Madison Scouts 2011

[John Murray]

Thanks for clearing things up, Mr Komnick.

[thirdcoast]

Too much wild conjecture going on here, I must interject.

First, there seems to be much discussion that somehow Bill Cook is involved in the decision for the corps to be in Bloomington. While a great fan of drum corps and, of course, a close friend of James Mason, Bill is not involved with the Madison Scouts. He's has visited the corps rehearsal from time-to-time to support our great staff and see a good drum corps being developed. That's about it folks.

The former Star Hall (now called the WACPAC) is a property owned by the Cook Group (amongst many others). It is available for lease. It's current tenants are the Mason Entertainment Group and the Madison Scouts. We both pay rent to use the facility and store equipment there. It's at market rate. It's not inexpensive, but a good value for what we get in return. Many corps have leased it for a week or two over the past several years. It is far from an ideal housing facility (small, rough fields) but it does very well for the rigors of a drum corps.

I've talked with many alumni about the perceptions of rehearsing in Madison. They are often surprised by the actual ways we rehearse today, and upon hearing that, gain a better understanding of why we have made the decisions to do what we do. Let me share some of those key point:

1. When the corps rehearses (camps or spring training) it is 24/7 drum corps. They do not house with local families or go out to State Street in the evenings. Fun as all that was then, it is a different activity with different training standards. As well, there are also serious organization liability considerations that are far more encompassing then they were even 10 years ago.

What that means is that we need facilities that can house the entire corps, enable us to provide food services, and have the facilities that enable us to rehearse properly.

2. The composition of all drum corps is extremely diverse geographically. This is both members and staff. If you want the best, you need the ability to pull them from all over North America and the World. What this means, is you need to rehearse within a reasonable distance to a major and affordable airport. If you have traveled through Madison's airport, you can attest it is not inexpensive or convenient.

About half the membership and most of the staff flies into a rehearsal camp. It's pretty simple equation when you have members evaluating their total costs to march a drum corps. The difference of paying $250 to fly into Indy versus $500+ to fly into Madison will make a difference in their decision.

3. Being competitive in today's drum corps is about maximizing the time you have available. If you lose a camp due to weather, it can make a significant impact on your corps. So weather does play a key factor. Indiana is not ideal, but it's a major improvement over Wisconsin in terms of winter weather.

4. If you want to be a competitive drum corps you have to be able to work on movement and drill year round. That means you need access to an indoor facility for that, or have warm enough weather to make that happen. Ideally such a facility is close enough to minimize the challenges involved in moving 150 people at a time when you have no buses.

5. Drum corps are noisy and irritating, especially when they are training 24/7. THIS IS A BIG ISSUE. Communities are becoming less and less tolerant of having a corps rehearse in their backyard. It's novel and fun to watch when it's only a few hours. It's a public nuisance when they rehearse from 9a - 10p for 30 days straight with Dr. Beat pounding over the loud speakers. Having a facility that is remote and away from the public ear is an ideal situation.

Before the corps rehearsed in Bloomington, it rehearsed in Baraboo, WI (50 miles north of Madison) until they kicked us out. Before that we rehearsed in Whitewater, WI (90 miles from Madison) until they kicked us out. During winter camps we rehearsed at Madison Country Day School...until they kicked us out. All those places "loved" the Madison Scouts, they just didn't want us rehearsing there anymore.

Regardless of our relationship with James Mason, the corps was in desperate need of finding new options for rehearsal and there were absolutely NO OPTIONS being made available to us in Madison. Madison City Schools....NO WAY. University of Wisconsin....NO WAY. A few private facilities we explored...NO WAY.

The decisions we made are not "scary", but very practical ones that have been made to the benefit of the organization. Our success on the field last season can be directly attribute to our improved off-season training routine.

The matter of the corps' connection to the City of Madison is much more complex. The dynamics of the activity have evolved far beyond the organizational structures and intent of drum corps and their communities when they were founded. It's not just the Madison Scouts, but almost every corps in the activity. Our response is to develop other ways in which our organization can serve the Madison community, not the corps proper. We are rolling out a number of programs that are focused on this very thing. The corps can be a poster-child for the organization, but it will no longer be able to serve the community in the same manner it did when it was started or even up through about the 80s.

