bass5 Posted July 28, 2008 Share Posted July 28, 2008 Parents of Scouts Members. I picked up my wife at the airport yesterday as she flew in from Atlanta. She had been a volunteer with the Scouts for the past 3 weeks. You parents should all be commended. She could not say enough good things about your sons. They are fine young men and you should be proud of them. She could not speak about them without weeping, and she looks forward to seeing them at Finals. Your sons have grown so much as young men. Whether they make it into the top 12 or not, they have learned from this experience and have grown from it. The problem as a parent is that I want my son to be in the top 12, and so do you. However, there are parents of 19 other corps that want their sons (and daughters) to make it into the top 12. So, I applaud all the parents. We all share a common bond. I wish no one had to miss the top 12, but that is life. I hope the Scouts make it, but if they don’t they have acquitted themselves well. Whether I (as a biased parent) believe they deserve to be in the top 12 is irrelevant. I applaud all 20 corps, their members and their parents. Yes, and I applaud the judges. They have a tough job. I have been one of the most critical judge basher on this thread, but I know how hard a job it is to judge. Hopefully, when they judge, they realize that some parents’ children will not make the final 12 based on their scoring, so it must be a tough job. I applaud you Judges. Let’s all enjoy the last two weeks and relish in our sons’ accomplishments. This is the best post I've read on here in a long time. Being there at camps the last couple years during the "off season" I've gotten to know many of these young men and although they are not my sons they are my brothers and I couldn't be more proud. I love seeing parents of new Scouts swelling with pride watching their young boys turning into men. So many parents comment to me after their son has marched a year that they couldn't believe how much they grew up over the summer. They walk taller, speak with confidence, shake your hand with a firm grip, look you in the eye as a man - not a kid etc etc. I know just being around these guys always makes me feel a lot better about the future of this world. I also felt a lot of pride as an alumnus last Saturday watching and hearing them in Atlanta knock me out of my desk chair with power & emotion. I also loved the fact that the fans let the judges know how they felt about things. Kick some but tonight guys. GO SCOUTS!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
biffwah Posted July 28, 2008 Share Posted July 28, 2008 Glad to see the jump in scores and glad the crowd is reacting so positively. My suggestion for the ending would be to make the last note a FERMATA and let Alex (the Drum Major) work the crowd a bit. This ALWAYS gets the crowd to it's feet and causes a huge ovation. The current ending is good but the last note is short so it doesn't give the guys time to 'milk the moment'. Let the guys do a horn press, lean back and let it go!!! Not saying Alex needs to get out the cell phone like he does during the post game shows but hey, anything to hype the crowd and get them behind the Scouts. I don't see how that couldn't have a positive effect on the judges as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Green Fleurdelis Posted July 28, 2008 Share Posted July 28, 2008 That's just what I was looking for Linda. Seems Mr. Eendicott is the primary contact for the Explorer Fund. RJM, thanks for your interest. Dave Endicott is the current Director of The Explorer Fund and he can certainly answer any questions you might have. But you can feel free to contact me if you wish. My email is in my profile, but to make this easy, you can make initial contact with me at gary dot bakker at gmail dot com. If you like, I could then give you a call. I'd be happy to give you all the background and history involved with the creation of The Explorer Fund, our purpose, our legal structure, our goals, our fundraising approach, etc. We have both tactical and strategic objectives, but in summary, we are focused on the long term financial health and sustainability of the Madison Scouts. Please get in touch with either me or Dave Endicott. (And this applies to anyone reading or participating in this thread -- I'd be happy to talk about The Explorer Fund with anyone who has questions or is interested in helping.) MYNWA, Gary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScoutsCaviesfan Posted July 28, 2008 Share Posted July 28, 2008 My suggestion for the ending would be to make the last note a FERMATA What is a FERMATA? I was just telling my wife that I wish they would end their show ala '95 or '97, with an extremely long, loud blast that makes it crystal clear that the show is ending. Many of the shows that I have seen give little warning that the show is ending. Peel paint at the end, Scouts!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Brace Posted July 28, 2008 Share Posted July 28, 2008 Mr Brace,Last time I checked the Glassmen have not changed their name to Glasspeople This is the Glassmen 47th year in the Drum and Bugle Corps Activity. I would think that fact alone whould have earned the Glassmen just a little bit of respect. Wow...talk about someone with no sense of humor. I have called Glassmen the Glass People for ages since they have both young men and women in their ranks. I've even referred to the corps as the Glass People with Brian Hickman, your esteemed corps director. Lighten Up please. I too have great respect for what the former Maumee Suns and have always. I've worked side by side with many of your alums and former staff folks. So, again...lighten up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mistress Kelli Posted July 28, 2008 Share Posted July 28, 2008 What is a FERMATA? I was just telling my wife that I wish they would end their show ala '95 or '97, with an extremely long, loud blast that makes it crystal clear that the show is ending. Many of the shows that I have seen give little warning that the show is ending. Peel paint at the end, Scouts!! Wiki Definition of Fermata Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
