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Legends 2018 as test case (read on)


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It is not something just one Corps could do, but if somehow the regional associations (like Drum Corps Midwest (DCM)) could come back that could provide an alternative to the current on-tour-all-summer model.  We had shows every weekend from early June through late August, all within 200 miles of Chicago.  Some of you may recall the DCM schedule on the back page of each issue of drum Corps World.  But DCI killed DCM.

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1) Cease all performance operations. Talk directly to Dan at DCI or a designated DCI representative throughout this entire process. Make a public announcement in multiple media outlets thanking the supporters and praising the youth; state that we feel it is in the best interest of the youth that the corps becomes more solid in the aspects of business procedures so there will be a short hiatus, and state that there will be consistent updates as we move forward.

2) Tie up any loose ends, put out any fires that are smoldering. And if required to right the financial ship, liquidate some assets to pay off any outstanding debt.

3) Set down with the Board and construct a plan to learn from others who have turned around organizations, as well as learn from those who currently have great business models. Then for the next two months or so have the Corps Director with one or two Board Members seek direct consultations from the directors and boards of those organizations. And construct a business model based on those consultations. (at the end of this process do a public media update)

4) Hiring someone at this juncture who is competent at Development is not an option, a person who can do this with efficiency and quality would cost too much.  So, create an Advisory Body connected to the Board, and secure a successful Development person, a successful CPA, a successful business owner, etc as Advisors (not music arts people but business people interested in the arts). And follow their advice to begin to righting the ship! (make another media update after a month or so)

5) Do nothing with performance, nothing, until the ship is seaworthy. Once the ship is righted, once the finances are in order, once you have quality staff for the youth education, once you have confidence that you can restart the program with quality at all levels, and once you have an emergency  contingency fixed in place, make a public announcement bullet pointing what has been accomplished and announce that you are going to hold auditions for… a small SoundSport ensemble.

6) Only do things with that small ensemble which will keep you in the financial black; make that small group successful not only in performance but in all aspects; especially staying in the financial black. (and continue to making media updates)

7) Grow the ensemble only at a rate you can stay in the black while maintaining high performance quality; request a move into OC only when you can open the books to DCI with transparency and prove that you are now operating with responsible business practices and can afford the move (this will also apply when a request is made to move from OC into WC); and make sure that the poor business decisions that happened prior to item 1 never happen again.  And when it is financially feasible, hire that Development Director! (oh, and continue the media updates)

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8 minutes ago, Stu said:

So, create an Advisory Body connected to the Board, and secure a successful Development person, a successful CPA, a successful business owner, etc as Advisors (not music arts people but business people interested in the arts). And follow their advice to begin to righting the ship! (make another media update after a month or so)

This and other similar suggestions is one of the important items.

In addition, always a risk in managing these organizations is becoming too captured by alumni, or alumni pressure. It can inhibit smart business thinking - as well as the kinds of change and innovation necessary to adjust to the shifting landscape of the drum corps field. Alumni passion and support are essential, and truly highly valued. But boards, executives, and alumni need to be able to recognize their critical roles are distinct. (And someone needs to keep communicating that distinction in a positive, engaging way.) Balance is important. I'd favor overweighting a bit with people who know financing, management, and operations.

I am not knowledgeable enough to assert this forcefully, so will do so meekly: This might be at least one of the issues facing Madison management.

And I have seen small education institutions fail to grow and evolve because alumni in administration and dominating the board are simply not experienced professionals in higher education. Or are anyway too anchored to a nostalgic past to make hard decisions concerning change. (One of those institutions, with 128 years under its cap and gown, just closed in May.)

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33 minutes ago, Stu said:

1) Cease all performance operations. Talk directly to Dan at DCI or a designated DCI representative throughout this entire process. Make a public announcement in multiple media outlets thanking the supporters and praising the youth; state that we feel it is in the best interest of the youth that the corps becomes more solid in the aspects of business procedures so there will be a short hiatus, and state that there will be consistent updates as we move forward.

