G7 Update

[Gary Matczak]

So... if I understand this correctly, in your opinion, the Corps Directors of the G7 bear no responsibility to this situation with their MM's in their Corps ?.... just the fans in the stands bear this reponsibility to the MM's in the G7 Corps Directors Corps ? Do I understand this correctly ?

you beat me to it,.........

[N.E. Brigand]

The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.

Yeah, my first thought on reading the e-mail was

.

[whitedawn]

You may have a bias that is coloring your opinion - which is fine - but I don't think your connotation about attendance reflects the "fly-over" country.

Of course, my bias may be that all shows are like ours, which is clearly not the case.

Yeah, it is completely un-provable and unknowable.

I suspect that many here would say, "YEAH, WELL I'LL GO TO ANY DCI SHOW!," but "many here" are not a representative sample of a drum corps show audience.

My sense is that the thing that attracts bus loads of band kids to DCI shows is the band director's desire to demonstrate what can be achieved at the activity's highest levels. The underlying issue is that in most cases, the achievement level of the non-MIM corps is not entirely awe-inspiring. In many cases, these corps are not markedly better than the high school programs, if rehearsal time were equal.

I'm thinking that the disparity in the products would eventually lead to atrophy of the DCI groups and organization. Just my hunch.

[Lead]

Here's a suggestion for the BOD.

7 members.

There were 35 corps in 2012 Prelims.

Each grouping of 5 (based on competitive results) may elect one representative to become a member of the DCI BOD.

1-5 = 1 rep

6-10 = 1 rep

11-15 = 1 rep

etc.

Make sure the entire competitive body of DCI is represented in the BOD.

[skywhopper]

I'm not going to debate the argument that these same directors have not helped themselves by pushing the activity to a state where it costs millions of dollars annually to compete at the highest level for a Championship. But to suggest that this is a super well thought out and executed plan masterminded by guys who can barely formulate cohesive grammatically correct/good spelling word documents is kinda funny

Agreed. This is the result of some guys who got bored with drum corps but were too afraid that they couldn't make it in the broader arts world that they tried to turn drum corps into something more like what they wanted to be doing. Considering the costs was never part of the equation, which is why they've gone nowhere but up.

[Fran Haring]

If you create an organization and the board is not aligned with the strategic vision of the organization as set out by the CEO, you're ####ed. Really.

The job of the board is not really to create the course or steer the ship. It is pretty much to make sure it doesn't hit rocks, docks in all the right places, makes enough money from the time in port and that the captain that manages successful journeys is well taken care of.

Good points.

The classic job description for a BOD... in any organization... is "advice, consent, and raising money."

[Fran Haring]

Not quite. Drum corps in DCI has gotten much more expensive because the costs involved in travel have skyrocketed. Bus rental, fuel cost, and insurance are FAR greater than salaries and equipment costs.

Really, it's not even close.

What John said.

Those are huge factors.

[Cavie74]

My wife has been trying for years to make me more of a " kitchen cleaner ". I'm a work in progress.

For all you youngin's, back in the day Brasso was used to polish your cymbals before every show. I've left tarnish circles on sidewalks from Boston to Denver over my four years with the Cavaliers.

[N.E. Brigand]

Good points.

The classic job description for a BOD... in any organization... is "advice, consent, and raising money."

But DCI, as opposed to the individual corps, is generally understood --and maybe this is the problem-- as operating differently than a typical non-profit.

For instance: I work at a non-profit theatre. It is perfectly normal in that field for an organization's board to have 50 or more members, to whom the staff (in the person of the artistic and/or managing director(s)) is ultimately answerable. However, most of the board isn't involved in day-to-day affairs. The board members aren't people who work in the field: they are local wealthy or well-connected people who feel theatre is worth supporting. It is understood that one of their primary obligations as board members is to "give/get" a significant amount of money to/for the organization every year (say $25,000 each). They also serve on committees that help steer the organization in broad terms. But only the handful of members on the "executive committee" and the "finance committee" vote on anything of importance more than once a year.

Now while I would expect any given corps to be similarly organized, DCI is an umbrella organization for other non-profits. Its members have a financial interest in its decisions. There is a rough parallel in theatre. Regional theatres across the country (about 80 of them) are members of the "League of Resident Theatres". It has a staff of two. The theatres pay dues to that organization and get services from it. (Primarily legal advice related to collective bargaining-agreements between LoRT and the performing artist unions.) The theatres are divided into classes based on their income: A+, A, B+, B, C, D. Those classes each vote on members to represent them on LORT's executive committee. I suppose the proposal of the "7" would be like the A+ and A theatres demanding that they control all the votes.

Not sure if I can make anything useful of this rambling. Anyway, I agree with Daniel that a smaller decision-making body would be less unwieldy, but I don't see how that groups is not selected by the total membership.

[N.E. Brigand]

Not quite. Drum corps in DCI has gotten much more expensive because the costs involved in travel have skyrocketed. Bus rental, fuel cost, and insurance are FAR greater than salaries and equipment costs.

Really, it's not even close.

Undoubtedly true. But how much of the increase in travel costs is due to a national touring model?