Does this seem weird?

[Donny Drum Corps]

Hear, hear!!!

Dave Keck for President!!!

Donny

[Gary Matczak]

I know getting out helps, espically in local parades if possible.

Word of Mouth is always good, ask everyone to try to bring a friend!

A wise man!

[TimmyA33]

I have to agree with Donny. The job of the instructors are to teach. Making contacts once in a while certainly will help the cause. Generally members join corps because of the style of music being taught or show concepts. I never once went to corps based on who the horn teacher was. I went because the music took me there. I went to the Crossmen because I liked their style and attitude. I had no idea, nor did I care who the instructors were.

The Brigs I believe had great success. Not because of the money, although that didnt hurt, it was because they had a GREAT recruiter. Dave Keck was and should have been every corps dream. I can't tell you the hours and days he spent on the phone. He called me to march with The Eagles, Avant Garde, the Brigs and god knows who else. If the Brigs had horn players at rehearsals, it is because Dave Keck made contacts.

If you want a good turnout. Hire a recruiting director that has a gift to gab and is a salesman.

Exactly. Hire someone with experience in recruiting or sales and give him/her the title of "Recruiting Director," with no other responsibilities but to get people to check out the corps. Make up a brochure, power point, or some kind of presentation along those lines, and have that person bring it around to local schools and colleges with band programs. Most kids are eager to learn, and are not know-it-alls like some adults in this activity who say, "I've been here for 20 years, you can't teach me anything I don't already know."

Good luck!

[camel lips]

Austin Stars has a full guard and our battery is close to complete.

But we're low on horn players. Is this common?

Any suggestions, recommendations?

If your basing your numbers off your open house and winter months,,your probably going to realize pretty soon that all changes.Today you may have a full drum line and a sparse hornline only to find once the season gets rolling that many that you thought you could count on cannot make the contribution.

Good horn players are hard to find.Key word there is good.

Best of luck to you guys this season.

[Shadow_7]

I think part of the issue in all age corps is that many of the members are transplants. i.e. I didn't grow up around these parts. I wasn't born here. I didn't go to school here. My mom did, was, is, and her sister, my cousins and all that jazz. But anytime I go anywhere, other than where I've already been, I'm consulting mapquest or google. And even then I've got the cell phone on standby. (now that I have one). And a map in the glove box. Even some five plus years later. This of course makes recruiting hard, given that I literally don't know anyone, and don't get out that much. Not that the job market / price of gas has helped much over these past couple of years.

[Ron H]

I am going to be direct but, I hope, gentle...

Never assume that by just getting someone in the door they will suddenly have the scales drop from their eyes and see the value of the drum corps activity. Recruiting is not just getting people in the door, it is keeping them coming back rehearsal after rehearsal, year after year. So I'm not going to address the specifics of hornline vs. drumline or guard, but just look at some basics.

There are two points that jump out in my mind:

(1) You always, always, have to ask "are we providing the best experience this person can have?" Here are the hard questions you must ask yourselves: Is the instructor offering a top-notch program? Are they providing an experience that makes people want to come back and learn more? Or do members drift in and out? I'm not saying that you need to replace your horn staff, but you have to look at the issue with the long-term goal of growing the organization. Because that's the bottom line. That's how you'll survive the long haul. It doesn't matter if someone is teaching because they are "so-and-so's friend."

When I was Director of Minnesota Brass, Inc. we tried to conduct exit interviews as often as was practical to learn why someone didn't want to march with the corps. For example, if someone really wanted to be a part of the corps but couldn't commit to the schedule, we'd try to find a way for them to still participate in some way, sometimes on the support staff or else as a volunteer (like working our shows, souvie booth, carrying water for parades, driving the truck, setting up props, etc.). There are so many jobs that someone can help out with. And guess what? Sooner or later that person will probably be in the line.

If you discover that someone doesn't want to march because it isn't challenging them as a musician (perhaps thinking that the staff is below par) then take this approach: Involve them on the staff. Use their expertise to improve your organization. Sometimes you'll find they are a valuable resource. Sometimes they are just whiners and it's best if you part company. In any case, you'll learn valuable lessons along the way.

When someone comes through that door, you've just accomplished 5% of the task. Now with 95% ahead of you make sure as hell that you try to keep them coming back. And take a multi-year approach. Think about how you want people to stick around until 2018.

(2) The best recruiters are the members themselves. This starts with point #1 above. If the members are enthusiastic they will bring people along with them.

At MBI, Joel Matuzak, our Show Coordinator says it best to the members: "Bring along three people with you, because one will quit, one will suck, but the other will help make us great."