2) Tie up any loose ends, put out any fires that are smoldering. And if required to right the financial ship, liquidate some assets to pay off any outstanding debt.

3) Set down with the Board and construct a plan to learn from others who have turned around organizations, as well as learn from those who currently have great business models. Then for the next two months or so have the Corps Director with one or two Board Members seek direct consultations from the directors and boards of those organizations. And construct a business model based on those consultations. (at the end of this process do a public media update)

4) Hiring someone at this juncture who is competent at Development is not an option, a person who can do this with efficiency and quality would cost too much.  So, create an Advisory Body connected to the Board, and secure a successful Development person, a successful CPA, a successful business owner, etc as Advisors (not music arts people but business people interested in the arts). And follow their advice to begin to righting the ship! (make another media update after a month or so)

5) Do nothing with performance, nothing, until the ship is seaworthy. Once the ship is righted, once the finances are in order, once you have quality staff for the youth education, once you have confidence that you can restart the program with quality at all levels, and once you have an emergency  contingency fixed in place, make a public announcement bullet pointing what has been accomplished and announce that you are going to hold auditions for… a small SoundSport ensemble.

6) Only do things with that small ensemble which will keep you in the financial black; make that small group successful not only in performance but in all aspects; especially staying in the financial black. (and continue to making media updates)

7) Grow the ensemble only at a rate you can stay in the black while maintaining high performance quality; request a move into OC only when you can open the books to DCI with transparency and prove that you are now operating with responsible business practices and can afford the move (this will also apply when a request is made to move from OC into WC); and make sure that the poor business decisions that happened prior to item 1 never happen again.  And when it is financially feasible, hire that Development Director! (oh, and continue the media updates)

With regards to point 3.....Legends have at least 20 organizations in the state of Michigan they can turn to. The SAGINAIRES aka northcoastacademy.org, for one, would be a good start.  Plymouth Canton is another.  Corbin Hutchison at Grand Blanc High is another.

The list is extremely long and very distinguished. To be completely honest, I've always questioned the leadership at Legends based on many many years of previous experience in dealing with them. This goes much further back than the birth of Legends.

I'm not entirely sure whether they would get assistance from the people I have listed because they have either burned to many bridges or are too proud to admit that they need such assistance.

Disclaimer, if the management running Legends has changed since their Inception then I retract my previous statement.

Further, there are immense opportunities to raise funds in the state of Michigan because of their fundraising/501c3 legislature. If they get their act together they can easily raise the funds needed to continue to field the corps next year.

All I can do at this point is wish them the very best. As a former marching member of a Michigan drum and bugle Corps...... way before Legends were born.... it does my heart good to see that there is still an active drum and bugle Corps in the state of Michigan. Now get your act together so that you won't be the last. If you have to downsize I'm not so sure that sound sport is the way to go. There are several successful models for WGI winter percussion ensembles and music ensembles and mcgc.net (Michigan color guard circuit) also has several performance ensemble categories.

 

Some of the other points in the quote are a bit overboard. I appreciate the thought that you put into this but you're not trying to run a Fortune 500 company. It's just band...

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5 minutes ago, supersop said:

With regards to point 3.....Legends have at least 20 organizations in the state of Michigan they can turn to. The SAGINAIRES aka northcoastacademy.org, for one, would be a good start.  Plymouth Canton is another.  Corbin Hutchison at Grand Blanc High is another.

The list is extremely long and very distinguished. To be completely honest, I've always questioned the leadership at Legends based on many many years of previous experience in dealing with them. This goes much further back than the birth of Legends.

I'm not entirely sure whether they would get assistance from the people I have listed because they have either burn too many bridges or are too proud to admit that they need help.

Disclaimer, if the management running Legends has changed since their Inception then I retract my previous statement.

Further, there are immense opportunities to raise funds in the state of Michigan because of their fundraising legislature. If they get their act together they can easily raise the funds needed to continue to feel the corps next year.