biffwah Posted July 28, 2008 Share Posted July 28, 2008 What is a FERMATA? I was just telling my wife that I wish they would end their show ala '95 or '97, with an extremely long, loud blast that makes it crystal clear that the show is ending. Many of the shows that I have seen give little warning that the show is ending. Peel paint at the end, Scouts!! A fermata would be holding the last note until the DM cuts them off or at least adding a few beats (length) to the last note. I think this would be very effective at this time in the season. You have to have the 'stuff' to pull it off. And, it can backfire terribly when a corps tries it and they just have not reached that point of maximum impact. IMHO I don't think the show was refined and powerful enough towards to beginning of the season but now they are definitely hitting it with the power and the sound. The Scouts ready to provide that kind of impact. The could definitely pull it off. This would harken back to the days when the Scouts totally wowed the crowd and had them on their feet. I really think with the recent fan reactions it would go over well. And again, if it is impressing the crowd then I would think the judges would take notice as well. GO SOUTS!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Brace Posted July 28, 2008 Share Posted July 28, 2008 Wasn't there something about a Fundraising Challenge for the Scouts that is still ongoing? I wonder if more alumni than fans have donated? Also, I would think....with probably well over 2000 living alums...we should see 400 or so paying their dues. Twenty percent participation is pretty standard among fraternal organizations like the Scouts. 400 X $75 = a nice cool $30,000!!! Plus, there have to be alums out there that are in a position to give more. See, since the feds dumped a lot of the support for the Arts, it has been up to each organization, each museum, ballet company, symphony orchestra, and yes, drum corps to pretty much fundraise on their own. Since drum corps are gone for most of the competitive season, this usually allows little in the way of local area presence. Think of the Madison Symphony playing only once in Madison and then playing the rest of their concerts on the road. This makes it doubly difficult for drum corps to raise the money they need. Again, the Scouts are by far, one of the most fraternal of all drum corps. I believe Madison provides outstanding life skills to the young men who participate in the corps. And...you have to admit...what the Scouts did for the town of Baraboo this last spring speaks volumes for the quality of the organization regardless of competitive placement. For a reminder if you need one...they dumped their thank you concert performance and instead thanked the community by filling sandbags until 1 AM. So, I would think if anyone with the means were to fully understand what the Scouts are all about, a $70 - $100 committment would be a no brainer. And if I can fork over the 10,000 pennies, than it REALLY must be a no brainer. <horns down> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bass5 Posted July 28, 2008 Share Posted July 28, 2008 Wasn't there something about a Fundraising Challenge for the Scouts that is still ongoing?I wonder if more alumni than fans have donated? Also, I would think....with probably well over 2000 living alums...we should see 400 or so paying their dues. Twenty percent participation is pretty standard among fraternal organizations like the Scouts. 400 X $75 = a nice cool $30,000!!! Plus, there have to be alums out there that are in a position to give more. See, since the feds dumped a lot of the support for the Arts, it has been up to each organization, each museum, ballet company, symphony orchestra, and yes, drum corps to pretty much fundraise on their own. Since drum corps are gone for most of the competitive season, this usually allows little in the way of local area presence. Think of the Madison Symphony playing only once in Madison and then playing the rest of their concerts on the road. This makes it doubly difficult for drum corps to raise the money they need. Again, the Scouts are by far, one of the most fraternal of all drum corps. I believe Madison provides outstanding life skills to the young men who participate in the corps. And...you have to admit...what the Scouts did for the town of Baraboo this last spring speaks volumes for the quality of the organization regardless of competitive placement. For a reminder if you need one...they dumped their thank you concert performance and instead thanked the community by filling sandbags until 1 AM. So, I would think if anyone with the means were to fully understand what the Scouts are all about, a $70 - $100 committment would be a no brainer. And if I can fork over the 10,000 pennies, than it REALLY must be a no brainer. <horns down> Great post Tom, For all of you alumni out there go to the Scouts web site and go to the "JOIN THE CORPS" link. I don't know when it was last updated but they are about $25K short of their $100K goal and the number of alumni contributing is well under 100. Didn't we have 225 alumni in the MSARP alone! Come on everyone, step up to the starting line here and get the check books out! GO SCOUTS!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Linda Slocum Posted July 28, 2008 Share Posted July 28, 2008 (edited) Great post Tom,For all of you alumni out there go to the Scouts web site and go to the "JOIN THE CORPS" link. I don't know when it was last updated but they are about $25K short of their $100K goal and the number of alumni contributing is well under 100. Didn't we have 225 alumni in the MSARP alone! Come on everyone, step up to the starting line here and get the check books out! GO SCOUTS!!! I'll save you a few clicks... here's the link: JOIN THE CORPS Edited July 28, 2008 by Linda Slocum Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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