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Hosting a corps this summer!


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LOL!!! You better lock that up big time.

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If you can't make that work, try serving ice cream after a long night rehearsal block. Thanks, Leroy, NY!

And what many others have said - be there, but don't get in the way.

You beat me to it...ice cream or ice pops are a great treat for corps. It's tough for the food truck to supply these snacks and the corps members are very thankful for the special "summer" treat.

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You beat me to it...ice cream or ice pops are a great treat for corps. It's tough for the food truck to supply these snacks and the corps members are very thankful for the special "summer" treat.

This is a good suggestion but remember to be flexible and talk to whoever is in charge of the food crew about what they need and want first. Ice cream would be fantastic UNLESS the grocery in the last town had a clearance sale on ice cream and your corps has 30 tubs of it in the freezer when they roll in! It's taking up alot of space and needs to be used immediately.....

Similar situation happened when the Colts passed through here last summer. A local band parent who had once had a son in Carolina Crown (and who had food truck volunteer experience with them) mobilized some local businesses to chip in and had intended to do ice cream or cake for the corps BUT when they arrived what the food crew most needed was fresh vegetables. The ice cream plan was scrapped in favor of a trip to the local farmers market.

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I'm not sure where you all fall into the tour schedule (if you said earlier, I'm sorry!), but if you set yourselves up as a mail drop for the corps, the members would be able to get letters/postcards/small packages, and that is something that goes a long way with members.

For staff, having an open room where they wouldn't have to move desks/chairs/etc to sleep would be awesome. When I taught a few years ago, a guard instructor for the school we were staying at offered to take us around to get things that we needed. With his help, we were able to get dye to complete our guard costumes.

Good luck!

Edited by Odessa
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I hate to be the Dad here, but I feel I must. Do not get involved with bringing booze or anything else onto school grounds. If there is anything (cans bottles etc) left behind the corps will get blamed, whether they left it or not. It only takes one administrator or parent or local to see beer/alcohol and you are done, and quite possibly the chance of any corps staying at the school ever again is done.

I'm speaking from personal experience here. I lost my drumline gig 19 years ago because of a few beers on school grounds, lets just say what I ended up going through was not worth it.

Anyway, those that need a cold beer know how to get it. If anything, I would invite the Dad's with beer guts to a cold one at the show site. (Don't offer the staff, they will drink it all :rolleyes: ) Nothing like a nice tailgate in the parking lot. Just keep the funny business away from housing.

p.s. Hide all "Poca Dot" gear, would make a great souvie and be too hard to resist for some.

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I also had the same thing and in fact we didn't go into the school til they were posted if they hadn't finished by the time we got there. Typically it was an admin RV that would get ahead to allow for this to be done and to meet the school greeting party so they could do all the directing once the caravan arrived.

If your booster club even just did dessert for a meal that would be welcome to. Especially if it is something cold after a long hot practice.

If I ever hire on as a corps tour director (and I've turned down that opportunity a couple of times because I couldn't commit to the full tour), I'd like to run an advance van or RV about 15 minutes ahead of the corps out of the last fuel stop. The folks on this vehicle would do check-in and post our own directional signs for when the corps arrives. I've seen this done and seen it work well.

I actually did it once by accident when the corps I was driving for got separated between Texas and the Mississippi Gulf Coast. I was driving the staff bus and we were the first to arrive (by nearly 45 minutes) at the housing site. I went ahead and did the check-in with the local band director, got the instructors into their room (they were already asleep when the rest of the convoy arrived), and posted some signs for the rest of the corps. Once our tour manager (riding in the sleeper on the equipment truck) was on-site, I excused myself and went to sleep myself.........having been driving for 10 hours or so.

