REVO NEEDS HELP!

[jonnyboy]

Corps know that they will be fined for pulling out of a show. The fine is to prevent corps from doing so, thus burning the show promoters and the fans that bought tickets.

I'm not sure why more corps do local or weekend touring. The Jersey Surf has been doing this for 19 years. This year they did a two week tour and are going home tonight. They are planning on leaving for "second tour" on July 21st. This type of thing might be more suited to some of the Open Class corps facing financial difficulties.

[Crassissimo]

Yup, I read everything when it came out. Thanks for asking.

Crassissimo - Please read the post from the PR representative of Revolution. The three concerns I shared are based off of the information provided by the corps - no assumptions. They did not want to take a year or two off from competing in order to restructure. That was a decision made by the corps. I understand the reasons behind it, but it obviously did not work. That was the corps decision. They were financially unsound and did not fix it before taking on full a full competition schedule again.

So, just like I said, they probably tried and it didn't work. In which case, again, like I already said, trying doesn't count for much when you get the same results of failure as you did before. You seem to agree with me. Taking 2 years off doesn't define trying. In the end, their attempt didn't work anyway.

My #3 statement was not misleading at all. The corps should have known it would be fined for pulling out of the shows. The PR statement made it sound like big, bad DCI came out of nowhere and leveled fines on the corps unfairly. The fines may have been cheaper than the costs would have been to go and attend those shows for travel, food, etc., but the fines should not have been a surprise that broke the corps financially at the beginning of this season.

You basically just repeated what I said, which made your vague statement regarding "some kind of DCI policy" clear. I just specified which policy you were talking about. By only saying "3) The corps was fined by DCI for violating some kind of DCI policy suggesting administrative problems" to the uninformed reader, that is misleading. How are they violating DCI policies? Maybe they're starving their children! Which isn't the case. It left the window open to assumptions that's all.

Edited July 9, 2009 by Crassissimo

[pit mom]

Despite the negative impact cutting the tour short would have on the members who paid their fees and fulfilled their contracts, there is a huge danger in bailing out a corps in this situation. I suppose we could make analogies to larger issues of "bail outs" in the United States right now.

The post from the Revolution PR contact outlines all the reasons why we potential donors should be wary about making a contribution right now. 1) The corps left for tour knowing it could not cover expenses. 2) The corps chose not to do a full financial restructuring after getting into financial trouble in the past. 3) The corps was fined by DCI for violating some kind of DCI policy suggesting administrative problems.

Obviously everyone should do what they can to help all drum corps, but I will use my money to support corps that are operating with sound financial practices in place. I certainly do not want the members of Revolution to wind up stranded on tour without food, but I also don't want to help the corps administration to avoid dealing with the real underlying problems that brought them to this place again.

As a mother of one of those Revo members that have paid their dues and fulfilled their contracts, I find it a bit disturbing that people are discouraging others from helping out a Corps. I will be donating more of my hard earned money to Revo even though we have paid our dues in full. Even though the adminsitration may have made some bad decisions, I have met all of these people personally and know without a doubt that they have always had the best interest of these talented kids in mind. Please keep in mind that we are talking about kids from all over the United States as well as other countries that will be the ones that will suffer if we do not step up and make a difference in these kids lives. I understand and appreciate that this is a free country and we all have the right to voice our opinion, but now is the time to take action. Let's not just sit on our butts and type words, let's help these kids out. A big thank you goes out to those of you that have already helped Revolution out by donating. No amount is too small.

[WWonka]

...

Edited July 7, 2009 by WWonka

[Richard]

As a mother of one of those Revo members that have paid their dues and fulfilled their contracts, I find it a bit disturbing that people are discouraging others from helping out a Corps. I will be donating more of my hard earned money to Revo even though we have paid our dues in full. Even though the adminsitration may have made some bad decisions, I have met all of these people personally and know without a doubt that they have always had the best interest of these talented kids in mind. Please keep in mind that we are talking about kids from all over the United States as well as other countries that will be the ones that will suffer if we do not step up and make a difference in these kids lives. I understand and appreciate that this is a free country and we all have the right to voice our opinion, but now is the time to take action. Let's not just sit on our butts and type words, let's help these kids out. A big thank you goes out to those of you that have already helped Revolution out by donating. No amount is too small.