All I can do at this point is wish them the very best. As a former marching member of a Michigan drum and bugle Corps...... way before Legends were born.... it does my heart good to see that there is still an active drum and bugle Corps in the state of Michigan. Now get your act together so that you won't be the last. If you have to downsize I'm not so sure that sounds sport is the way to go. There are several successful models for WGI winter percussion ensembles and music ensembles and mcgc.net (Michigan cookie guard circuit) also has several performance ensemble categories.

 

Some of the other points in the quote are a bit overboard. I appreciate the thought that you put into this but you're not trying to run a Fortune 500 company. It's just band...

This is why many corps (not all) get into financial difficulties to begin with. Because they are NOT running it like a business.

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Have a well represented and qualified Board of Directors.

Establish checks and balances between the director and board.

Have a succession plan.

Have a good business plan.

Budget and operate to revenue capabilities.

Build reserves for rainy days.

 

There's a heck of a lot more to it than this.  But all of that would be TBD as they move forward.

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5 minutes ago, Barneveld said:

This is why many corps (not all) get into financial difficulties to begin with. Because they are NOT running it like a business.

I was just being snarky at that point.  I fully agree with your statement. 

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Just a thought but there are still plenty of Fortune 500 companies that operate within the state of Michigan and are headquartered there. There are also massive endowment organizations like the Stewart Mott Foundation that have plenty of money to throw around at the end of fiscal quarters. Not many 501c3 organizations have the guts to go knocking on the doors of the big boys but the fact is... They HAVE to make donations to nonprofits in order to help themselves come tax time.

Don't be afraid to knock on the front door of Dow Chemical or General Motors or Ford. They honestly have a very hard time getting rid of cash for tax purposes every quarter.

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I have not carefully read each post, so I am just sharing my thoughts, not responding to a specific post. What Legends did to get the corps out of trouble is an exception, not an idea whose time has come. It is a stroke of luck and a testament to drum corps fans this worked at all. I am glad it worked, and I supported it, but this is a one time deal for me.

i have a hunch I know what happened, not based on inside information, but seeing similar things happen to other non profits, and in case I'm wrong, I will keep my theory to myself. However, whether it was unexpected and an emergency, or whether it should have been known, Legends has to take a long hard look at itself as an organization and make the necessary changes. Future donations will depend on it. You can be certain potential donors will know of this appeal and while it could look like lots of people support the corps, it could also look like instability and scare donors away. It could also hurt recruitment. Legends has younger members. As some mentioned, not finishing tour and putting kids in harm's way was mentioned. With high school and college kids as members, parental trust is crucial.

We can't  be too judgmental about Legends and its leadership. Legends could have a good board with all the right people in the right place. Things happen. The important things is that lessons are learned and it doesn't happen again.

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2 hours ago, wolfgang said:

 Starting new thread as this isn't about the last 24 hrs. If YOU were the new Corps Director or new BOD member, what demands or suggestions would you make to keep the organization afloat?

Legends are a test case, but any now-defunct struggling corps could be used. Obviously, an honest financial assessment is in order. Finding a way to get necessary funds AND the right people in place is top priority.

One travel-related tidbit that has crossed my mind: To the best of my knowledge, Open Class corps are not required go on extensive tours.

With regards to Legends specifically, there are local shows (Cavies Michigan City June show, several in Michigan and Ohio) a corps could compete at while otherwise staying close to home. Championships are also in their neck of the woods. A corps in another location may not be blessed with so many performing opportunities within a few hours.

Back to original question: What would YOU personally demand be done if YOU were the new Director or BOD member? Maybe the collective wisdom of DCP can generate great discussion to avoid past mistakes of ghosts of DCI past.

DCI assigns what shows both World Class and Open Class corps  can attend based on a criteria that has been established over the years.   For the past two years in order for the Legends to have any shows they have been forced to make the Florida swing.  It is an extremely costly and difficult group of shows to attend. George Hopkins has already stated that The Cadets will not make the Florida swing in 2018.   Other corps have refused to make this swing the past two years.   DCI  needs to rethink their presence in Florida.  Without shows to attend both Open Class and World Class corps have no reason to exist.   Previous years placement is more important than ever when  determining  your tour.  

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