Oh.......and if you're curious as to how we got separated, that corps' staff bus had come second (or third) hand from a transit agency and the engine had been altered to not run any faster than 59 mph. THAT'S a killer on the convoy when one vehicle can't keep up with the rest. What we fell into doing was kind of a leapfrog thing where the staff bus would get a headstart by leaving 15-20 minutes early. The corps would catch and pass us out on the highway but then we would catch up going into the first fuel stop. The staff bus would fuel and go immediately thus getting another headstart. I was tabbed for the staff bus driver because I had lot's of tour experience and had been to many of the housing sites before........in other words, I could generally figure out what to do even if we hadn't had contact with the rest of the corps for an hour or two.

OK.....sorry, I got carried away - I'll give the old stories a rest now.

Edited by notelvis
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great advise from all, fresh fruit is a real treat.......I remember one year we pulled into Lodi, CA, and a band parent brought us 3 boxes of fresh peaches and cherries...the kids went wild.

One school last year had baskets of travel size toiletries in both bathrooms, not one was left.

"dark rooms for drivers, last year near Boston we got run out of two areas within a 3 hour period, I had a guy ask me if I was homeless,

laundry for volunteer clothes washing, and towels.... ICE MACHINE.....one school open their lunch room, the kids got to eat sitting down at a table for 3 meals...what a treat.

cold gatorade.......ICE WATER

NO SODAS>>>>>>or PIZZA sounds nice NOT nutricious.....FRESH FRUIT

We always leave a school cleaner then we found it...

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Question for those with experience in this matter (which is to say not me):

Is there anything the hosts can do before or after to help make a repeat visit possible? For instance, would it be worthwhile to organize a cleanup detail to mop floors or put chairs in place? Or maybe pre-empt issues by having that team go in in advance and move furniture?

I realize corps usually try to police their sites before they leave. Still, given that some sites still find reasons to object after the fact, maybe there is something for local volunteers to do to help?

HH

To be honest, all of that is already given to the corps members to do! We make sure that the housing site is cleaner when we leave then when we got there! WE (being the corps) have to do OUR best to make sure the people giving permission for us to stay there want us back.

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This is a great thread. I am going to forward this thread to all the schools I have hosting for the two shows I am the housing coordinator of.

The one thing that hasn't been mentioned is make sure the AIR CONDITION is on and working especially if you are housing on a weekend when it make be turned off.

Make sure you get to the school and have everything unlocked for them when they arrive so you aren't having to run around and unlock everything when they get there. There is nothing worse then having the students sit on the bus waiting while someone goes around unlocking stuff.

The signage idea is great. I have done that each time I have housed and it has saved a lot of time answering questions.

A few ideas on sleeping areas, put the staff in a large room and if you have space 2 semi large rooms That way they can separated into visual staff and music staff since they work in different shifts through the day and can go in and out without waking each other up. Have a room or two for the volunteers. Some corps need this and some do not but be prepared anyway. Most important and this one is a little selfish on my part because I am a driver, make sure the drivers have a room away from the corps rehearsal area and sleeping area and make sure it is nice and cool and as dark as possible. Auditoriums are great for drivers if it is away from the corps.

Make sure that you get a housing inspection form. You should receive that from the show sponsor if not ask for it. If they don't have it the corps are supposed to have them as well. Make sure you get this filled out when they arrive and when they leave. This is your only way to make sure that the corps is responsible for any damage that may occur. Most corps are great about leaving sites better then they found it but there may be accidents that happen and you want to make sure you are covered and the corps is held responsible so you don't get stuck with a bill from the school that your boosters would have to pay for.

On the food side another great item that members love is bottles of Gatorade or power aid. That is always a welcome site. You may want to check with your local Coke or Pepsi distributor if you have one and they may donate some to you or even Walmart or local grocery stores.

Another thing is make sure you get the tour directors cell phone number and keep it when they contact you so you can call them if you have any questions before they arrive.

If you have any further questions don't hesitate to PM me. I have housed corps for several years including one for spring training, I tour with a corps for several weeks each year and am the housing coordinator for 2 shows. I would be more then happy to help you out.

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