The World Series of Drum Corps

[supersop]

Oh, we have a few things to correct here.

Prior to DCI, top junior corps were gravitating toward the VFW Nationals as their "championship". Problem was not simply these VFW "outsiders" making the rules, but rather, that the VFW was a whole other entity, with their own set of priorities (one of which was to make most of the profit from that contest). The interests of the VFW were in conflict with the interests of the participating drum corps.

Now, as for your comment about the corps not wanting anyone else to "run their business for them"....quite the opposite, actually. Many corps directors are busy enough running their own businesses (the corps), and would rather not have to run DCI too. That's why they've gone from monthly meetings to an annual meeting, and delegated as much as possible to an executive BOD. And, of course, that's why they hire an executive director for DCI, because it is he and his staff that actually "run" DCI, with the BOD providing oversight.

Speaking of "oversight"....amid what little I know of business, I thought the purpose of a BOD was just that - to provide oversight. As I understand it, the BOD is there to maintain focus on the mission and long-term best interests of the business. This is done partly as protection against employees or the CEO putting their own short-term interests ahead of the interests of the business....but it can also be a mechanism to get a wider perspective from experts in a variety of relevant areas. With both of those tactics in mind, BOD members are typically "outsiders"....doesn't mean they don't have expertise in that type of business, but they are not employees of the business they are overseeing, or similarly entangled in the day-to-day operations of that business such that their interests are likely to conflict with the long-term mission of the business.

Apply that philosophy to DCI, and ask yourself if current corps directors are best able to provide that impartial, independent "oversight" that a BOD should provide.

This is all true except for the middle segment.

" I thought the purpose of a BOD was just that - to provide oversight. As I understand it, the BOD is there to maintain focus on the mission and long-term best interests of the business."

It should say, The purpose of the BoD is to provide oversight. The BoD should not have members of the corps they represent in a position with voting rights. This would ensure that there is ultimate focus on the mission and long term best interests of the business rather than the interests of those who could circumvent the process and personally gain for their own organization rather than the whole.