Glassmen News?

[MisterA]

Wait a min all....do not feel sorry for us..i marched from 74-76...the year we went inactive do to finance reasons....we have been there done that. The alumni brought the Glassmen back then and we will do it again....as far as Dan goes...his last year with the Glassmen Family we finished 8th...there was a time with Dan that we were going to go inactive do to lack of members we had 50 at the time....to even whisper Dan had anything to do with us moving into 5th because he was Dci director at the time is very disrespectful to the Glassmen Family..

I'll be honest, I do feel bad for young adults who may have had their heart set on marching Glassmen, and now may never get that chance. It is 150 spots that are no longer available for the entire group of potential corps members. And I really hope the alumni can bring Glassmen back once again. And I meant no disrespect towards the Glassmen, but the rumors about Dan and the 2 wealthy women were strongly circulating, and mentioned because I was reflecting upon the history of the Glassmen. I believe those rumors circulated because of the 99 season when Glassmen beat the Madison Scouts to make top 5. But to be honest, I think that says something great about the Glassmen, as it means the corps was doing very well, otherwise people wouldn't have been threatened by their placement. But everyone knows how political DCI has and always will be.

[Lead]

I believe those rumors circulated because of the 99 season when Glassmen beat the Madison Scouts to make top 5.

Not to nitpick, but that was '98 when Glassmen finished 5th (ahead of 6th place Madison) for the first time.

Between 1998-2000, the Glassmen beat EVERY corps in DCI - with the exception of Blue Devils and Cadets - at one point or another during the season. It truly was a great time for the corps.

[MisterA]

Not to nitpick, but that was '98 when Glassmen finished 5th (ahead of 6th place Madison) for the first time.

Between 1998-2000, the Glassmen beat EVERY corps in DCI - with the exception of Blue Devils and Cadets - at one point or another during the season. It truly was a great time for the corps.

I know Glassmen beat Madison in 98, but in 99 when Madison did Jesus Christ Superstar, most people thought Scouts should have beaten Glassmen. That is when the interesting rumors started spreading.

[kevingamin]

There was a 25-ish member Alumni ensemble that performed in the SoundSport show. They did a pretty nice job, with a good soprano and baritone soloist and some old Glassmen tunes for music selections (I think they did Just a Gigolo and Nights in White Satin). Would have been nice to see a 50+ member group of G-Alums, though.

For the record, the baritone soloist was me.

This was our first year out as an alumni ensemble and, considering we only started rehearsing at the end of April, we did pretty darn good in terms of size and performance level. We are planning on coming back for 2014, especially now that the corps itself has declared bankruptcy, so watch out for more news on the GAE.

[HoltonH178]

The corps Administration and Board racked up over $300,000 in debt. They did this thinking only about the utopian performance side while neglecting the reality business side. Then when reality reached critical mass it was too late; they finally woke up out of the dream of utopia and discovered that they could not generate enough revenue to cover the massive debt let alone contiune to field a corps; thus the Chapter 7 was necessary and not mystifying. I feel bad for two groups of people: 1) The youth performers; and 2) The adults that they owe all that debt to who are now getting hosed by the Chapter 7.

Okay, yes, there is this surface answer.

But the truth is that there are many opportunities, some of which i personally furnished, for the corps to begin a process of digging itself out of this position.

The Glassmen brand has considerable valuable to this day within our activity. The boards perpetual inactivity, refusal to engage in serious fundraising opportunities, and general all-around malaise was far more responsible for this than the economic situation that was revealed in the fall of 2012.

There were (and are) many individuals who were thoroughly committed to furthering the organization, if only the board had been willing to engage.

It seems to me that there was compelling motivation to file for bankruptcy all along, and the long slide to this swamp of failure yielded only the "Glassmen Twirlers," an organization rendered by an immediate family member of a board person.

Comparing this with a multi-thousand fundraising opportunity, partnerships with scholastic and charity organizations willing to assist the organization, leaves me with a sick feeling in my stomach.

I am mystified why so little was done in the effort to prevent this ultimate, abysmal fate. The board clamped down, quietly, did next to nothing for two years, and did not actively engage at any point the myriad opportunities that members served up on a silver platter.

Things did not have to end this way. I am mystified as to why the board let it happen. I am mystified as to why more was not done. I am, truthfully, angry and the board for squandering the efforts of hundreds of alumni who created cookbooks, reached out to their resources for the sake of this corps, only to have the board continue to fiddle-fuddle and let a 60 year legacy that meant so much to so many go out with a whimper.

The only good thing I can glean from this occurrence is that the board will no longer be able to send its alumni down misguided paths and wild good chases. For shame.

[Stu]

Okay, yes, there is this surface answer.

But the truth is that there are many opportunities, some of which i personally furnished, for the corps to begin a process of digging itself out of this position.

The Glassmen brand has considerable valuable to this day within our activity. The boards perpetual inactivity, refusal to engage in serious fundraising opportunities, and general all-around malaise was far more responsible for this than the economic situation that was revealed in the fall of 2012.

There were (and are) many individuals who were thoroughly committed to furthering the organization, if only the board had been willing to engage.

