RFPADirector

edit: Tim beat me to it....didn't read the next post. Loved that show!!!

Are you sure that's Danny? It sure looks like him, but this soloist is playing a soprano. Danny's a mello/midrange player. I seem to remember that he marched one of his other corps (Archie maybe) in the early 80s. Could be wrong, but I seem to recall Danny coming to Reading later in the 80s. Anyone know for sure? Danny is one of the best people I've ever have had the priviledge to meet and, luckily, march with. He was one of my second "dad's". Him and Wayne Kauffman. Thanks for bringing up his name.... It made me smile. Chalet

Pretty sure this is 1982 because they're playing matched grip. I see Skee Derr and Danny Satchel in the snare line. Danny's the tall one and Skee is two to the left. I may be wrong but it looks like Bill Battaglia on the left end behind the feathers.

Cumberland 95 was when the Yankee Rebels offered me some "Rebel Water". Me, being the gullible rookie, almost took it until an older, wiser Curt stopped me. I was later told that it was straight gin. That retreat would not have been fun had I took it. They were dishing it out of a metal soup ladle from a metal bucket. I should have known better....lol Cumberland 97 was Reading's first show after the dreaded bus accident. They must have announced this as we approached the field because we received a standing ovation. I will never forget that..... My husband taught marching band out there while he was in college. That stadium is shared by two high schools. Brian taught Allegany. He also taught the other one, Fort Hill, at some point too. I miss the mountains...

w/Stp: sans stupid

Crossmen borrowed some of Reading's horns in 89. I'm sure the Bucs weren't happy when the horns came back white. My husband remembers this (it was his rookie year at Reading).

Jeff, we have them on VHS if you want to borrow...

WOW! That is the weirdest connection I've ever seen...wow. Several months ago I made a post on I think the DCI page about weird places you've experienced drum corps. I said when you're in the MRI machine and it sounds like 8 on a hand....and then the bass drums start slowing down. lol I had my one and only seizure after my first surgery...fingers crossed, it's the last. It stole some of my time here on earth...grrrr. This diagnosis did explain why I had high blood pressure during my pregnancies. Maybe we'll run into each other there sometime...be sure to say hi to the stressed out lady with the two kids in the stroller going gray early (where they cut into my head the first time, my hair all grew back gray) ugh... I'll try to wear drum corps each time I go. We also have the Brian Moul connection - don't forget. He was my high school band director and is responsible for introducing me to corps in 91 at the PBS broadcast in Hbg. I got the first angry call after Santa Clara's show because they didn't show the China flag going over the corps. fun fun

Thanks! I have hydrocephalus (water on the brain). I too have an assoc professor (dr. wang and dr. williams). Thanks to them, I'm up and moving. I'm a "freak" in that my birth defect finally decided to cause a problem 30 years later. They had to counsel on how to fix me. They were suprised I wasn't in a coma. They are the bestest! Luckily my family dr. is in Cockeysville (I lived there and it still makes me laugh) and instantly called hopkins when my MRI came back. If you need a good dr. GO TO HOPKINS!

Best darn docs in town and maybe the world!...been their twice to be cut open...this is my first Jan without having my head cut open in three years...best of luck to her! 5th floor outpatient center...know it like the back of my hand. btw...it's nice to see someone pronounce it correctly ball-mer.... my hubby's grandma was from "hollandtown" (highlandtown on the map)...hey hon. lol

www.foundationcenter.org is the best place I've found. Now, it costs money to search through their website (to get the best info). But if you go to locations (on the top), then cooperating collections, then choose your state, you can find a library that has the software. You can then go and search on your own at the library. In my town, it's free. Your library, if listed, will also have books that list all of the grant info. There is a search available for free on this site, but all it gives you is the name of the funder and their contact info. If you go to the library, you will get info like who they fund (whether they fund arts, or medical, etc), how much they give on average (so you know how much to ask for), when they give (they will tell you if you should send a full proposal or just a beginning letter, and when they are due by), if they are accepting applications (some funders only fund specific programs, like a scholarship fund or a school they graduated from....don't waste your time applying to them). You can also go to grants.gov for government grants, but beware... Anything you buy with a grant from the US Govt becomes their property and they can take it back whenever they want to. If you write a gvt grant, do so specifically for expendible items (like food, gas, drum heads, etc.) It would suck if just before tour the gvt decides it wants your horns back....you would have to give them back. Hope this helps... Chalet

Sometimes it's faster to go through Baltimore City to get to 83, than it is to take the beltway. And you can see the stadiums and the inner harbor.... If not, do be sure to take I-95 (or 295/BW Parkway) North to I-695 West/North towards Pikesville/Towson. Don't go towards the Key Bridge... That's the long way and you have to pay the toll.

Thanks Holly! Best of luck to you and your venture. Hopefully all of the dust settles and everyone can thrive. If you go to the foundationcenter.org, click on locations(up top), click on cooperating collections and then you can search your state for libraries that have the software for grant research. The library in Poughkepsie (sp) has it. From there you can see who the funders are, what they like to fund, how much they've given others, when to write to them, how to write to them, etc.... Most people don't know that this even exists. There is so much money out there, you just have to take the time to look into it. For example, in our little town of York (which is really philanthropic), there are 11 foundations that fund arts programs. I've written to one successfully and got $850. It only took about 2 hours worth of work once I had all of my info gathered. Granted, once you get grant money, you have to spend it the way they tell you to. You can't just take your money and go buy uniforms, horns, etc if they tell you it's for general operating expenses. You guys are new, so you can go for seed money programs. Foundations like to get involved with brand new progams. They also like it if you are collaborating with another organization. You will want to search for funders in the area where the corps is located. If you get a large pool of people from a specific area, I would try searching funders in that area as well. You never know, there might be a local foundation that may help with transportation costs to get the local folks there... Hope all goes well! I have a sample grant that I wrote for my class. I can send it to you if you want. A full grant proposal is long. Sometimes it has to be shortened per the funders request. My proposal was based on a fully functioning dii/iii corps. Let me know and I can send it to you. I got an A in the class, so the quality is good... lol :)

Can you give the answers for the mystery folks? I know the first shot is of Reading (79-86 were the years of that uniform). Is that Al Chez? Thanks for the pix!

