A Man Says.....

[Michael Boo]

All depends on your perspective doesn't it? To some of us it looks as if they didn't win in '93 so they took their ball and went home, leaving the activity without one of its most potentially vibrant and vital pieces.

Except the agreement to go with the Canadian Brass was signed long before the end of the season. The fact that it was kept under wraps until after the season ended is remarkable.

[Michael Boo]

It worked for decades.

So did the Studebaker factory in South Bend.

[Catan]

It worked for decades.

yes they fielded full corps prior to the DCI era, but not 150 members. also, since most marching members of today come from competitive high school marching band programs...well there isn't much of that to go around in New England.

[HeatherM]

yes they fielded full corps prior to the DCI era, but not 150 members. also, since most marching members of today come from competitive high school marching band programs...well there isn't much of that to go around in New England.

New York State is not that far away, and there are several very good competitive marching programs there (NYSFBC). Most of the staff for the bigger programs are "corps" people.

[Fran Haring]

Forget about what talent is located where in relation to whether a corps like the 27th Lancers could be brought back, and so forth and so on.

The OP says I would be given FIVE MILLION DOLLARS to bring a corps back.

With five million smackers, I could go buy all the talent I needed.

Or at the very least....charge no fees/dues to corps members. And put the corps up at a top-notch hotel for DCI week and for the major regionals, instead of on a gym floor.

That, plus other incentives, might get some talent coming out of the woodwork.

[troopers1]

I vote Kilts. But they have to keep the old-skool Kilt uni.

Whatever corps I brought back would have to be in a location where I could find funding for it though. "Wait! You just got $5 million smackers to run that corps!"

Well, here's the way I look at it. I wouldn't be able to get free equipment since I wouldn't have a name in the activity - i.e. I wouldn't be marketable. So:

- Brass - $70k

- Perc - $30k

- Unis - $5k

- Food Truck - $70k (used)

- Equipment Truck - $30k

Operating corps budget, assuming full membership, probably would be around $800k to field a respectable first year group. Performance fees might earn me about $150k.

So I just knocked off about $1M from the $5M. That probably wouldn't change much every year, so I'd be out of money in 4 years. If I take the other $4M and invest it in a foundation, I could probably get $200k a year for operations from the proceeds. So, I'd have to find another $600k or more per year to keep things going.

[tommytimp]

So did the Studebaker factory in South Bend.

And you know what else?

HITLER, that's what!

[bluecoats88]

I vote Kilts. But they have to keep the old-skool Kilt uni.

Whatever corps I brought back would have to be in a location where I could find funding for it though. "Wait! You just got $5 million smackers to run that corps!"

Well, here's the way I look at it. I wouldn't be able to get free equipment since I wouldn't have a name in the activity - i.e. I wouldn't be marketable. So:

- Brass - $70k

- Perc - $30k

- Unis - $5k

- Food Truck - $70k (used)

- Equipment Truck - $30k

Operating corps budget, assuming full membership, probably would be around $800k to field a respectable first year group. Performance fees might earn me about $150k.

So I just knocked off about $1M from the $5M. That probably wouldn't change much every year, so I'd be out of money in 4 years. If I take the other $4M and invest it in a foundation, I could probably get $200k a year for operations from the proceeds. So, I'd have to find another $600k or more per year to keep things going.

well your 1M initial outlay I see, but it wouldn't be a million each year after that since you would have already purchased the equipment, trucks, and unis. Plus do you realize how much 4 million would make in interest. you could definately sustain a corps while bringing in other donations like other corps have.

[troopers1]

well your 1M initial outlay I see, but it wouldn't be a million each year after that since you would have already purchased the equipment, trucks, and unis. Plus do you realize how much 4 million would make in interest. you could definately sustain a corps while bringing in other donations like other corps have.

Oh, there's always something that you have to buy to stay competitive. But we definitely agree, you'd have raise money to keep it going.

I don't think any foundation could provide better than a 5% return on capital and maintain the "corpus' of the foundation. Any return they could provide above that will either 1) eat into the corpus, or 2) be based on risky investments which will, in turn, eat into the corpus when they crash.

Edited October 14, 2010 by troopers1

[Tansea]

Tough one...

I would have to create a three headed dice with the Argonne Rebels on one side, the 27th Lancers on another and the Stockton Commodores on the last...leave it to fate, as it were.