It seems to me that there was compelling motivation to file for bankruptcy all along, and the long slide to this swamp of failure yielded only the "Glassmen Twirlers," an organization rendered by an immediate family member of a board person.

Comparing this with a multi-thousand fundraising opportunity, partnerships with scholastic and charity organizations willing to assist the organization, leaves me with a sick feeling in my stomach.

I am mystified why so little was done in the effort to prevent this ultimate, abysmal fate. The board clamped down, quietly, did next to nothing for two years, and did not actively engage at any point the myriad opportunities that members served up on a silver platter.

Things did not have to end this way. I am mystified as to why the board let it happen. I am mystified as to why more was not done. I am, truthfully, angry and the board for squandering the efforts of hundreds of alumni who created cookbooks, reached out to their resources for the sake of this corps, only to have the board continue to fiddle-fuddle and let a 60 year legacy that meant so much to so many go out with a whimper.

The only good thing I can glean from this occurrence is that the board will no longer be able to send its alumni down misguided paths and wild good chases. For shame.

Again, there is no need to be mystified. The Glassmen over the past few years were administrated by a mentality which was similar to, and caused, the demise of organizations like Teal Sound, Revolution, Forte, the reincarnation of VK, and the plethora of other corps. What many in the activity fail to understand, and actually ‘hate’, is that drum corps are actually businesses which must be run as businesses by business minded directors not by the artistic performance minded. The best way to look out for the kids is for the adults in charge to be fiscally responsible, not by placing performance above all else. And we are not talking just a financial short-fall here; but a complete and utter neglect of looking out for the best interest and survivability of the organization by making the financial stability priority number one.

(This fiscal irresponsibility which permeates the drum corps activity is what really ticks me off; far above any disagreements we may have on things like amplification or Bb vs G)

Edited December 4, 2013 by Stu

[bill]

Okay, yes, there is this surface answer.

But the truth is that there are many opportunities, some of which i personally furnished, for the corps to begin a process of digging itself out of this position.

The Glassmen brand has considerable valuable to this day within our activity. The boards perpetual inactivity, refusal to engage in serious fundraising opportunities, and general all-around malaise was far more responsible for this than the economic situation that was revealed in the fall of 2012.

There were (and are) many individuals who were thoroughly committed to furthering the organization, if only the board had been willing to engage.

It seems to me that there was compelling motivation to file for bankruptcy all along, and the long slide to this swamp of failure yielded only the "Glassmen Twirlers," an organization rendered by an immediate family member of a board person.

Comparing this with a multi-thousand fundraising opportunity, partnerships with scholastic and charity organizations willing to assist the organization, leaves me with a sick feeling in my stomach.

I am mystified why so little was done in the effort to prevent this ultimate, abysmal fate. The board clamped down, quietly, did next to nothing for two years, and did not actively engage at any point the myriad opportunities that members served up on a silver platter.

Things did not have to end this way. I am mystified as to why the board let it happen. I am mystified as to why more was not done. I am, truthfully, angry and the board for squandering the efforts of hundreds of alumni who created cookbooks, reached out to their resources for the sake of this corps, only to have the board continue to fiddle-fuddle and let a 60 year legacy that meant so much to so many go out with a whimper.

The only good thing I can glean from this occurrence is that the board will no longer be able to send its alumni down misguided paths and wild good chases. For shame.

Why wasn't the board (all or in part) removed and replaced?

[perc2100]

The corps Administration and Board racked up over $300,000 in debt. They did this thinking only about the utopian performance side while neglecting the reality business side. Then when reality reached critical mass it was too late; they finally woke up out of the dream of utopia and discovered that they could not generate enough revenue to cover the massive debt let alone contiune to field a corps; thus the Chapter 7 was necessary and not mystifying. I feel bad for two groups of people: 1) The youth performers; and 2) The adults that they owe all that debt to who are now getting hosed by the Chapter 7.

Sadly, a common story in this activity over the decades

[MikeD]

Again, there is no need to be mystified. The Glassmen over the past few years were administrated by a mentality which was similar to, and caused, the demise of organizations like Teal Sound, Revolution, Forte, the reincarnation of VK, and the plethora of other corps. What many in the activity fail to understand, and actually ‘hate’, is that drum corps are actually businesses which must be run as businesses by business minded directors not by the artistic performance minded. The best way to look out for the kids is for the adults in charge to be fiscally responsible, not by placing performance above all else. And we are not talking just a financial short-fall here; but a complete and utter neglect of looking out for the best interest and survivability of the organization by making the financial stability priority number one.

(This fiscal irresponsibility which permeates the drum corps activity is what really ticks me off; far above any disagreements we may have on things like amplification or Bb vs G)

Stu,

You and I disagree on LOTS of stuff, but I absolutely agree with this post 1000%.

[tesmusic]

Why wasn't the board (all or in part) removed and replaced?

This is a great question.

In the fall of 2000, after a slip in placements the BOD of the Madison Scouts fired Scott Stewart, and at a meeting in October, the board was replaced, and Scott brought back in as director. This did have to do with the way non-profits are run in Wisconsin.

I am sure that in the corps by-laws and/or the state mandates on non-profits would provide a vehicle for alumni and supporters to move away from the current BOD.