Madison Scouts 2018

[BigBadMadMan]

13 minutes ago, Slingerland said:

Flip it around, and look at it like a business decision. Let's say the alums from the 70s and 80s and 90s want to turn the corps around; they essentially want a hostile takeover of the corps. If you're on the corps Board, the first thing you're going to ask is "ok, where's your money to support all these grand plans you have?" 
 

And if the answer it "we don't have it, but we will if you move out of the way", you can count on them ignoring you, since the world is filled with people who bluster and threaten and promise great things and turn out to be nothing MORE than bluster and threats.

Put together half a mil in a money bomb that can be deposited into the corps' account on the first day you take charge and show that you have a team together who can not just talk about the future but handle, from the get go, the daily and monthly management of the organization, and maybe they'll listen to you. You'd be surprised to find out how relieved the Board might be to hand it over to you, since being on the BOD of a cash-poor non-profit is about the least amount of fun a person can have.
 

 

The board is in danger here now too. There won’t be anyone to need to convince. They’ll all be gone.

[Slingerland]

1 hour ago, Tim K said:

I said in an earlier post that Madison could learn lessons from Boston Crusaders, but BAC did not simply receive large donations that allowed them to hire staff. Yes, they received major contributions and yes they hired great staff people. However,  prior to major donations, lots of things happened.  Smaller donors were groomed. Alums were encouraged to get on board. There was a tightening of how the corps was managed. This goes back a number of years. It is my understanding that there are some well to do individuals who have given to Boston Crusaders and I have no idea of what motivated them to give. I know there are corporate donors too. Corporate donors in most cases will not give to a drum corps to win a title. They will give to a well run organization that will use the funds appropriately. 

If Madison wants to do what Boston Crusaders has done, it needs to start where they started, which means listen to people with vision, get a plan together, and work towards it. 

I'll stipulate that Boston's BOD, from everything I've seen and heard, has stepped up their game in the last ten years to the point where they can be seen as a model of how a governing Board operates. That being said, they've flipped and flopped around in the 7th-12th field for most of that time and hired/fired corps directors until they had the money to hire away Cadets' music staff and Crown's visual and guard staff, which all of a sudden bought them cred in 2017. Money talked, and they have the results to show for it. Nothing wrong with that.

That is in no way denigrating the investment the whole organization made in making themselves more professionally operated, just a recognition that the top tier talent doesn't come cheap, and because of that, having access to funds to hire them is a key consideration if any corps wants to make that leap into top tier competitive relevance. There are many of the regular non-finalist corps whose finances are in much better shape than some of the top 8 corps, and they don't seem to find that not making Finals is a drag on their organizations. But for Madison, if the alums want to see them as a regular top 7 corps again, they're going to have to dig deep and help their BOD find the funds to do it.

Edited June 29, 2018 by Slingerland

[Tim K]

38 minutes ago, Slingerland said:

I'll stipulate that Boston's BOD, from everything I've seen and heard, has stepped up their game in the last ten years to the point where they can be seen as a model of how a governing Board operates. That being said, they've flipped and flopped around in the 7th-12th field for most of that time and hired/fired corps directors until they had the money to hire away Cadets' music staff and Crown's visual and guard staff, which all of a sudden bought them cred in 2017. Money talked, and they have the results to show for it.

That is in no way denigrating the investment the whole organization made in making themselves more professionally operated, just a recognition that the top tier talent doesn't come cheap, and because of that, having access to funds to hire them is a key consideration if any corps wants to make that leap into top tier competitive relevance. There are many of the regular non-finalist corps whose finances are in much better shape than some of the top 8 corps, and they don't seem to find that not making Finals is a drag on their organizations. But for Madison, if the alums want to see them as a regular top 7 corps again, they're going to have to dig deep and help their BOD find the funds to do it.

Money was not the only factor as to why some current BAC staff left their positions with the corps they were with in 2016. It may have been the factor as to why some chose BAC, but it had been speculated they were leaving for some time and I don’t think any would go to a fledgling corps that stumbled across money. Boston Crusaders had the structure in place. So too did Star of Indiana. We love the story of Bill Cooke being mesmerized by a PBS broadcast and put a million dollars to start a corps. He also made sure there was a solid plan in place so the corps would survive as well as a means of making money so the corps would survive. Bluecoats nearly folded prior to ever making finals, but a good business manager took over and solidified the corps.  

 You don’t build a successful non profit with money alone.  If Madison wants to get donations from it’s alums, it has to have a well thought out plan and prove it can achieve their goals. Donors are far more discerning today, and where tax deductions for charitable causes has changed with the new income tax laws, getting money is more difficult. Also, if you look at many of the posts on this thread and in others, there are many who don’t think the corps should be saved. These are issues money can’t solve. 

[MikeN]

6 hours ago, MikeRapp said:

Somehow, the Cavaliers found a way to rally around a new way of doing their thing. They still have people who don’t like the new stuff, but everybody wants the corps to remain relevant. I’m just not sure there are enough people in the scouts Malones who are willing to give up some of their “tradition” to complete.

If you watched the streaming event preview a couple of years ago with Cavies (Propaganda) and Cadets (Stonedorwhateveritbecame), they did an interview with the new guys at Cavaliers, who, in a nutshell, said they wanted to keep the core of what it meant to be a Cavalier and be flexible about everything else.  In retrospect, it seems their alumni were good with that.  If they haven't done it (and that's not certain, of course, as I'm not there), that might be a good exercise for Madison and their current and former MM's. 

