The benefits of a Drum & Bugle Corps to the community

[Shempy]

Hey, DCPlaneteers,

I'm giving a presentation soon as part of a course I'm taking. In this presentation, I'm assuming the role of a representative of a fictitious start-up Drum & Bugle Corps looking for community support from a City Council board. I wanted to get the opinions of some more experienced people in the Drum Corps activity on what direct benefits to a community a Drum Corps (all-age or junior corps) can bring, be they artistic community-centered, public notoriety, etc.

I understand there's been a lot of talk lately on the forum of the transition between the "gold old days" of local corps to the kind of national or regional roles taken on by the majority of Top 12 corps, but I'm looking for opinions in a general sense.

Thanks!

[BRASSO]

Hey, DCPlaneteers,

I'm giving a presentation soon as part of a course I'm taking. In this presentation, I'm assuming the role of a representative of a fictitious start-up Drum & Bugle Corps looking for community support from a City Council board. I wanted to get the opinions of some more experienced people in the Drum Corps activity on what direct benefits to a community a Drum Corps (all-age or junior corps) can bring, be they artistic community-centered, public notoriety, etc.

I understand there's been a lot of talk lately on the forum of the transition between the "gold old days" of local corps to the kind of national or regional roles taken on by the majority of Top 12 corps, but I'm looking for opinions in a general sense.

Thanks!

What sort of " support " are you looking to receive from your presentation to " The City Council " ? .... City budget allocation Financial " support " ?.... facilities in city ( ie,use of field stadium ) utilization " support " ?....... Permits " support " ?, etc.... What exactly are you looking for " the City Council " to do for your start up Corps ? Once we know this, maybe we could provide some input.

Edited April 24, 2013 by BRASSO

[Shempy]

What sort of " support " are you looking to receive from your presentation to " The City Council " ? .... City budget allocation Financial " support " ?.... facilities in city ( ie,use of field stadium ) utilization " support " ?....... Permits " support " ?, etc.... What exactly are you looking for " the City Council " to do for your start up Corps ? Once we know this, maybe we could provide some input.

Any type of support. Financial (whether from the city itself or from personal donors), volunteers, &c.

But that's not the crux of this. My job is to convince people of the benefits of such an organization to people and the community at large. The business side of it is a bit too unwieldy to get across in the time allotted for this (bear in mind, fictitious) presentation. My request to you is to give me what you think are the benefits to a community from your own experience in the activity.

Sorry if any of this is confusing.

[KeithHall]

Benefits? Are there any? Does the city of Santa Clara attract people because of the Vanguard? The only thing they may be able to help you on is....gee I don't know. Our hometown really didn't care to much for our corps and as you can see in the state of NY the cities were of no help to keep corps going because all the junior corps are gone.

Any type of support. Financial (whether from the city itself or from personal donors), volunteers, &c.

But that's not the crux of this. My job is to convince people of the benefits of such an organization to people and the community at large. The business side of it is a bit too unwieldy to get across in the time allotted for this (bear in mind, fictitious) presentation. My request to you is to give me what you think are the benefits to a community from your own experience in the activity.

Sorry if any of this is confusing.

[BRASSO]

Any type of support. Financial (whether from the city itself or from personal donors), volunteers, &c.

But that's not the crux of this. My job is to convince people of the benefits of such an organization to people and the community at large. The business side of it is a bit too unwieldy to get across in the time allotted for this (bear in mind, fictitious) presentation. My request to you is to give me what you think are the benefits to a community from your own experience in the activity.

Sorry if any of this is confusing.

Is your " community based " Drum Corps going to be primarily taking in marchers from within the community or from beyond the community ? It is a key question to know the answer to, imo before proceeding with any tips in your presentation. People in a local community are much more inclined within that community to provide you support if your Corps is going to be truly " community based ". If your Corps intends to be taking in marchers from outside the community then your outreach for support needs to replicate that, and the " support " you are seeking will have to be much broader, ie region wide, national wide, international wide, not just to a local " City Council " or some such.

