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Marc66

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Posts posted by Marc66

    City Sound, Feb Camp

    in DCI Open Class Corps Discussions

    Posted

    Had the chance to meet Nathaniel at the DCI meeting this past weekend. A great guy who has a good grasp on putting together a new unit. I'm definitely looking forward to seeing them this summer (or, since I'll be on the road, hearing about their progress).

    Best of luck...and, welcome to the Open Class family.

    Restarting the Madison Jr. Scouts

    in DCI Open Class Corps Discussions

    Posted

    You know what, YOU need to call Vickers. Get my number, call me, and we can have a meeting. I know those cats down in Indy, and I will go personally down there and see that outfit myself. I can then see these fines, straight from the horses mouth. Dan A. and company would love to see me show up at there offices. It is all open to the public, right? Call me!

    Jason

    Jason - you might as well call me Mr. Ed, because I'm going to give you the 411...

    I sat on the Open Class Advisory committee and dealt with the reviewing of fines that were impossed on corps. The fines exist, and every corps knows this. Yes, Capital Sound will have to pay a fine when they re-apply for membership. Yes, they will probably get a reduced rate, but they will still have to pay. I knew this was a possiblity when I signed the performance contract, as does EVERY CORPS!

    Restarting the Madison Jr. Scouts

    in DCI Open Class Corps Discussions

    Posted

    I think the better course of action would be, in the interest of both young men AND women, to contact the Cap Sound BoD and work with them to strengthen Capital Sound, rather than try and restart Jr. Scouts.

    After serving as Director for Cap Sound the past two years, I know the current Board is actively trying to get the corps back onto solid footing, and the more people that can work with them and support their efforts, the better.

    Remember, Capital Sound was created by bringing together Jr. Scouts & Capitolaires in order to strengthen membership, and to focus on developing younger talent. The best thing to do would be to assist with THAT goal/mission, help Capital Sound get back into action, and truly produce a local drum corps that can be a locally-focused organization that flourishes.

    Just my 2 cents...

    Fever and Capital Sound

    in DCI Open Class Corps Discussions

    Posted

    OK...I'm going to stop being subtle and come right out...

    I don't know who you are, but you don't know the situation, or you wouldn't make a stupid statement like the one you initiated in post #2.

    For the record:

    1. Housing was a big issue that forced us to call the season. Unlike most other corps, Capital Sound has traditionally had out-of-town members move into homes of local members/alumni/supporters. This is something that worked quite well in the past. The reason for this method, rather than having a more traditional move-in to a school/schools is that the corps rehearses on what is considered a part-time schedule. Moving into a facility was never considered because of logistics, and because the cost involved (for example, Colts charge for their move-in, and it ain't cheap).

    What happened was a combination of things:

    a). Local membership was considerably down this year

    b). Out of town membership was considerably higher

    c). Families who committed to housing members backed out very late in the game

    d). Commitments to secure other families were not met, and this was not revealed until mid-May.

    School housing in the Madison area is already scarce, at best, because of the number of schools/districts who continue to close their doors to drum corps. Past behavior from various groups has now caused a situation where schools/districts will not allow for groups to stay over night, let alone permit a corps to move into the school for an extended period of time.

    With the situation occurring when it did made it even tougher to find housing for those kids from out of town who suddenly didn't have it...and, with schools winding down for the year, getting a school to move everyone into was impossible.

    2. We lost several drivers for our fleet because the economy forced them to actually work, rather than volunteer their time to drive for us. This was going to seriously affect our trip down South for the two weeks we were to travel there...jeopardizing our ability to make that trip happen. A number of our drivers this year drive professionally for a living, and with the economy taking a serious downward turn, created a situation where they needed to have their vehicles on the road making $$$, rather than spending their time driving for free.

    3. Because of gas prices forcing us to re-budget for fuel 10 times since we created our budget, we were more reliant on member tuitions than ever before. While not going into specifics on-line, suffice it to say that tuition payments were lacking from nearly 1/3 of the membership, putting us into a position where finances were, potentially, going to create issues down the road. Contrary to your statement above, I do not believe anyone from Capital Sound has ever indicated that we were, "very well off financially." From all indications, no one is well off financially these days.

    These are the three main reasons that Capital Sound made the decision to scrap the season. Do I wish it didn't happen? Dang right I do. No director could, or should, ever want to kill a season, especially so close to the start of the summer. Finding places where my kids could march was near impossible. But, thanks to a host of corps that opened their arms and welcomed our kids, many were still able to march.

    Now, for my soapbox: :tongue::tongue::w00t:

    I am really tired of reading b.s. on here from annonymous members of this website who choose to inflame a situation without knowledge of the situation. For whatever reason, ItsOnTheField, you make your assertions as if you know what's going on, while not have the guts to sign your name. While that's your right, I still think it chicken (insert proper expletive here).

    Instead of making a concerted effort to find out from the source (I have never shyed away from explaining what happened), folks on here love to fire out their ignorance, then get all defensive by pleading that it's only their opinion.

