Madison Scouts 2018

[wolfgang]

One thing not really talked about is Madison may not make the theater broadcast (assuming its still 15 corps). Based on results thus far, Mandarins are likely to join the 11 other Finalists from last year. 

Beyond that, there is Academy, Spirit, and Troopers. Colts are within a point, Pacific Crest is good, and a sleeper corps could be Oregon Crusaders.

And, while this doesn't affect the cinema broadcast, BDB and Vanguard Cadets have been very good lately, though I don't expect they will be at Madison's level. The Scouts could make a strong push, but there is just as good a chance their competition this year could be at their same level of achievement.

[Tupac]

Do the Scouts get any support from any local businesses in the Madison area or the local government? Are they getting any money from businesses in Indiana?

I think I read somewhere that they formed a new group like "forward progress" or something like that  located in Madison, so maybe that is helping them to get local support.

But, I would think not having a home base would affect donations to the Scouts organization.

 

 

[tedrick]

8 minutes ago, Tupac said:

Do the Scouts get any support from any local businesses in the Madison area or the local government? Are they getting any money from businesses in Indiana?

I think I read somewhere that they formed a new group like "forward progress" or something like that  located in Madison, so maybe that is helping them to get local support.

But, I would think not having a home base would affect donations to the Scouts organization.

 

 

good points -

Does the corps get very many local Wisconsin MMs? Do they still have camps in Madison? It's too bad they couldn't get Kwik Trip as a sponsor

or maybe Harley Davidson

or maybe Menards

or maybe FoxCon....

Edited July 2, 2018 by tedrick
added a potential sponsor

[DCI Nerd Alert]

Isn't it about the membership experience?

I mean winning is awesome and I believe every corps (even the ones that may not be in the hunt this year) want to be the best corps in the world, but only 150 students get to experience that once a year (sometimes double with ties). I have had many friends that marched the Madison Scouts ... as far back as the early 1980s. And the mantra then was "we don't do it for the score; we do it for the crowd." That was established by Scott S. As alumni, shouldn't it be about supporting the members and the organization through thick and thin? Through light and dark? Do you think the Madison Scouts this summer are having a bad experience? I doubt it. My guess is they are learning about hard work, time management, performance, and perseverance ... and they having a great time.

There will always be those who have what they think are the reasons why things aren't going "the way they think it should" and everyone is entitled to their opinion. That being said...

The Madison Scouts need for the alumni - all the alumni ... world champions, finalists, and semi-finalists alike - to come together and support the 2018 Madison Scouts ... including the administration, the designers, the teachers, and the members. All are working hard and continuing the great tradition established through the decades. 

Isn't it about the membership experience?

 

[2muchcoffeeman]

 

15 minutes ago, tedrick said:

It's too bad they couldn't get Kwik Trip as a sponsor

or maybe Harley Davidson

or maybe Menards

or maybe FoxCon....

In my experience, it's not a slam-dunk that companies will simply open their wallets for the local drum corps. Corporations with sponsorship budgets and programs want to see community impact (not merely exposure) for their investment, and a 150-member elite touring ensemble, no matter how wonderfully talented, is not going to solve that equation very often.

The more effective way to unlock money for a corps, imo, is to relentlessly mine your own contacts -- the parents of your members, for example -- for cash and in-kind donations. Your No. 5 bass drum's mom is the southeast sales rep for a paper-products company? Bingo -- paper towels for the food truck for the summer. Or, maybe someone who spun a flag for you once upon a time has an aunt who's a bank president. There's a $500 check. I think you need a creative backshop with a database and a lot of passion to make a lot of asks.

[Mello Dude]

8 minutes ago, DCI Nerd Alert said:

Isn't it about the membership experience?

I mean winning is awesome and I believe every corps (even the ones that may not be in the hunt this year) want to be the best corps in the world, but only 150 students get to experience that once a year (sometimes double with ties). I have had many friends that marched the Madison Scouts ... as far back as the early 1980s. And the mantra then was "we don't do it for the score; we do it for the crowd." That was established by Scott S. As alumni, shouldn't it be about supporting the members and the organization through thick and thin? Through light and dark? Do you think the Madison Scouts this summer are having a bad experience? I doubt it. My guess is they are learning about hard work, time management, performance, and perseverance ... and they having a great time.

There will always be those who have what they think are the reasons why things aren't going "the way they think it should" and everyone is entitled to their opinion. That being said...

The Madison Scouts need for the alumni - all the alumni ... world champions, finalists, and semi-finalists alike - to come together and support the 2018 Madison Scouts ... including the administration, the designers, the teachers, and the members. All are working hard and continuing the great tradition established through the decades. 

Isn't it about the membership experience?

 

 

Here's the thing and I agree it's about membership experience (you should really ask the members sometime WHY did you join the Madison Scouts (possibly what shows influenced you), the people running the corps might just learn some things).  If you are going to change (radically) an organization that is loved and known for who and what they do you have to expect that some (and possibly a lot) will stop supporting your actions or distance themselves.  Think about this, at the point no one recognizes who the scouts are, why do (or would) you expect the alumni to make all the adjustments?  This new direction clearly seems to not be working very well right now.  Has the organization lost all capability (or vision) to be the Madison Scouts we all loved and shouted for in this new era?  Running away from your identity has never from I have seen done any good.  Vision and creativity  doesn't mean more stuff or changing everything that makes you yourself.  Just saying.  I hope they have a great year!