But you also can't have an organization that is un-enthused at the top. You really, really, need people on staff - including support and admin - who can motivate the membership. MBI always believed that what they did mattered to people's lives. It didn't matter if MBI won the show although that's great. What matters is the kind of experience we had together as a group of people joining together to do something we loved. We believed in creating a family. And we believed that it was within our power to do it. That belief naturally creates an enthusiasm that is contagious.

Don't worry about trying to create a 32, 52 or72-person hornline in a single year. Stick to the principles. It may take many years. But the result will be a hornline, drumline or guard that loves what it is doing. That loves to be a part of something that is like a family.

When an organization like a corps is working toward a common goal - and that goal is simply to do everything as best as it can - then people will naturally jump on board. Excellence is a Journey. That's what Scotty Wild, a former Minnesota Brass Director, always told the corps. Winning is out of your hands - that's the judges decision. But excellence in every thing that you do, whether it is teaching a line, maintaining the roster, caring for the hydration of the members on a hot day, hitting your mark in a marching set, polishing shoes or cleaning the corps truck is everything.

Excellence is how you do things, not a goal.

Make your organization strive toward excellence in every aspect and be enthused about it and people will be knocking down your doors to join.

Edited January 21, 2009 by Ron H

[Jeff Ream]

I've found that it's easy to talk to people at shows and get them interested enough to at least fill out a contact information form.

I think I need some help in TRAINING staff and members to go out and recruit. I've seen that they have a tough time talking to people they don't know, which I guess is common. I know that Word of Mouth is one of the best ways to recruit, but not having had many people see us perform before this point really doesn't help! We need to get out in public more!

I really appreciate all the feedback so far. What are some things that have been helpful to those of you who are reading this? Or that you think might be helpful?

what helped us with Westshore in the late 80s and 90s ( minus a year or two) was the staff was involved with local high schools. we recruited there. the players were also involved...we recruited as well. it helped us build a solid group of kids that by 1996 had many years of drum corps under their belt and were seasoned pros. I know bucs have done this as well.

we also got out to local band shows with a table, often times a tv player/vcr/dvd combo machine and flyers.

[idontwan2know]

Ron is absolutely right that you have to look at recruiting as separate from retention. Frankly, getting people in the door is the easy part. Having the organization there that will inspire them to keep coming back is the tough part, especially when you're first starting out. There will always be turnover, but minimizing it is crucial.

I also think its important to have a clear idea of what kind of drum corps you want to be, make sure the staff and members are onboard with it, and make sure its reflected in the way you approach rehearsals, show design, etc. Don't sell your potential members on one kind of experience and then give them something different. Once you have a clear idea what kind of corps you want to be and are capable of being, it'll be a lot easier to target potential members and know what your sales pitch should be.

[KeithHall]

Excellent post Donny! Yes members will join because of the instructor BUT the management has to have their act together. Staff should assist in recruiting but it shouldn't be their primary job.

I totally disagree with that, Gary. It is the administrations job to have a plan of how to recruit, find out where they are able to recruit from and coming up with ways outside the box of getting money to recruit. Then and only then can the hired instructor be of assistance in recruiting. It is about promotion and finance when it boils down.

If an instructor draws to the corps, thats wonderful but I doubt that Wayne Downey spent hours on the phone trying to get people to join Blue Devils or even Brigs for that matter. People wanted to be there for a number of reasons.

Get a plan together as to where there are students and have a promo package to present first, and then you can ask instructors to assist in delivering this information in areas that may yield results. It is unfair to expect your staff to go out and recruit when the administration is first and foremost responsible to get students to WANT to join something they never heard of. Try to make it attractive to people who never heard of drum corps.

It is true that certain instructors may draw people to a corps, but by no means is it their first responsbility to do that. And yes, you may hire someone that has a "following", but that is also not a good reason to hire someone, because the "following" may not like the corps and decide not to do it. Then you may be stuck with an instructor that cannot teach.

And yes, it is very common these days to have a guard, drum line and wondering where the horns are.

Donny

[quegrawks]

All very good responses.

I'm not basing my concept of having guard, perc. etc from those who walk through the door. I know that once Winter season is over, that they will be coming to us, as we're recruiting with local HS guard and percussion instructors. I'm also basing it on people who have already signed their member contracts (even though that's not 100% way of counting on them either).

Still, the main issue seems to be brass players, and overcoming the misconception that all age corps are lazy or no good, all they do is drink and smoke...blahblahblah that people have even though they've never SEEN or heard an all age corps, let alone attended a rehearsal.

All these are issues that can be overcome easily, I know. I like the idea of asking members to bring 3 friends rather than just one.