Dan Acheson contract renewed as DCI Executive Director

[Jeff Ream]

I believe the Tournament of Drums in Lawrence, MA is a DCA run show. I am certain that it was in '09, and I'm pretty sure it was again this past year (the show was revived in 2009 after a long hiatus). They have had DCI OC corps perform in exhibition at that show in each of the last two years. I would venture that the reason they have had only OC and not WC corps, is because the OC generally have not yet left for tour and the WC are in faraway places at the time the show has been held (about the third weekend of July, both years).

A few years ago, when East Providence, RI was one of the standard shows on the DCA schedule, they have had occasion where DCI corps performed-including East Coast Jazz, which at the time was a legitimate contender for the Div II/III (now OC) title and even won it at least once, was runner up a couple more times.

Back on topic, renewing Dan's contract was a solid vote of confidence in a gentleman who has always made his decisions with the interests of ALL DCI corps and the youth they serve as the basis. The fact that seven malcontents could not get their own agenda is testament to his leadership. Anyone with any doubts about his accomplishments need only look where DCI was when he was first appointed-and I'm not talking number of corps or electronics or any of those other subjects which we so famously argue on these boards, but the state of DCI itself-and it was literally "on the brink". DCI is in a much better place now, and much of the credit should be given to Dan.

I forgot about the Lawrence show thanks, and yes they did have some OC corps there. some other DCi shows have some OC corps as well, and Surf plays at a few.

and I agree 100% about Dan, tho at times I wish he had more power

[audiodb]

Current situation with its dynamics and personalities aside, it just seems inuitive to me that you would want the board of directors of any organization to have experienced success at the highest levels of the activity they are directing.

By all means. Since the world-class tour is the highest level of the activity, we should want directors who have successfully guided corps through world-class tours.

Agreed there are various ways to measure success, but one of the ways of measurement has to be competitive success.

Why? The director doesn't design; he doesn't instruct; and he certainly doesn't go out on the field and perform. Ultimately, the corps director has no hand in determining where his corps places....and conversely, the competitive result is no measure of the job done by the corps director.

Its not the only measure, but you can't ignore it. Not everyone will agree, but at the end of the day the director sets the vision for the organization and then through leadership makes it happen.

Glad you brought that up. Have you looked at the "vision" of each of these organizations, as evidenced by their mission statements? Not one of them lists winning contests as their mission. The director pursues (and in better cases, achieves) his mission whether his corps wins contests or not.

[audiodb]

I would much rather have Board Members whose corps live within their budgets.....

than a high placing director who can't stop crowing " we have to change or die ".....

[jpaul]

Why? The director doesn't design; he doesn't instruct; and he certainly doesn't go out on the field and perform. Ultimately, the corps director has no hand in determining where his corps places....and conversely, the competitive result is no measure of the job done by the corps director.

That's an overstatement. The director is involved in many aspects that "influence" the corps competitive success.

[KAW]

Why? The director doesn't design; he doesn't instruct; and he certainly doesn't go out on the field and perform. Ultimately, the corps director has no hand in determining where his corps places....and conversely, the competitive result is no measure of the job done by the corps director.

My communications skills are either really poor or I just see the world differently than most everyone on here.

You can define success however you want to: the education, the experience, how members are treated, how volunteers are treated, how the organization is viewed, what kind of t-shirts they sell, who their sponsors are, and of course placement. No matter how you define success, no single individual will influence it (and be ultimately be responsible for it) more than the director themself.

I cannot understand saying the director isn't responsible for design because he doesn't design. If that's true then who is the designer accountable to? You could ask the same question for virtually every function within the corps.

If anyone is more responsible than the director then it might be the BOD. But even then it is a group of individuals and their influence is removed and therefore they look to the director.

[Michael Boo]

My communications skills are either really poor or I just see the world differently than most everyone on here.

...

There's nothing wrong with your communication skills. Everyone looks at the same thing but sees it in a different context. What's more important to one isn't necessarily as important to someone else. I believe we all have pretty much the same love for the activity and the same passion that comes from that, but we're still going to focus in on different elements that seem more important to us...the same way a drummer probably doesn't watch the guard as much as a guard person does, who likewise probably doesn't pay all that much attention to a drum line.

[tomgolf8]

My communications skills are either really poor or I just see the world differently than most everyone on here.

You can define success however you want to: the education, the experience, how members are treated, how volunteers are treated, how the organization is viewed, what kind of t-shirts they sell, who their sponsors are, and of course placement. No matter how you define success, no single individual will influence it (and be ultimately be responsible for it) more than the director themself.

I cannot understand saying the director isn't responsible for design because he doesn't design. If that's true then who is the designer accountable to? You could ask the same question for virtually every function within the corps.

If anyone is more responsible than the director then it might be the BOD. But even then it is a group of individuals and their influence is removed and therefore they look to the director.

The Director may or may not be involved in the design of a show. BoD's I would think are not involved in the design of a show. If I had my choice between a show designer or someone that has been a success in Business Management or Sales with a drum corps background, I will take the business / sales person over the designer. Best case is a designer that has success in business. But I think you want your Corps Director to be more of a business person since they are running a multi-million dollar organization.

[Phantombari1]

Directors who are successful at building and managing teams that are successful year after year are worth their weight in gold. If I am running a business I put my money behind the builder with a proven track record.

Nothing against the current board but success to me in Drum Corp is not how long you're in the activity but the length and level of success that matters.

This is not to take anything away from all the people who have given so much to the lives of so many young adults and kids.

[supersop]

Why? The director doesn't design; he doesn't instruct; and he certainly doesn't go out on the field and perform. Ultimately, the corps director has no hand in determining where his corps places....and conversely, the competitive result is no measure of the job done by the corps director.

That's an overstatement. The director is involved in many aspects that "influence" the corps competitive success.

Definitely an overstatement. Some directors design, some program coordinate, some light a fire under the staff or members bumms when they're not getting the job done (in other words, they thrive on straight talk rather than the feel good happy happy joy joy fluffonics)

It's not all about getting the corps up and down the road or doing fund raising. They have other people to handle those tasks.

[supersop]

The Director may or may not be involved in the design of a show. BoD's I would think are not involved in the design of a show. If I had my choice between a show designer or someone that has been a success in Business Management or Sales with a drum corps background, I will take the business / sales person over the designer. Best case is a designer that has success in business. But I think you want your Corps Director to be more of a business person since they are running a multi-million dollar organization.

There is one corps that has the BoD designing their shows ....... and they've lost the most talented staff over the past 3 years. (that's your hint)