kickhaltsforlife Posted October 22, 2012 Share Posted October 22, 2012 Stu??? Hi-jack a thread?? BLASPHEMY! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HockeyDad Posted October 22, 2012 Share Posted October 22, 2012 DCI's fault? I guess it must always be. Not DCI's fault? Please explain. This is the attitude that got us here. "Not my problem." Well, okay David Gibbs and George Hopkins et al. I'm not very interested in watching a show of 6 or 7 corps when that's all that remains after all the others have been driven out of existence due to cost. If not DCI, then who will fix this? Or are we still in denial that there's a problem in the first place? Find a way to lower the costs. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HockeyDad Posted October 22, 2012 Share Posted October 22, 2012 Not to say that some of these ideas won't work and aren't valid, but if a corps can sustain the costs of traveling, then they shouldn't be penalized because others cannot. Each corps should find ways of meeting its own needs first and taking care of its own house. I could see where DCI could step in for certain situations to give a helping hand, but the corps must be responsible for themselves. So, to paraphrase, maintain the present way of doing business. How's that workin'? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kdaddy Posted October 22, 2012 Share Posted October 22, 2012 (edited) Are were some wealthy folks with drum corps ties. Edited October 25, 2012 by Toby Political rhetoric removed - TS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corbin Posted October 22, 2012 Share Posted October 22, 2012 (edited) Are some wealthy folks with drum corps ties. If it takes the rich to keep Drum Corps going, though, the activity will surely die. There is no denying that the activity needs to rethink its finances. Edited October 25, 2012 by Toby Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barifonium Posted October 23, 2012 Share Posted October 23, 2012 No, he's just looking (like we all are) for the next Bocook. I think I'm going to cry if Glassmen don't field this season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaos001 Posted October 23, 2012 Share Posted October 23, 2012 So, to paraphrase, maintain the present way of doing business. How's that workin'? Not exactly what I said. And for the corps who can budget appropriately, just fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kdaddy Posted October 23, 2012 Share Posted October 23, 2012 Electronics and amps are marginal expenses in the long run. The biggest burden to drum corps is fuel, which no corps can dictate the price. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but an average night's fill-up for the fleet is easily $5K. After that, food costs are in second place in the budget. I agree that electronics and amps aren't theoretically expensive in the long run. But with high-tech equipment like that, there is no long run. How long does a top corps keep its electronic equipment? I'm guessing not more than a couple years, but I'm not sure. And on the topic of electronics, it's not just the hardware, it's also the talent to go along with it. Designing the set up, but also desgining the use of it. There will always be a design gap between top corps and others that are a few places back, but I suspect that keeping up with that gap is an expensive undertaking. Changes allowing electronics have required lower corps to throw more money at being competitive. (this is not necessarily a bad thing, but it's a thing) But to me, the biggest rule change that would affect lower placing corps is the scale up from 128 to 150 members. Top corps have the revenue stream to handle such a change (e.g., infrastructure, more mouths to feed, perhaps more instructional talent), and the interest of potential members to do so. Of course, the incredible benefit is that many more folks get the experience of marching (since apparently many say "Corps X or bust!" I see the membership total as being the most costly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Never Bb Posted October 23, 2012 Share Posted October 23, 2012 save you from opening the page(link directs to donation page) Dear Alumni, Volunteers, Supporters and Friends of The Glassmen, Now, more than ever, the Glassmen need your help! We are at a tipping point. David Stinson, our Interim Executive Director, has been going through our finances with a fine-toothed comb. Dave, who is working without pay through the end of this calendar year, has determined that we will receive $550,000 from members, DCI appearance fees, and fund-raisers, but our anticipated annual operating budget is over $850,000. This leaves us with a gap of $300,000. We are appealing to you to save our organization. We need to raise the $300,000 before the end of the year, preferably by Thanksgiving, to ensure the corps can get from auditions weekend to the post-season banquet and home again. Dave is confident that with your help, “The Glassmen can overcome our fiscal challenges and field a corps for the 2013 season.” There are many reasons we are in a budget crisis. The primary cause is that our once lucrative Bingo income rapidly declined over the last decade and eventually cost us more to operate than we earned. New fund-raisers have not been as successful or sustainable as we had hoped; and, the cost of fielding a competitive corps in DCI has escalated each year. We have stayed afloat by reducing operating costs, utilizing generous volunteers, and, unfortunately, securing loans. We are now in the process of selling G-East to help offset some of our past debt and move toward operating within our means. That is a brief explanation of why we need you. The Glassmen is not the board, nor a past or future director, nor the color guard, the drum line, or the horns. The Glassmen is us...all of us, and we must come together to save it. If we are successful, then, just as it was for you, The Glassmen will continue to be a life changing organization for many young men and women to come. Giving to The Glassmen will be taking action to make the world a better place. Past and present drum corps participants and supporters know that the life lessons they learned endures well beyond the show. The young women and men who march off that field understand that no job is too difficult or too hard; that there are rewards for working longer and harder; and, that a life of purpose and integrity transcends the activity. Let’s work together to make this opportunity available for future generations of young people who want the experience of a lifetime! Please consider donating today. We thank you in advance for giving as much as you possibly can to save our cherished Drum Corps. Sincerely, Tom Sink, President Board of Directors Glassmen, Inc. October 20, 2012 DONATE NOW "We need to raise the $300,000 before the end of the year, preferably by Thanksgiving, to ensure the corps can get from auditions weekend to the post-season banquet and home again." Seems to me that if an organization is in such debt, why would they not suspend the pot-season banquet to save money? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Freedman Posted October 23, 2012 Share Posted October 23, 2012 "We need to raise the $300,000 before the end of the year, preferably by Thanksgiving, to ensure the corps can get from auditions weekend to the post-season banquet and home again." Seems to me that if an organization is in such debt, why would they not suspend the pot-season banquet to save money? If there is a banquet, maybe the attendees are paying their own way? I don't remember how this worked in the Pleistocene era when I was in a corps, but at the non-drum corps banquets I've been to we've had to pay our own way. The corps could actually raise money there with a 50-50 or something. Especially now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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