Corps Status Checks

[quegrawks]

so, let me ask an obvious question:

has anyone actually ASKED DCA to work with them on this?

Not to my knowledge.

[quegrawks]

Yikes! No poking from me! I like my fingers!!

Getting back to the question of corps status checks........

SoCal Dream has been working real hard and cleaning our show. Unfortunately, we have come up a little short of our goal to have the entire show on the field for our first weekend of competition. We decided that our closer is just not up to par enough to put it in front of the fans this weekend. We worked real hard to have the complete show on the field, but we would rather do 4/5 of the show outstanding, and leave it at that, rather than do the last 5th half-arsed.

Next weekend will be a different story! SoCal Dream is hungry and the animals are restless. Don't poke at our cage or your hand might come back missing a finger or two.

[Jeff Ream]

Not to my knowledge.

then, and sorry to go OT to corps status checks, complaining on here does no one any ###### good.

[quegrawks]

then, and sorry to go OT to corps status checks, complaining on here does no one any ###### good.

Yeah, but it brought up an idea I hadn't heard before! So it did some good! :-)

Sorry for helping lead the discussion OT, though!

[BigSev]

Will Frontier ever compete again? I thought that is why the Vigilantes are here.

http://www.frontiercorps.org/

They're puttin' the band back together again.

[tomgolf8]

I typically spend a lot of time lurking but not posting. But when I see my Corps continually mentioned in a thread, I feel I need to speak up.

I will be the first to say that without the 35 rule, Gulf Coast Sound would have been attending DCA this year. We had more quality than I have seen in my time with the Corps, quality outside the line staff and solid financing. That wasn't the problem.

I will say that I support the 35 rule and if we want to compete in DCA, we need to find 35 members. If we want to be from Houston and compete in DCA, we can't spend time complaining that it's too far to the next competition. Raise the money and go. That's the cost of being a member of the circuit. DCA isn't stopping us from raising the money to travel to the east coast 3 times a year. They would actually encourage it.

As for the DCA Staff, Vic Kulinski, Tom Peashy, Dick P and Dick E. are 4 of the most accessable guys I have ever known. I have never waited on a return phone call or email from anyone with this organization. They are insightful, helpful, experienced and will not hesitate to lend a helping hand to an organization. For that, I have thanked them individually and will thank them publically. These are 3 seriously stand up guys.

To summerize:

We're still here working locally, raising money and playing kick ### music for the Houston area

It's not DCA's fault we did not field last year or this.

DCA's staff is awesome.

Edited July 1, 2010 by tomgolf8

[stanforj]

I typically spend a lot of time lurking but not posting. But when I see my Corps continually mentioned in a thread, I feel I need to speak up.

I will be the first to say that without the 35 rule, Gulf Coast Sound would have been attending DCA this year. We had more quality than I have seen in my time with the Corps, quality outside the line staff and solid financing. That wasn't the problem.

I will say that I support the 35 rule and if we want to compete in DCA, we need to find 35 members. If we want to be from Houston and compete in DCA, we can't spend time complaining that it's too far to the next competition. Raise the money and go. That's the cost of being a member of the circuit. DCA isn't stopping us from raising the money to travel to the east coast 3 times a year. They would actually encourage it.

As for the DCA Staff, Vic Kulinski, Tom Peashy, Dick P and Dick E. are 4 of the most accessable guys I have ever known. I have never waited on a return phone call or email from anyone with this organization. They are insightful, helpful, experienced and will not hesitate to lend a helping hand to an organization. For that, I have thanked them individually and will thank them publically. These are 3 seriously stand up guys.

To summerize:

We're still here working locally, raising money and playing kick ### music for the Houston area

It's not DCA's fault we did not field last year or this.

DCA's staff is awesome.[/quote

Great Post...and good luck to your org. hope Gulf Coast Sound will be attending DCA in the near future!!

Edited July 1, 2010 by stanforj

[Jeff Ream]

I typically spend a lot of time lurking but not posting. But when I see my Corps continually mentioned in a thread, I feel I need to speak up.

I will be the first to say that without the 35 rule, Gulf Coast Sound would have been attending DCA this year. We had more quality than I have seen in my time with the Corps, quality outside the line staff and solid financing. That wasn't the problem.

I will say that I support the 35 rule and if we want to compete in DCA, we need to find 35 members. If we want to be from Houston and compete in DCA, we can't spend time complaining that it's too far to the next competition. Raise the money and go. That's the cost of being a member of the circuit. DCA isn't stopping us from raising the money to travel to the east coast 3 times a year. They would actually encourage it.

As for the DCA Staff, Vic Kulinski, Tom Peashy, Dick P and Dick E. are 4 of the most accessable guys I have ever known. I have never waited on a return phone call or email from anyone with this organization. They are insightful, helpful, experienced and will not hesitate to lend a helping hand to an organization. For that, I have thanked them individually and will thank them publically. These are 3 seriously stand up guys.

To summerize:

We're still here working locally, raising money and playing kick ### music for the Houston area

It's not DCA's fault we did not field last year or this.

DCA's staff is awesome.

[Euphscott]

so, let me ask an obvious question:

has anyone actually ASKED DCA to work with them on this?

Without revealing details (as I am on the managing team with my corps), yes, there have been conversations with DCA to resolve our concerns. At this point, resolutions we sought are not forthcoming. That's not to say that anyone was anti Texas corps, just the rules in place don't allow for what we felt would be a helpful scenario. I know our corps is working internally to bring suggestions and solutions to the table for discussion in the Fall that will help more than just our corps. As Tom mentioned, the DCA guys are working with us and I would venture to say pulling for us. It's just a process and nothing happens overnight.

But as I mentioned before (with my official hat OFF) I think we have to see some changes to address the concerns of corps facing stronger challenges (in all areas of the country). DCA (and its member corps) cannot operate as it did in previous years with the landscape of our country and economy in a much different state.

So I am clear - I am not necessarily against the 35 member rule. I understand why sponsors would expect that level of product. But in the hinterlands and growth areas of DCA, the show sponsors ARE the corps. I would like to see the show sponsors be allowed to make a call on their own. Perhaps DCA allows corps to get a score (so long as the show sponsor is paying all the costs associated with running a show and acquiring judges) but with the restriction against competing at Nationals? Because as I mentioned before, that is what folks want to experience - they want to march, earn a score, and compete.

All that said and back to the original topic at hand - Vigilantes are not in danger of the 35 member rule at this point. We have scratched and clawed to recruit as many members as we can to put a high quality product on the field. We like our progress and feel good about what we will bring to the field. We'd just like to have some more Texans competing with us!

Edited July 1, 2010 by Euphscott

[BigSev]

There was a Texas focused "league" that started a year or two ago. What has happened with that? That sounds like it could be the foundation to bring together the various groups to start doing their own shows in towns around TX.