Lastly, the corps was not on its way of "folding" before last season. In fact, we had a very successful financial year in 2009. We had well set in place a new course for correcting many of the historical financial challenges the corps faced long before last season. The strategy with James Mason and rehearsing in Bloomington were all about correcting our programming direction. Rehearsing down in Bloomington was not financial decision but a programming decision.

I'd be more than happy to address any individual questions you may have by emailing me.

Chris Komnick

Executive Director

Madison Scouts

ckomnick@madisonscouts.org

Edited October 8, 2011 by thirdcoast

[FrankBeMe]

So it's Madison in name and address only. There is a Madison, IN.

[Cop]

So it's Madison in name and address only. There is a Madison, IN.

Here you go Frank, DCP is not the Madison Scouts Email or Contact location. Give Dan a call in Madison WI. A very nice guy who will help you out.

don't confuse the lovely practice location as the M S Board of Directors.

2935 S Fish Hatchery Rd #401

Madison, WI 53711

(608) 288-0960 fax

For questions about membership, auditions, camps or corps-related inquiries, contact:

Dann Petersen (92-97) - Corps Director

(816) 835-9208

director@madisonscouts.org

For instrument purchases, contact:

Jeff Spanos (90-95,06) - Development Director

(608) 332-2870

jspanos@madisonscouts.org

For inquiries about the organization, fund raising, financial matters or appearances, contact:

Chris Komnick (84-85,06)- Executive Director

(859) 803-3463

ckomnick@madisonscouts.org

For over 70 years the Madison Scouts has developed and shaped young men’s lives through musical enrichment and performance arts. Values such as honesty, integrity and accountability are taught and practiced through the activity that is modern day drum & bugle corps. A commitment to personal excellence and altruism serves as the foundation for the ultimate goal of teaching our members important life changing skills that will guide them now and in the future.

> DOWNLOAD THE MDBCA BY-LAWS OF OCT 2008

Copyright © 2010 Madison Drum and Bugle Corps Association, Inc. • webmaster@madisonscouts.org

Edited December 27, 2010 by Cop

[FrankBeMe]

Ok...umm Cop.

What I see is an open, public, statement from the executive director, who has a Kentucky area code. In the statement, he essentially disses the city of Madison, Madison Public Schools, Dane County Regional Airport, the city of Whitewater, the town of Baraboo, the University of Wisconsin and our weather. So with that, can you tell the residents of the city of Madison, which I am not, although I do live in Dane County, why a portion of their already high enough taxes should go to the city of Madison giving money to the organization? They won't answer, since there are only about 12,000 people (about 5% of the population) who have ever heard of the Scouts, they are totally in the dark that this past year, the corps has spent no more than two entire days in the city itself. Why should the locals donate to what is to them, essentially an invisible entity?

Are these great things that are going to be done in Madison going to be visible to all? Announcements that this event or service is provided by the MDBCA, Inc? If they're not, then the public won't know. They need something visible, not a group that pulls into town for a day for their home show and a month later to get their picture taken in front of the capitol.

Locals tend to support what they can see. It's not just here, it's much of drum corps, at least world class. Instead of a local talking to another local about what they have seen a group do, they are now wondering whatever happened to them. And that's a sad statement on the activity that the locals are left hanging.

[Cop]

Ok...umm Cop.

What I see is an open, public, statement from the executive director, who has a Kentucky area code. In the statement, he essentially disses the city of Madison, Madison Public Schools, Dane County Regional Airport, the city of Whitewater, the town of Baraboo, the University of Wisconsin and our weather. So with that, can you tell the residents of the city of Madison, which I am not, although I do live in Dane County, why a portion of their already high enough taxes should go to the city of Madison giving money to the organization? They won't answer, since there are only about 12,000 people (about 5% of the population) who have ever heard of the Scouts, they are totally in the dark that this past year, the corps has spent no more than two entire days in the city itself. Why should the locals donate to what is to them, essentially an invisible entity?