It's clear that you have good intentions, as I'm sure the administration at Revolution does, but you must understand that by giving additional money (especially when you've already fulfilled your child's financial obligation to the corps) you're just propagating irresponsibility. You're encouraging the other members that have not paid their dues to continue to not do so, and you're encouraging the corps to continue to tour beyond it's means. You're giving irresponsible members a free ride, and giving seemingly irresponsible corps leadership, for lack of a better term, a bailout. By effectively removing the consequences of irresponsible behavior, you're inadvertently encouraging it.

I'm not trying to convince you or anyone to not donate, but I would encourage giving some serious thought to the decision.

Aside - Didn't the Oregon Crusaders do this same type of thing last year? They left on tour without the money to finish it or something to that matter? I guess it worked out for them, but how can this type of decision possibly seem like a good or even justifiable idea to the corps leadership? I understand that you don't want to disappoint the kids, but I think some better decision making is definitely in order for some Open Class groups. We've seen so many groups fall victim to poor financial decisions (Spartans, Patriots, ECJ, Fever to name a prominent few), how can current corps leadership continue to make risky, if not inadviseable (read: dumb) decisions? WTF????

Am I the only one dumbfounded by this? Where is the public outcry?

[tubajake]

*sigh*

Edited July 6, 2009 by tubajake

[CrunchyTenor]

Hard to determine all the facts from postings here, but I'm wondering if taking a year off might be in the best interests of the group.

Pretty much the whole drum corps community took a group gasp when the Troopers announced their decision to take 2006 off, but look what they accomplished. Lots of debt retired; a complete review of corps procedures that led to lots of reorganization from the ground level and up; Administrative and instructional staf changes. In short they reinvented themselves, and are now knocking on the finals door for the first time in 23 years.

Capital Regiment seems to be enjoying the fruits of their labor, too. They are competing well in OC after two years off.

In this situation it might be in the interest of long-term survival (and success) to take a step back and reorganize. The option is folding permanently, and that's something that no one wants to see.

Garry in Vegas

[BlueCavie]

You hit the nail on the head! Greg Kuzma had this group heading in the right directions a few years back. Now they will be another statistic after this season.DCi will step in with Rev and Memphis.

OMG! Sorry Magic Man! GM left the corps with a $45K deficit that they've been trying to recover from for years. OMG! Get off the Magic train.

[drumcorpspops]

OMG! Sorry Magic Man! GM left the corps with a $45K deficit that they've been trying to recover from for years. OMG! Get off the Magic train.

You may want to understand the inner workings of an organization and truth behind your statements. It's interesting this topic comes up as the individuals who controlled the finances during that director is still controlling it today. Please be careful in your facts before name bashing and dropping accusations.

[drumcorpspops]

This is quite an unfortunate circumstance; however it is one that is the norm for this Executive Director and his few constants on the admin staff. For many years this organization has been bailed out by those parents, Staff members and even students that are willing to beg and borrow money to do so. Each season there is a miracle that happens to keep this group a float and at some point it has to cease. There are many reasons why this is happening and it is a shame that it is being blamed solely on the member’s lack of ability to pay their fees. Based on the amount being asked for there should have been no reason this group got on the road and it is clear it goes beyond tour fees.

Contributing to a drum corps that is having financial issues due to reasons such as rising costs of fuel and food, unexpected costs (bus accident), contribution loss, etc. would be very commendable and I would be one of the first to do so. However, with the overwhelming past issues, dating back to 2004, this is not the fault of membership or staff; it is the fault of the one constant that has existed over the past 10 years, the Top of the organization. The staff and members have evryone's utmost respect and it is a shame that their caliber of execution is going to suffer because of this. Contributing to the bail out of this group now is contributing to the many mistakes made over the past and setting up the same scenario for future students and staff. Again it is unfortunate that this issue is something the members, staff and parents have to deal with but it is a struggle in Open Class financially and when you are not honest and create years of financial issues then it is that much harder and puts children that much more at risk to complete a season and get a quality education. Add to that fact that blame is being placed solely on these members, then it becomes that much more of an unhealthy environment for them and calling the season is the best for everyone involved. I am not saying that family members should not contribute. I understand how much Parents want to help and set their children up for success, but as a Parent you should really be asking the questions and not taking the explanation at face value. This has happened before and the parents of these members should ask the organization for their plan and their true financial need, and proof of what those funds are actually going to be used for. If not then you are just contributing blindly with hopes that it is going to help your child and not make up for past mistakes. The problem is bigger than this season and if you wish your child’s Drum Corps to survive then get more involved with where your money is being spent and help guide those making the mistakes to do the right things. You know where your electricity and mortgage payment go every month as well as your students college tuition or high school band fees. Why not this as well? Take the time to make sure there is a plan and a a direction or this can continue to happen.