MikeZ Posted August 12, 2011 Share Posted August 12, 2011 I am not going to speculate about anything that is going on with Pioneer. I marched Pioneer from 1994-1998. As an alumni of the corps it is time for me to stop saying "what is wrong with the corps", and start saying "what can I do to help the corps". Most people on dcp give their 30 second answer of how Pioneer can be fixed, and then don't think about the corps again until the next thread comes up. I have briefly spoken to Roman a few times this summer and have told him I am ready to help out the corps any way I can in 2012. If they need me to cook, I will cook. If they need me to recruit, I will recruit. More alumni (especially from the 90's) need to step up and start getting their hands dirty in an effort to help the corps. I don't know if "I" can make a difference, but I would bet that me and 20 folks I marched with CAN make a difference. Here's hoping my fellow alumni and I can make the 2012 version of Pioneer a stronger group than the 2011 version. Mike Zerhusen Pioneer bari/euph 94-98 "Better Everyday" 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mvbailey12 Posted August 12, 2011 Author Share Posted August 12, 2011 I am not going to speculate about anything that is going on with Pioneer. I marched Pioneer from 1994-1998. As an alumni of the corps it is time for me to stop saying "what is wrong with the corps", and start saying "what can I do to help the corps". Most people on dcp give their 30 second answer of how Pioneer can be fixed, and then don't think about the corps again until the next thread comes up. I have briefly spoken to Roman a few times this summer and have told him I am ready to help out the corps any way I can in 2012. If they need me to cook, I will cook. If they need me to recruit, I will recruit. More alumni (especially from the 90's) need to step up and start getting their hands dirty in an effort to help the corps. I don't know if "I" can make a difference, but I would bet that me and 20 folks I marched with CAN make a difference. Here's hoping my fellow alumni and I can make the 2012 version of Pioneer a stronger group than the 2011 version. Mike Zerhusen Pioneer bari/euph 94-98 "Better Everyday" I absolutely agree Mike! That is the way it should be done. I know that I am always willing to help out Pio with what I can from where I am. As far as Crests post, I think that is one of the reasons I like Pioneer so much. Is that it's not all about winning. It's about the experience and the education and the opportunities. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KAW Posted August 12, 2011 Share Posted August 12, 2011 Is that it's not all about winning. It's about the experience and the education and the opportunities. That's what open class is for. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IllianaLancerContra Posted August 12, 2011 Share Posted August 12, 2011 (edited) I am not going to speculate about anything that is going on with Pioneer. I marched Pioneer from 1994-1998. As an alumni of the corps it is time for me to stop saying "what is wrong with the corps", and start saying "what can I do to help the corps". Most people on dcp give their 30 second answer of how Pioneer can be fixed, and then don't think about the corps again until the next thread comes up. I have briefly spoken to Roman a few times this summer and have told him I am ready to help out the corps any way I can in 2012. If they need me to cook, I will cook. If they need me to recruit, I will recruit. More alumni (especially from the 90's) need to step up and start getting their hands dirty in an effort to help the corps. I don't know if "I" can make a difference, but I would bet that me and 20 folks I marched with CAN make a difference. Here's hoping my fellow alumni and I can make the 2012 version of Pioneer a stronger group than the 2011 version. Mike Zerhusen Pioneer bari/euph 94-98 "Better Everyday" ---------------------------------------------------------------------- What was the difference when you marched so they could recruit the numbers? They had it figured out once, what happened? Edited August 12, 2011 by IllianaLancerContra Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KAW Posted August 12, 2011 Share Posted August 12, 2011 "as an opportunity for constant improvement and measurement of the growth of our performers." There's only one way to measure that in this activity and it's how you rate compared to your peers. While I agree that competitive success isn't everything, when you place as low as they do every year in recent memory I have to question how someone can say they are succesful at the mission statement. I fully support what Pio does, developing non-playing kids and encouraging personal growth. It just doesn't meet the spirit of what World Class should be. The HS kid who shows up to swim practice everyday, works hard, is devoted, and makes all district is to be fully commended and applauded. But he can't call himself an olympian. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeZ Posted August 12, 2011 Share Posted August 12, 2011 Saying why the corps recruited so well in the mid 90's would be pure speculation on my part. Remember, I was a member...I knew my music and my drill, but was far less aware of the inner/behind the scenes workings of the corps. I do know the corps had a strong affiliation with Murray State University specifically and the state of Kentucky in general that sent a large pipeline of members to the corps. I am guessing that as the "Murray" kids aged out and Southwind set up shop in Lexington in 1999 that the Kentucky pipeline of members dried up. I am sure there are other factors that I am not aware of, and I don't want this to sound like any type of an official response. I am just one former member speculating on what one factor may have been that led to smaller numbers many years ago. Again, all I can do is pledge my support to the corps for 2012, and hope other alumni will do the same. Z A Kentucky resident who marched Pioneer. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PioneerWebmaster Posted August 12, 2011 Share Posted August 12, 2011 I am not going to speculate about anything that is going on with Pioneer. I marched Pioneer from 1994-1998. As an alumni of the corps it is time for me to stop saying "what is wrong with the corps", and start saying "what can I do to help the corps". Most people on dcp give their 30 second answer of how Pioneer can be fixed, and then don't think about the corps again until the next thread comes up. I have briefly spoken to Roman a few times this summer and have told him I am ready to help out the corps any way I can in 2012. If they need me to cook, I will cook. If they need me to recruit, I will recruit. More alumni (especially from the 90's) need to step up and start getting their hands dirty in an effort to help the corps. I don't know if "I" can make a difference, but I would bet that me and 20 folks I marched with CAN make a difference. Here's hoping my fellow alumni and I can make the 2012 version of Pioneer a stronger group than the 2011 version. Mike Zerhusen Pioneer bari/euph 94-98 "Better Everyday" ---------------------------------------------------------------------- What was the difference when you marched so they could recruit the numbers? They had it figured out once, what happened? In the 90's there were a lot of things going our way that helped us boost numbers. First of all, you can't discount the competitive nature of the corps back then. Three championships plus a handful of solid appearances in Quarterfinals as a Division II corps made Pioneer a fairly attractive destination for anyone looking for a place to march. We also had a handful of relatively popular staff members from different regions across the country. Those staff members were each able to bring several members from those regions to the corps. Those members then brought a couple more people and the growth naturally occured. However, once those staff members left the corps, the members from that particular region often followed suit fairly quickly. Lastly, Pioneer benefitted on a couple occasions from the unfortunate demise of other corps in the activity. Not saying that we got a lot of members that way, but we opened our doors on more than one occasion to the members of corps that had gone inactive (Wabash Crusaders in 1996 comes to mind). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PioneerWebmaster Posted August 12, 2011 Share Posted August 12, 2011 I am not going to speculate about anything that is going on with Pioneer. I marched Pioneer from 1994-1998. As an alumni of the corps it is time for me to stop saying "what is wrong with the corps", and start saying "what can I do to help the corps". Most people on dcp give their 30 second answer of how Pioneer can be fixed, and then don't think about the corps again until the next thread comes up. I have briefly spoken to Roman a few times this summer and have told him I am ready to help out the corps any way I can in 2012. If they need me to cook, I will cook. If they need me to recruit, I will recruit. More alumni (especially from the 90's) need to step up and start getting their hands dirty in an effort to help the corps. I don't know if "I" can make a difference, but I would bet that me and 20 folks I marched with CAN make a difference. Here's hoping my fellow alumni and I can make the 2012 version of Pioneer a stronger group than the 2011 version. Mike Zerhusen Pioneer bari/euph 94-98 "Better Everyday" I completely agree with Mike on this point. If the corps is going to show signs of improvement, there has to be a significant contribution by the 1,800+ alumni that marched with the corps... Not just from the 90's, but from the entire 50 year history. The alumni response over the past couple months has been interesting to say the least. The 50th Anniversary re-engaged some alumni who had lost touch with, or lost interest in the corps. I got a lot of positive feedback and "thank you for finding me" type responses to communications about the 50th. There's been a lot of positive interest in stepping up to help the corps in one way or another. There are several fundraisers in the works and a few more on the table for discussion. At the same time, there's also been a good number of people that have openly stated that they want nothing to do with the corps based off of the recent history of placement or other factors. They either don't want to make an effort to effect change, or they feel that such efforts will be fruitless (ie. the elephant in the room concept). Lastly there's a whole separate group of alumni that don't nececessarily have anything against Pioneer, but because they went on to age out with another corps... that's where their allegiance lies. They'll root for Pioneer, but any contrabutions that they make (monetary or time) will be towards the corps they aged out from. It's an uphill battle to say the least, but at some point you have to start climbing that hill! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobrien Posted August 12, 2011 Share Posted August 12, 2011 This was a little before my time, but I believe the Boston Crusaders fielded less than 20 horns during at least one of their darker years. I tremble to think what would have happened to you in the parking lot if you suggested they move down to A60. BAC had 25 horns in '79 and placed very respectably at prelims (19th, our of a field of 43. The general consensus had been that if they'd had 45 horns with the same performance abilities, they would have been much higher. Unfortunately I don't see that same level of performance from Pioneer. The corps needs an injection of new blood at the top, and maybe it's time for Roman to step back and allow a new creative direction with the corps. As far as the OC vs WC thing - if they're not careful, they won't have a choice in the matter. If the G7 kerfluffle showed anything, it's that there's a growing sense from those at the top that those in the middle and bottom need to do more to pull their own weight from a competitive and entertainment value, or leave that class if they're not actively trying to do more to increase their viability. Personally I'd ditch the Pioneer name and go back to being The Thing, with a Bridgemen/VK approach to the market. No one else is doing that these days, and it could be a draw for kids who want to do WC but want a different performance style than the 'house brand' seen in the mid levels of WC. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Brace Posted August 12, 2011 Share Posted August 12, 2011 In the 90's there were a lot of things going our way that helped us boost numbers. First of all, you can't discount the competitive nature of the corps back then. Three championships plus a handful of solid appearances in Quarterfinals as a Division II corps made Pioneer a fairly attractive destination for anyone looking for a place to march. We also had a handful of relatively popular staff members from different regions across the country. Those staff members were each able to bring several members from those regions to the corps. Those members then brought a couple more people and the growth naturally occured. However, once those staff members left the corps, the members from that particular region often followed suit fairly quickly. Lastly, Pioneer benefitted on a couple occasions from the unfortunate demise of other corps in the activity. Not saying that we got a lot of members that way, but we opened our doors on more than one occasion to the members of corps that had gone inactive (Wabash Crusaders in 1996 comes to mind). and there was DCM. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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