[Tupac]

28 minutes ago, DCI Nerd Alert said:

Isn't it about the membership experience?

I mean winning is awesome and I believe every corps (even the ones that may not be in the hunt this year) want to be the best corps in the world, but only 150 students get to experience that once a year (sometimes double with ties). I have had many friends that marched the Madison Scouts ... as far back as the early 1980s. And the mantra then was "we don't do it for the score; we do it for the crowd." That was established by Scott S. As alumni, shouldn't it be about supporting the members and the organization through thick and thin? Through light and dark? Do you think the Madison Scouts this summer are having a bad experience? I doubt it. My guess is they are learning about hard work, time management, performance, and perseverance ... and they having a great time.

There will always be those who have what they think are the reasons why things aren't going "the way they think it should" and everyone is entitled to their opinion. That being said...

The Madison Scouts need for the alumni - all the alumni ... world champions, finalists, and semi-finalists alike - to come together and support the 2018 Madison Scouts ... including the administration, the designers, the teachers, and the members. All are working hard and continuing the great tradition established through the decades. 

Isn't it about the membership experience?

 

Yes, it is about the experience but when you go from a perennial top 6 corps to barely making finals every year, I think it makes them more a feeder corps more than a destination corps. I'm not saying these kids are not having a great experience but i'm sure they would be much happier if they weren't ' sitting at #15 with the Colts and Troopers within a point of striking distance.

[Kamarag]

16 minutes ago, Tupac said:

Yes, it is about the experience but when you go from a perennial top 6 corps to barely making finals every year, I think it makes them more a feeder corps more than a destination corps. I'm not saying these kids are not having a great experience but i'm sure they would be much happier if they weren't ' sitting at #15 with the Colts and Troopers within a point of striking distance.

 

Let's be honest. Every corps is a destination corps these days, with travel as cheap and easy as it is, and the national model for recruiting. For Scouts right now, the object shouldn't just be to recruit talented members, it should be to *keep* talented members. If you're not giving those members a real reason to stay, then you are a feeder corps.

Retention is incredibly important if you want to be a top or second tier corps. It's one step below the importance of a strong administration, and tied with design and teaching staff. Scouts aren't going to leap from the fourth tier to contender in one year. They need to build all facets of the organization and build slowly and methodically, like Crown and Bluecoats did.

I'm the brass caption head of a top-tier DCA corps that routinely sends kids to DCI for a couple years. Give me a reason to send my of-age members to Scouts. I've sent them to Devils, Crown, Bluecoats, Boston, Cadets...give me a reason to consider Scouts.

[queenanne_1536]

21 minutes ago, Tupac said:

Yes, it is about the experience but when you go from a perennial top 6 corps to barely making finals every year, I think it makes them more a feeder corps more than a destination corps. I'm not saying these kids are not having a great experience but i'm sure they would be much happier if they weren't ' sitting at #15 with the Colts and Troopers within a point of striking distance.

This. Exactly. One goes from being elated if they placed top 5, to elated if they placedtop 8, to elated if they make top 10, to elated if they make finals. When does it end. The program is not a successful one from a competitive standpoint, and it is a competitive activity.

Also, no matter what anyone says, they do care about scores. It is true for the Scouts, at least in the 80s and 90s, that the experience for the members was #1 and that wasn't sacrificed for placement (i.e. they didn't practice until they dropped and not everything hinged on placement). But, scores and placements were still important to Scouts. I remember DeKalb '88 and anyone who says the Scouts never cared about scores is dead wrong. I also remember finals '88 and anyone who says the Scouts weren't over the moon that they had won (i.e. scores and placement) they are wrong. It may not be the most important thing, but it is important nonetheless.

The Scouts are a feeder corps now. Members go there and then move on to higher placing corps. That is sad, and I don't see anything this administration has done to turn things around.

 

[queenanne_1536]

4 minutes ago, Kamarag said:

 

Let's be honest. Every corps is a destination corps these days, with travel as cheap and easy as it is, and the national model for recruiting. For Scouts right now, the object shouldn't just be to recruit talented members, it should be to *keep* talented members. If you're not giving those members a real reason to stay, then you are a feeder corps.

I agree with the bolded part of your statement, but I do not agree with the Scouts being a destination corps. Back when I marched, in the late 80s, so few members were there to make a career out of music, guard, visual, whatever. Nowadays, we have a lot more serious musicans and dancers amongst the ranks for these corps. In those days, someone without experience in drum corps could audition and earn a spot. No more. You're not going to get into BD, SCV or any number of top corps anymore without World Class experience under your belt. People go to lower tier corps, like Madison, to get that experience and then they move on up. It's a different day, and Madison is certainly not drawing the top talent of the activity anymore.

Edited July 2, 2018 by queenanne_1536