    Well, instead of simply letting crud like this be uttered, I've decided to speak up. I've signed my name to my posts, because I stand by my words.

    Fever and Capital Sound

    in DCI Open Class Corps Discussions

    Posted

    As I have stated in other posts...instead of speculating on what happened, or making assumptions without first-hand knowledge, I invite anyone/everyone to contact me directly, and get the facts.

    It's very easy to say things on-line without knowing what's going on, but somehow more difficult to actually inquire and find out the facts.

    What happened that forced us to take the summer off is not a secret, so feel free to contact me directly, and I'll be happy to provide the details.

    Worlds Quarterfinals attendance

    in DCI Open Class Corps Discussions

    Posted

    Michigan City is truly, in my opinion, the most fan-friendly drum corps city...PERIOD. Seeing over 1500 in the stands, all cheering for every corps, was fantastic. Even as early as the first corps (Spirit of Newark) the crowd was enthusiastically cheering.

    Bravo Michigan City for hosting a great quarterfinals...and here's to a great future with the Kickoff event for Championships Week!

    How many world class corps in 09?

    in DCI World Class Corps Discussions

    Posted

    Capital Sound is definitely returning...and we will be Open Class.

    We had nearly 50 kids come by our stand at Michigan City and fill out interest cards for next season, and the issues that led to our sudden and late move to "inactive" status are nearly all fixed. More importantly, we have a tremendous amount of members who went elsewhere to march this summer expressing their intention and desire to return.

    Cap Sound

    in DCI Open Class Corps Discussions

    Posted

    It's very easy to make observations when you haven't sought the source. I would ask that you get information from the source before providing your opinion. I'm easy to reach, and more than willing to give you the reasons...

    And, that's an invitation to anyone in the drum corps world. Feel free to contact me and I'll be more than happy to discuss the circumstances.

    Cap sound inactive for 2008

    in DCI World Class Corps Discussions

    Posted

    Tom...

    Thanks for your kind words.

    As for what happened, well...it was a sort of, "perfect storm" of circumstances and events that all converged at one creating one big problem. Individually they could have been handled fairly easily, but collectively put us in a position where we had to consider the membership, and the long-term stability of the organization.

    First off, as our press statement says (check out DCI.org, or here soon), finances are not the reason for this decision, neither is membership. Both of those areas are solid (although, are finanaces ever really solid?). I won't go into specifics here...however, I want to make sure everyone knows that the only consideration was our members, and the experience they will get in drum corps.

    Now...some specifics on the future of the corps:

    1. We are not selling off equipment, or having any sort of, "Fire Sale."

    2. We are getting ready to work with high school/middle school directors in the Southern Wisconsin area to strengthen our local base of membership and support.

    3. We have identified the ways to rectify what happened, and are implementing a plan that will prevent any future issues.

    4. Our recruiting campaign for '09 has been developed, and will begin at our home show in August.

    5. We are all DETERMINED to make the corps successful, and to be an example of how to re-emerge from a year off stronger and a more solid organization.

    Having to make a decision like this is not easy. However, from this bit of adversity I am confident we can overcome and prosper. No, making it happen in not something that occurs often in our activity. There are a lot of corps that want to return, but just can't make it happen.

    We, however, will not be one of those corps.

    Thanks for listening.

    Just wanted to post this here, along with being on the Open Class Page...

    Cap Sound

    in DCI Open Class Corps Discussions

    Posted

    Tom...

    Thanks for your kind words.

    As for what happened, well...it was a sort of, "perfect storm" of circumstances and events that all converged at one creating one big problem. Individually they could have been handled fairly easily, but collectively put us in a position where we had to consider the membership, and the long-term stability of the organization.

    First off, as our press statement says (check out DCI.org, or here soon), finances are not the reason for this decision, neither is membership. Both of those areas are solid (although, are finanaces ever really solid?). I won't go into specifics here...however, I want to make sure everyone knows that the only consideration was our members, and the experience they will get in drum corps.

    Now...some specifics on the future of the corps:

    1. We are not selling off equipment, or having any sort of, "Fire Sale."

    2. We are getting ready to work with high school/middle school directors in the Southern Wisconsin area to strengthen our local base of membership and support.

    3. We have identified the ways to rectify what happened, and are implementing a plan that will prevent any future issues.

    4. Our recruiting campaign for '09 has been developed, and will begin at our home show in August.

    5. We are all DETERMINED to make the corps successful, and to be an example of how to re-emerge from a year off stronger and a more solid organization.

    Having to make a decision like this is not easy. However, from this bit of adversity I am confident we can overcome and prosper. No, making it happen in not something that occurs often in our activity. There are a lot of corps that want to return, but just can't make it happen.

    We, however, will not be one of those corps.

    Thanks for listening.

    How much does it cost to...

    in DCI World Class Corps Discussions

    Posted

    We at Capital Sound are paying $1350 for the rights to our show this year (yes, ouch is right) as our show is based on more modern music. Last season, using older music, we paid significantly less.

    Now, as for John Williams...no one gets permission to play his music anymore. I never have heard a clear reason why, but he's now off limits.

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