Edited April 24, 2013 by BRASSO

[BRASSO]

as you can see in the state of NY the cities were of no help to keep corps going because all the junior corps are gone.

Some of the loss of local support was the fault of the Corps too, if we are honest about it.

Corps, in their quest to move up and get better, all began to not restrict their memberships to just the parish... or the Veterans group memberships... or the community. They began to go outside the community for marchers, and naturally this coincided with the progression of the lack of vigor in the support of the Corps by the local community, or the local church parish. Asking a local organization for the continued support of your Corps naturally becomes fraught with problems when it is quickly determined that hardly anybody in the neighborhood, parish, or community is in the Corps anymore.

Edited April 24, 2013 by BRASSO

[MarimbasaurusRex]

Assuming this is intended as a community based and community serving organization...

Providing entertainment and pageantry for civic events.

Providing a means for young people to better direct their energies and talents for a common good.

Providing music education.

Providing lessons in civic responsibility and good citizenship for it's members.

Providing general community service.

These are all things drum corps USED to do, and still could.

[msumello]

well years ago when i was in high school we had our largest marching band number of 70 members, and our city was Cassville Missouri, sometimes called city of the 7 hills,sometimes we would have extra practices and play during the evening and the sound from the 70 players bounced off all those hills and people couldn't tell where it was coming from. One time the next day at school we had 2 or three letters come in, one was a thank you from "sonic" if you can believe it, a lot of the older folks who would regularly sit in their cars , wanted to hear more music so they sat in the picnic seating and ordered more deserts so they could listen. There were people that just stood around on our square and window shopped so they could continue to hear us, meaning they saw more in the windows and went in and bought more......You take 70 high school players and turn them into a professional corps of 150 players....I guarantee people will want to listen, and take more time outside whether to shop or visit with others on the street. I don't know if that helps any but when a group as special and talented as a drum corps are practicing or traveling through a town people take notice. If it's a small town like Cassville with only 2000 people in it, a sense of pride will develop and ultimately may help fine arts budgets for their local high schools

[BRASSO]

Assuming this is intended as a community based and community serving organization...

Providing entertainment and pageantry for civic events.

Providing a means for young people to better direct their energies and talents for a common good.

Providing music education.

Providing lessons in civic responsibility and good citizenship for it's members.

Providing general community service.

These are all things drum corps USED to do, and still could.

These are good " sellling points " for the presentation, imo.

If the community has issues of crime, gangs, etc among its youth, I might add the benefits of the potential of lowing crime in the community and providing potentially troubled kids with needed structure, supervision, discipline, purpose, direction, motivation, positive adult role modeling, teamwork, sense of pride in themselves, others, the community, etc.For example, if a young person has no Father present, and is being brought up by a single Mom,... particularly in a community with high rates of crime and gang participation, a Drum Corps can be a Godsend to the both of them in their community, imo. This is not speculation nor conjecture. We know it to be so.

Edited April 24, 2013 by BRASSO

[normy diploome]

Who one of us in drum corps doesn't now know that one of the Stevens family is the Mayor of the Village of Rosemont, Illinois? That Rev-vear-ah is a suburb of Boston, Mass.? That Gah-field is in New Joisey? That Bayonne has a Bridge? and that The Troopers represent Casper, Wyoming?

One of the benefits of a drum corps to the local politicians on the City Council is publicity, more publicity, and sometimes even benefits to the Chamber of Commerce. We know how to enjoy the Four Lakes of Madison, Wisconsin, the favorite ice cream stops and eateries near our favorite shows, pierogies and franks in Allentown, brats in the Midwest, and tacos in Texas. The examples here seem limitless. It is a way to bring community pride to the larger world and for the larger world to touch positively the members of the local unit.

To the kids, it is a path to friendships, core values, a larger sense of community/fine arts/history/traditions. To a complex and complicated world that sometimes seems out of control, it is a path to structure and team for the sake of the common good, the contribution of the individual as important as the good of the group, and the opportunity to strive for excellence in the activity and in all aspects of life. Just some quick thoughts.