DCW article regarding touring . . .

[WOOHOO]

Wow, such a defeatist attitude. This is really sad, and it's a good thing that Don Warren, Jim Jones, Bill Cook, et al didn't take this viewpoint of life.

Further, your connotation that those of us here can't do anything is just sheer misery looking for company. You have no clue of how wrong you are.

And I speak personally, by the way.

I'm not saying you can't, I'm just saying you aren't. Big difference.

Those people for sure can do things, they just didn't do it on an internet forum.

Edited September 3, 2010 by WOOHOO

[garfield]

You don't have any proof that the changes are the causes of the DCI monetary turmoil. That's just speculation.

No it's not speculation, not at all. Follow this logic...

"We want A&E! It will save the activity!"

"But we don't have the money. Heck, we don't have ANY money to buy the A&E equipment!"

"We want more money paid to us from DCI!"

"Who votes for getting more money from DCI?"

"DCI is barely breaking even? Why, they must be inept! Fire them all!"

(Soon after...)

"DCI, why aren't you doing more to promote the activity?"

A: "Because we're paying you more money!"

"Fire them! They must be inept!"

Get it?

[N.E. Brigand]

What kind of administrative support staff does each corps have? I just went to the Blue Devils staff page, for instance, and the 34 people listed there besides David Gibbs all would be classified, in theater terms, as "artistic staff". But in the theater where I work, for instance, with a $7M budget and a seasonal full-time artistic staff of about 40 (of whom 10 are year-round), there are also roughly 35 people on the full-time, year-round administrative staff. Plus a couple dozen part-timers and lots of interns and even more volunteers. Every theater is a little different, of course, and theater is not the same as drum corps, but: do most corps have dedicated marketing and fundraising staffs?

[garfield]

I'm not saying you can't, I'm just saying you aren't. Big difference.

Those people for sure can do things, they just didn't do it on an internet forum.

Wow! And presumptuous, too!

You have no idea. And your generalizations are insulting to those of us who are acting, even if we spend a few minutes a day on DCP.

[N.E. Brigand]

What kind of administrative support staff does each corps have? I just went to the Blue Devils staff page, for instance, and the 34 people listed there besides David Gibbs all would be classified, in theater terms, as "artistic staff"....

OK, I should have dug a little deeper before posting. I now see that in addition to the "staff" page, BD has a "contacts" page that includes an operations person, a promotional/fundraising person, an office manager and a accountant. It still seems a little lean: this theater's fundraising staff, for instance, in addition to a director, has one person dedicated to foundation and government grants, one dedicated to corporate and individual giving, and three dedicated to special events (e.g., gala benefits, special fundraising projects) and support.

[WOOHOO]

Wow! And presumptuous, too!

You have no idea. And your generalizations are insulting to those of us who are acting, even if we spend a few minutes a day on DCP.

Listen, don't get personal. I haven't said anything that deserves name calling. Keep that to PMs. I just don't see the change that you say you are doing, so it is fair to assume that it is just here on DCP.

[supersop]

Wow, such a defeatist attitude. This is really sad, and it's a good thing that Don Warren, Jim Jones, Bill Cook, et al didn't take this viewpoint of life.

Further, your connotation that those of us here can't do anything is just sheer misery looking for company. You have no clue of how wrong you are.

And I speak personally, by the way.

(this is not directed at you Garfield .. I'm merely agreeing with you and tagging on to your response)

12 guests ...... I wonder which cubical they're in. You think they're not reading intently? They all do.

Words can be powerful if they are flawless and delivered properly. That's how you affect change .. and it only takes one voice to do it.

If all that this thread accomplishes is a brainstorm of ideas and arguments about what has worked and what hasn't ..... about possible solutions and debating flawed solutions to their death, aren't we in fact a test group/think tank for DCI? That would be a YES answer and we do in fact affect change ....... One day you'll say the right thing and get an email that you didn't expect from someone who shouldn't know you exist ... and then you'll realize how powerful this community really is.

Edited September 3, 2010 by supersop

[WOOHOO]

(this is not directed at you Garfield .. I'm merely agreeing with you and tagging on to your response)

12 guests ...... I wonder which cubical they're in. You think they're not reading intently? They all do.

Words can be powerful if they are flawless and delivered properly. That's how you affect change .. and it only takes one voice to do it.

If all that this thread accomplishes is a brainstorm of ideas and arguments about what has worked and what hasn't ..... about possible solutions and debating flawed solutions to their death, aren't we in fact a test group/think tank for DCI? That would be a YES answer and we do in fact affect change ....... One day you'll say the right thing and get an email that you didn't expect from someone who shouldn't know you exist ... and then you'll realize how powerful this community really is.

I just don't understand why you can't talk to the people causing the "problems" directly exclusively instead of on here. It seems much more effective and reliable.

[garfield]

Listen, don't get personal. I haven't said anything that deserves name calling. Keep that to PMs. I just don't see the change that you say you are doing, so it is fair to assume that it is just here on DCP.

OK, sure. This is not personal. No, not at all...

I'm not saying you can't, I'm just saying you aren't. Big difference.

[supersop]

I just don't understand why you can't talk to the people causing the "problems" directly exclusively instead of on here. It seems much more effective and reliable.

You assume I haven't? You assume this is the first time? You assume that person isn't reading this thread right now or at some point today .. or having a staffer report things of interest to them ? (even though they did 5 responses to a similar thread no less than 4 days ago).

Calling someone out in private and having a 2 hour conversation that leads to nowhere is flat out wasted time. Calling someone out in public and having a 4 day conversation about every minute detail on the subject is time well spent. They will do one of 3 things. 1) They will back off and not say a word. 2) They will send you a nice message telling you what they really want out of the situation and what they plan to do between now and the next meeting in order to achieve it (and why what they're doing is really so good for the activity). 3) They will jump on the thread or in an interview or on CNN and stir the pot even further because they enjoy antagonizing their critics. Regardless of the resulting actions, it was time well spent on something you're passionate about.