Mike

[queenanne_1536]

I don't know what the solution is for Madison, but I don't think it's as simple as getting alumni involved. I think the drill and music of this years show is very very good. Perhaps their best since 2013 (or 2015). I am not a fan of the uniforms, although they read ok from above. I think the prop is hideous and has to go. At least of right now, there isn't much they are doing with it anyway.

[madisonsmiley]

7 hours ago, Slingerland said:

Not being flip,  but bring money. A lot of money.

Boston's move from barely making finals in 2016 to being 6th in 2017 was presaged with a cash bomb that allowed them to go out and hire away some of the top staff and designers in the business. Scouts have some good folks behind the scenes, but are lacking a proven talent as Program Coordinator, someone who's played in the big leagues and knows how to win. With the organization's finances being 'constrained' (let's put it that way), it's not realistic that they have the resources to go out and spend what it takes get a top talent PC (or alternatively, spend big on top name instructors who'll be bringing their members from other corps), but that's what it takes these days.

To be fair to the board and admin, if they don't have the resources provided by their alums and supporters, there's not much they can do to fix the situation. Just being on the road in World Class costs $1m plus these days, I'm talking about money available above and outside the basic costs of being in business. So, to an extent, it goes back to their alums: if winning is important, what are they willing to do to make sure that their org is in a position to do it?

I'm not arguing with/against anyone, just laying out what the map really looks like. If Madison wants to upgrade the staff (which is the first step toward moving in a different direction), it starts with money, and that's something that is totally within their alum's control.

The Scouts' lack of money falls squarely in the lap of the board and the senior management, who have been at it a long time. They could have done a much better job with what they have. More money will certainly help. This board has done a horrible job engaging alumni and raising money. A lot of alumni have given up and walked away based on how they've been treated, inept and amateurish fundraising, the Scouts' inability to be good stewards of their finances, and what's happening on the field. Boston increases in revenue were a direct result of having a strong, effective board.

 

[Jeff Ream]

59 minutes ago, madisonsmiley said:

The Scouts' lack of money falls squarely in the lap of the board and the senior management, who have been at it a long time. They could have done a much better job with what they have. More money will certainly help. This board has done a horrible job engaging alumni and raising money. A lot of alumni have given up and walked away based on how they've been treated, inept and amateurish fundraising, the Scouts' inability to be good stewards of their finances, and what's happening on the field. Boston increases in revenue were a direct result of having a strong, effective board.

 

are they actively involved with any in Madison or is everything in Bloomington now?

[Liahona]

17 hours ago, tedrick said:

<dino mode>

I really hope the old uniforms are in storage somewhere -- it's not too late -- hornline/drumline switch back to the old uni's and keep working on the show - put some of the guard in the red costumes and some in the blue --  work up more features for the soloist (in a different outfit - pants - not a dress) - scrap the Cavalier's like narration at the start of the show --

Didn't mad men make a mid season change of 1/2 their show (music & drill) many moons ago?...i'm getting the feeling sometiing radical like that is in order...now is the time... the judging community has spoken so to speak...

[BRASSO]

12 minutes ago, Liahona said:

Didn't mad men make a mid season change of 1/2 their show (music & drill) many moons ago?...i'm getting the feeling sometiing radical like that is in order...now is the time... the judging community has spoken so to speak...

 1976 was the year you are probably referring to, Liahona.. Madison Scouts were DCI Champions in '75, and came out early in '76 with a show they quickly decided needed to be altered in a major, major way if they were going to have a legitimate chance at all to defend their Title. About half the show's music./and drill was then scrapped and rewritten on the fly . They almost pulled off a miracle. They finished a strong 2nd in 76 ( to Blue Devils ). However, asking 2018 Madison Scouts to attempt a wholesale revamping of their show similar to this, seems unlikely to me. Its one thing to change half a show in 1976.. and quite another to attempt to change half the show here in 2018.

Edited June 29, 2018 by BRASSO

[Mad75]

1 hour ago, BRASSO said:

 1976 was the year you are probably referring to, Liahona.. Madison Scouts were DCI Champions in '75, and came out early in '76 with a show they quickly decided needed to be altered in a major, major way if they were going to have a legitimate chance at all to defend their Title. About half the show's music./and drill was then scrapped and rewritten on the fly . They almost pulled off a miracle. They finished a strong 2nd in 76 ( to Blue Devils ). However, asking 2018 Madison Scouts to attempt a wholesale revamping of their show similar to this, seems unlikely to me. Its one thing to change half a show in 1976.. and quite another to attempt to change half the show here in 2018.

Back in 76' (and that era), there was what was called 1st season and 2nd season over a span of 3 months.  We came home from our 1st season West Coast tour and changed the entire show at our mid-summer camp in Madison.  We did what was considered the impossible, and than hit the road for 2nd tour.  There are many who claimed that if we would have had just one more week to clean, we would have had a great opportunity to repeating as Champions in 76'...We had a very talented corps.  This summers schedule for the Scouts is only 1 month and 10 days long!...If today's  World Class corps doesn't establish themselves in a huge way right out of the gate, your summer is pretty well solidified!...Several points down to Spirit of Atlanta?...Scouts are in that 15-13 range.