gbass598 Posted August 20, 2012 Share Posted August 20, 2012 I know the Troopers had financial issues and regrouped for sucessful return to the field. I also recall Phantom Regiment having some issues in the late 90's/early 00's and they seemed to recover. How did these corps do it? How can these corps survive each year and not drive themselves into deep debt? Or are there several corps out there that are struggling heavily financially and they aren't telling anyone? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Powell Posted August 20, 2012 Share Posted August 20, 2012 This is actually a great question for a great conversation. Many corps have or do have financial issues. I marched a corps that had issues in the late eighties early nineties. They even took a year off after I aged out. Some corps cannot make it at all, example would be the TEAL issue earlier this year. Corps go through bankruptcies, change names, change locations, and so on. Some Examples of this that I can think of would be (Spirit of Atlanta, Spirit of Georgia, Spirit of JSU, Spirit, Spirit of Atlanta), (Garfield Cadets, The Cadets, Cadets of Bergan County, Cadets, Holyname Cadets - not sure if this was done for legal reasons), The Crossmen moved during a re-org. There are a few Florida corps that could not survive. Countless others across the country that have folded. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c mor Posted August 20, 2012 Share Posted August 20, 2012 This is actually a great question for a great conversation. Many corps have or do have financial issues. I marched a corps that had issues in the late eighties early nineties. They even took a year off after I aged out. So, you drove them into bankruptcy? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hashmarkpainter Posted August 20, 2012 Share Posted August 20, 2012 You cannot depend on souvi sales to survive. Yes the BIG corps have thousands of dollar in sales of souvi items. But, they also have a larger fan base than the smaller/newer corps. I bet that most of the non top 8 corps barely break even, or maybe make a small profit at the end of the season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baja Posted August 20, 2012 Share Posted August 20, 2012 I know the Troopers had financial issues and regrouped for sucessful return to the field. I also recall Phantom Regiment having some issues in the late 90's/early 00's and they seemed to recover. How did these corps do it? How can these corps survive each year and not drive themselves into deep debt? Or are there several corps out there that are struggling heavily financially and they aren't telling anyone?[/b] My guess is yes and I doubt if they will make it public or noone would show up for tryouts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Powell Posted August 20, 2012 Share Posted August 20, 2012 So, you drove them into bankruptcy? to much peanut butter I guess. :rolleyes: Actually, I did not march my ageout ('92) because I saw some of the management issues first hand. That was my personal decision. The corps was inactive in 94, other corps absorbed some of those members and there has been a rebuild ever since. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldBones Posted August 20, 2012 Share Posted August 20, 2012 Drum corps must be run like a business. If not, their fate will be that of Teal, Forte, Revo and countless corps in the past. Every corps needs a financial infrastructure. Tour fees and dues should not be the major financial source for any corps. Year round fundraising must be implemented, whether its grants or gifts, bingo, running a business (several corps run multiple businesses), alumni, golf outings, shows, etc. Unless a corps has a Bill Cook in their organization. That's, the only way a corps will survive in todays world. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeD Posted August 20, 2012 Share Posted August 20, 2012 ... (Garfield Cadets, The Cadets, Cadets of Bergan County, Cadets, Holyname Cadets - not sure if this was done for legal reasons) Holy Name Cadets first...then Garfield Cadets, then Cadets of Garfield for one year in 1971, then back to Garfield Cadets, then Cadets of Bergen County, then The Cadets, then Holy Name Cadets (2009 only), and back to The Cadets. The 2009 change was in honor of the 75th anniversary of the founding of the corps in 1934 by the Holy Name Church...and part of the successful effort to reconnect to the church a bit. The corps does a ceremony there just prior to the start of the season now...it is posted someplace. , The Crossmen moved during a re-org. They lucked out that when YEA! decided they could no longer afford to operate two WC corps, the band director from Ronald Reagan HS in Texas took them on and moved them. Otherwise, they would have folded, most likely (IMO). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c mor Posted August 20, 2012 Share Posted August 20, 2012 to much peanut butter I guess. :rolleyes: I knew it !! We should start a campaign to force corps to limit their pb consumption to 1 Tbl per sandwich. Then, they would be able to afford their pit equipment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Powell Posted August 20, 2012 Share Posted August 20, 2012 Holy Name Cadets first...then Garfield Cadets, then Cadets of Garfield for one year in 1971, then back to Garfield Cadets, then Cadets of Bergen County, then The Cadets, then Holy Name Cadets (2009 only), and back to The Cadets. The 2009 change was in honor of the 75th anniversary of the founding of the corps in 1934 by the Holy Name Church...and part of the successful effort to reconnect to the church a bit. The corps does a ceremony there just prior to the start of the season now...it is posted someplace. They lucked out that when YEA! decided they could no longer afford to operate two WC corps, the band director from Ronald Reagan HS in Texas took them on and moved them. Otherwise, they would have folded, most likely (IMO). Thanks, I knew the Holy Name was first and the 75th change. Were any of other name changes due to financial status. I know they had a rocky spell during the 80s and 90s but they managed to stay on top competitively. The Cadets would probably make a great resource on HOW TO and HOW NOT TO survive in this game. For some reason I remember the K-Mart Cadets but that might be drum corps urban legend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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