3rd Glasgow BB Posted July 11, 2012 Share Posted July 11, 2012 I can say as a parent, I would be totally ticked off at the corps management for even considering putting my kid on the road when they knew full well that there would be finacial problems. did they? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted July 11, 2012 Share Posted July 11, 2012 The parents are 100% justified, but there probably were better venues AND more constructive ways to express their concerns than how a select few chose to handle themselves (and continue to handle themselves). yes and no. Some public disclosure can be good. public hysteria is a different thing 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted July 11, 2012 Share Posted July 11, 2012 That was exactly my point... someone said that the facebook was "easy" communication. but you need two people to communicate and since the admin would NEVER respond seriously on the comment section it makes for a poor place to "communicate" with the admin. from what I am seeing there, it seems admin isn't communicating in general other than airport drop times. That would have me a little stir crazy. I realize they may be involved in phone calls etc about other things, but it seems communication could be a little more out going Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted July 11, 2012 Share Posted July 11, 2012 Soon the why's, what's, who's & where's will become known to all. In the mean time before the truth is known I have a great idea... In true DCP tradition why don't we make up a bunch of stuff, gather up all the townsfolk, grab our pitch forks and some of those fire on stick things then go have ourselves a good old fashioned hanging? alot of people trash this place, but DCp has behaved relatively well about this. Sure questions have been asked, and maybe some sketchy info has been said, but it's nothing near like people claim this place to be. Then again, the people thatbash this place read it daily 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dstemet Posted July 11, 2012 Share Posted July 11, 2012 According to FB ... 2 guard age-outs to the Colts - Colts even picked them up from the airport the Teal busses dropped them off at. 10 members to the Glassmen Well they did pick up some kids from the airport, but I'm currently in the car with the 2 guard age outs headed to Davenport:) 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NYCFan Posted July 11, 2012 Share Posted July 11, 2012 ANY corps that takes off on their first trip, without knowing FOR CERTAIN that they will complete the Tour safely and within budget, is simply mismanaged. And this kind of thing reflects poorly on the entire activity. AJMHO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cowtown Posted July 11, 2012 Share Posted July 11, 2012 It’s a drag, a lot of disappointment and I’m sure a lot of tears Not the lesson anyone signed up for but part of life and a lesson none the less Pick yourself up and try again, no sense licking wounds Good luck to all the good people in this 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim K Posted July 11, 2012 Share Posted July 11, 2012 Lots of folks have suggested DCI should be auditing books etc. Even if the member corps were willing, that's a lot of work and a lot of expense on DCI's part. Hiring accountants to give the books a serious once-over for more than a trivial number of corps would be incredibly expensive. And imposing a rule on the corps that they must pay for their own audits by external groups would also surely be too costly to consider. But just to toss out an idea here, could DCI require corps to make good-faith estimates of tour expenses, and then to deposit some reasonable percentage that would be expected of corps to have on hand at the beginning of the season of the cash required for tour in an escrow-type account overseen (though not controlled) by DCI. Then there could be weekly transfers from the escrow account to the corps' operating accounts on the pre-arranged expense schedule (eg, more can come out in weeks with more travel, etc), and further a stipulation that if the account ever gets to a level of X dollars, the tour would have to end (where X is the number of dollars required to get all the kids home safely). If the corps couldn't come up with the 40% or 50% cash requirement by the deadline, they could have their tour pre-emptively cancelled by DCI instead. I have no idea how corps' cash flows typically actually operate--how much they rely on souvie/donation/show fees to keep things running--so I don't know if this is even remotely a reasonable demand to place on corps, though I would expect that they should be most cash-rich around early May and spend most of their money from May through August, so the timing of setting up the account would be correct. Regardless, there ought to be some percentage of dollars that *would* be reasonable to expect them to have on hand ahead of time, and requiring them to deposit the cash into an account DCI can see the balance of would provide a way of "auditing" the books without having to audit any books. You have some excellent points. DCI could require corps to be audited and DCI need not pick up the expense. In proportion to an annual budget, it's not that costly. I am the pastor of a Catholic church. The budget of the parish which includes the church and activities, school, and early childhood center is about $2.5 million, the cost of the audit is $5K. Very often non-profits: churches, schools, and social service agencies have to have an audit by an approved auditor determined by the supervisory or parent organization. For example a church could require that all parishes in the area have an audit, Company X ore Y must do the audit, and report back to the supervisory body. The organization itself picks up the expense. I know it is an extra burden on corps that are barely getting by, but in this day and age where fiscal transparency is so important, it gives the organization credibility with both parents and corporate donors. What DCI can and if it's not already doing so should do, is provide corps with good fiscal models of how a drum corps should be financed, tips and help with short term fund raising and long term development (endowments, cash reserves, etc.), and guidance in selecting and growing a board of directors that not only advises a corps but helps a corps become what it wants to be. Perhaps this already happens. If it's not, it should happen soon. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimF-LowBari Posted July 11, 2012 Share Posted July 11, 2012 ANY corps that takes off on their first trip, without knowing FOR CERTAIN that they will complete the Tour safely and within budget, is simply mismanaged. And this kind of thing reflects poorly on the entire activity. AJMHO Nothing is for certain anymore..... gas cost spikes, accidents/breakdowns with equipment/vehicles/etc, unforeseen problems (ie bus company problems), weather disasters, theft, lower income than expected from sales, even lawsuits for valid or invalid reasons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeffe77 Posted July 11, 2012 Share Posted July 11, 2012 Nothing is for certain? What about Insurance or backup $$?? If you listen to Dave Ramsey , he talks about emergency fund, couldn't it apply here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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