Ok, here's something I learned that was really helpful... Out here in PA, they are becoming really particular on healthy food in schools, etc. to avoid having overweight kids. For example, the kids can't buy soda or junk food at vending machines during the school day - they are on timers. Anyway, when you write your grant, USE THIS TO YOUR ADVANTAGE! Drum corps is exercise. I challenge you to find an obese person in junior corps. Watch DCI from 93 when they hook the tenor player up to the equipment that says his body is similar to that of a marathon runner. Also talk about the healthy food that you feed them (don't lie....you need to be doing this.....lol). Play it up that your kids will go home with better eating/exercise habits. It's also easy to use as a measurable objective and easy to evaluate (just weigh the members at the beginning and various times during the season. You can also record resting heart rates, etc). You could also check on your members while they are home to see if they've maintained their healthy lifestyle. If you don't know, grants generally require that you evaluate your program at the beginning and the end, and sometimes during your program. You will need to report your findings to the funder. Sometimes they give you a questionnaire, sometimes you file a report with them. Sure it's more work, but if you get a check for $10,000 - I'd say that's worth it.... I'll take paperwork over tons of fundraisers/carwashes/spaghetti dinners, etc... Anyone else have any success stories, questions, ideas they'd like to share? I know there are some corps administrators/volunteers that are on here. Any input? Thanks! CHalet

I paid the insurance on the equipment today....and yesterday I made a post in the volunteer forum for people to share fundraising successes and grant opportunities that may not be good for their program, but good for another....I also PM'd Mon Valley to tell them about a grant/contest I found for the greater Pittsburgh region (we didn't qualify, but they do so I want them to have the opportunity to know about it).... I like this thread, great brainstorming too...!

Overture to the Marriage of Figaro....have a soloist play parts of Alleluia from the Exultate Jubilate...and the Requiem...not necessarily in that order...

I have an idea... I'm with a new program that's taking our time (on purpose) getting started. I have some grant writing experience/fundraising experience. I am looking at funding options pretty frequently. Lots of times I see foundations that don't support programs in our geographical area (PA). I'd love to have a place on DCP where we can post funding options we have found. My feeling is that if I can't get the money, I want another drum corps to get it. I'm not offering to write it for you, but to show you where to look. If you find something of interest... PLEASE post! It can only help all of us! Maybe you can share success stories of things that went well and others that you stay away from. We all want to do something to help the corps we all love. There is so much money out there that doesn't get handed out because people don't even know it's there. Thanks for reading! Chalet

Can anyone sign up to perform at the Forum (Serenade in Brass) or do you need to be invited? Thanks! Chalet

If I'm not mistaken, the honor guard coming through the center is the New York Skyliners (appropriately). When the sop soloists come up, there is a member from the Reading Buccaneers. His name is Mark Eckert. It's the white uniform with the blue/purple lame sash. Reading had at least three horn members attend, could have been more, but I remember 3 for sure. My husband also spotted a venture's uniform. There's a Skyliner in the snare line too. Totally cool!

Does anyone know if they make a revised version of this? Would be a nice help for a newbie.

I received a bogus request for membership information through Renaissance's website. Whomever you are, this joke was not funny and completely inappropriate. Filling out an address field as ... Please Fold Drive .... is just not right. Small programs need the support of the community, not a cruel joke. If you read this, I hope you understand how hurtful your joke was. Some of us work tirelessly to get a program together (while juggling many other roles in our lives). This sort of behavior is not what will help to grow our wonderful activity. I have done nothing but offer my support and help to my program and others. Whomever you are (if you are even on here) ...please don't do this to us or any other program. :ramd: I'm off my soapbox now. Sorry, needed to vent... I do wish to offer my sincere thanks to all of you who have offered support in any way for Renaissance. I wish there were no bad apples, but I think even all of my optimism can't make that happen. Chalet

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Here's something we considered doing when I was a music major way back. The plan was to have a dinner/dance where the music would be a jazz band made up of alumni and current students. The event was going to last many hours, so to save chops and have continuing music, we were going to rotate players throughout the night. We wouldn't rotate everyone all at once. The plan was to make it seemless. We were going to market to senior citizens and play big band music. The plan was to have it at a local firehall which would donate the space. The caterers were giving a huge discount as well. Tickets would be at a cost. The plan was to have other things like a 50/50 etc too. Basket Raffle Give each section a theme. They seek out donations to fill their baskets. The baskets are raffled off. People buy chances to drop into the corresponding bucket for the prizes they are interested in. Display at show, pancake breakfasts, local mall, bingo, wherever. People do not need to be present when drawing winners. Ideas for baskets:cooking, movies, date night, margarita party pack, family game night, spa/shower, sports (one team, or golf, skiing, etc), manly, crafts, etc.

Graduated in 1994. First band director teaches the Hanover Lancers, so YES! We sat and answered phones for DCI on PBS and everything. We housed the Cadets in 90 for the Hershey show. I really regret that I didn't go watch them rehearse ! New band director said that competition was bad for the soul. Yet, the year after I graduated he ripped off Star 92 note for note during the solo exchanges. He was listening to Star at the piano writing it note for note. I didn't know at the time, but I do now. Whatever he believes works for recruiting. They have 150 players now. Still don't compete however. Luckily a drum corps is starting to form for those who like competition...wink wink.