Are these great things that are going to be done in Madison going to be visible to all? Announcements that this event or service is provided by the MDBCA, Inc? If they're not, then the public won't know. They need something visible, not a group that pulls into town for a day for their home show and a month later to get their picture taken in front of the capitol.

Locals tend to support what they can see. It's not just here, it's much of drum corps, at least world class. Instead of a local talking to another local about what they have seen a group do, they are now wondering whatever happened to them. And that's a sad statement on the activity that the locals are left hanging.

1938 till now, The Madison Scouts have indeed been giving to the community and City of Madison? Looks to me they have some time invested in the city? What say you?

You erased the history of the Scouts in one POST. I don't know why I ever flew out to Madison from Los Angeles, for three years worth of camps and tours, when people like you turn your backs on all our hard work in a heart beat.

Each time I or any other Scout flew out for a camp my flight was taxed.. multiply that by the number of members of 75 years who also flew into town and or who drove in buying gas.

I am so happy for my younger brothers because they will never have to practice in the MATC parking lot as I did.

For a rant like yours, you had best be sending them $$ as I am, otherwise your words are empty. FYI I can't see the corps from my home in Venice Beach, however, I know that giving comes from the heart and not what you expect to get back in return.

Also, your weather does indeed suck, I've lived there for a winter. Really sucks.

Edited December 27, 2010 by Cop

[FrankBeMe]

when people like you turn your backs on all our hard work in a heart beat.

Or maybe it's the other way around.

[corpsband]

What I see is an open, public, statement from the executive director, who has a Kentucky area code. In the statement, he essentially disses the city of Madison, Madison Public Schools, Dane County Regional Airport, the city of Whitewater, the town of Baraboo, the University of Wisconsin and our weather.

I think that's a pretty unfair characterization of what I read here. He said (paraphrasing) 'we can't find the what we need locally despite our best efforts to find them. and the facilities we did have access to no longer provide such access'.

How in the world that statement can be called 'dissing' is beyond me I understand your disappointment with the move to Indy. But don't mis-characterize what everyone on DCP has had a chance to see in black-and-white for themselves. I thought Mr. Komnick was (refreshingly) open, honest and direct about the entire matter.

[Jeff Ream]

Ok...umm Cop.

What I see is an open, public, statement from the executive director, who has a Kentucky area code. In the statement, he essentially disses the city of Madison, Madison Public Schools, Dane County Regional Airport, the city of Whitewater, the town of Baraboo, the University of Wisconsin and our weather. So with that, can you tell the residents of the city of Madison, which I am not, although I do live in Dane County, why a portion of their already high enough taxes should go to the city of Madison giving money to the organization? They won't answer, since there are only about 12,000 people (about 5% of the population) who have ever heard of the Scouts, they are totally in the dark that this past year, the corps has spent no more than two entire days in the city itself. Why should the locals donate to what is to them, essentially an invisible entity?

Are these great things that are going to be done in Madison going to be visible to all? Announcements that this event or service is provided by the MDBCA, Inc? If they're not, then the public won't know. They need something visible, not a group that pulls into town for a day for their home show and a month later to get their picture taken in front of the capitol.

Locals tend to support what they can see. It's not just here, it's much of drum corps, at least world class. Instead of a local talking to another local about what they have seen a group do, they are now wondering whatever happened to them. And that's a sad statement on the activity that the locals are left hanging.

how did he diss them? Because he stated those places asked the Scouts not to return, possibly in not so nice ways?

[FrankBeMe]

how did he diss them? Because he stated those places asked the Scouts not to return, possibly in not so nice ways?

For example---based on Mr. Cop flying from Los Angeles to Madison. The director said flying to Indy is cheaper than flying to Madison....well....

Given their January camp dates, a flight from LAX to Madison is $280.80. LAX to Indianapolis on the same dates is $359.80. Perhaps more research is needed on the Scouts part. I believe that $280.80 is less than $359.80. So, that assumption by the director that it's cheaper to fly to Indy is wrong, at least from LAX.