
I did hear that attendance at the early camps were poor , we have seen the internal adjustments to staff and leadership but … nothing of any substance.
Until now ….
Attached is the relocation update. It’s interesting that a move 460 miles from the original Garfield , NJ address is not illiciting the commentary and hate my partners and when we moved out offices a short stretch to the Eastern home of DCI ,Allentown , Pa
As for the Blue Devils , info is hard to find but such an acquisition would be the ONLY way the Cadets survive . There is no income source . No bands . Limited interest . Minimal Fundraising .
As a point of reference the Santa Clara Vanguard closed the doors with a 1.5 million dollar net bingo . The Cadets and YEA! Did have a $400k band program , 300k in corporate assistance —- and more … but now ? Little to nothing . The departure of USBands to the Blue Devils with no known return signals the end of the line … unless there is something dramatic coming ?
Merry Christmas to all …
And watch for another big shift in the drum corps activity with the New Year***
From what I've heard the Erie news is legitimate, but the BD buying out Cadets news is just fearmongering by Hoppy. The Cadets have been working more with BDPA for joint US Bands projects now that BD owns US Bands, and I believe the management of the two corps collaborate frequently on how best to run their corps. I don't think BD has the money or the desire to own the Cadets though, what could they hope to gain from owning the corps other than having to fund a fourth drum corps on a national tour? The move to Erie seems to be a smart one, from what I've heard the corps doesn't get any special offers or deals from the city of Allentown anymore. Where as Erie provides a move-ins site for a generous price and is actively trying to convince the corps to relocate there (something that's unfortunately uncommon for corps in the modern world). I think corps need to do whatever they can to cut costs, and I think this move to Erie will help Cadets to lower costs for the corps and potentially bring in more revenue streams through community involvement. Excited to see official word from the corps, hopefully soon.
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On 12/14/2022 at 8:17 AM, musicteacher said:
Brian has never been dramatis personae
Yes, I've done some poking around with the corps admin and think Brian is a solid hire for the Cadets. I think the Cadets are going to be in a great place this year.
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The Cadets 2023
in DCI World Class Corps Discussions
Posted
What are you referring to? If it's to the charter bus situation, as I understand it the corps decided to cut ties with the bus company due to disagreements between the old administration and the bus drivers. Not because the corps couldn't afford the busses, seeing as how they turned around and hired a different charter bus service immediately after cutting ties with the other bus company. I haven't heard of any other potential "money issue", or instance of not paying staff members what they were promised. I've seen accusations from Hopkins of money issues, but I think everyone can agree he's an unreliable source that just wants to paint the corps in a bad light now that he's gone. I agree that the corps was in a bad spot from 2018 through COVID, but by all the accounts that I've heard the corps is in a much more stable position now and is simply looking for ways to be in an even better one by relocating.