Gabe92 Posted May 28, 2018 Share Posted May 28, 2018 (edited) On 5/10/2018 at 11:19 AM, Brian Tuma said: Wouldn’t the border crossing simply be a onetime inconvenience where they can be prepared? It’s not like they’re going back and forth. I wonder if their going inactive was more a case of fielding the minimum number of members. The corps is not inactive. Suspension of rehearsal and withdraw of the summer schedule has nothing to do with the minimum requirement. As stated by BigW, drum corps in Canada have outgrew the traditional sponsors. To survive corps had to find extra source of revenus. In the case of the Stentors since 2001, that extra revenus has come from our lobster dinner (started during the Academie Musicale period 1983-2000). History of that dinner is quite something. It started small with 300 guests in the basement of a church to an high point of 2000 guests in 1994 and still going strong with a bit more than 1700 guests just 2 weeks ago. It became so big that even the Prime Minister of Quebec have joined us in 2007 and Canada's leader of the official opposition two years later. Banks calls in to know the "date" in order to plan for national meeting with a "night out" with us or to make sure their calendar allow them to be in attendance. Nearly 3 tons of lobster are cooked and served in 2-3 hours. A spectacular sight! It started with a team of parents, but when their kids moved along, so did the parents. It rapidly became a "Francoeur" thing. And mostly has been since 1984. Last november, out of nowhere, Mr Francoeur died of a hart attack. Came January... Mrs Francoeur entered hospital for 5 five coronary artery bypass. You now have a corps director who has to take care of his mom, replace his parents in running the lobster dinner and the family manufacture. The decision to withdraw have been made to allow me to take those challenges succesfully and secure the financial future of the corps. Trying to do more would have been a corps suicide... Now, 1 of the next 3 things could have save the season: 1) Having people ready to rise in leadership and invest the require time to fullfill the empty space. Leading a drum corps, whatever the size, is no easy task anymore. No one felt ready to invest 20-30-40 hours a week, every week. 2) Having 100 members in the roster. That would have provide for more volunteers but also stimulate people that is was worth it to invest a large portion of time in running the corps while not having to worry about membership. 3) Having sufficient funds to hire capable people to lead the corps for 1 year (at least). Here you have to take in consideration that somebody with the require qualities would have to leave a "safe" and well paid job for a "not so safe" job that required way more time but also a much wider and complex knowledge on multiple subject. However, with a 80 000$ salary we may had been able to find somebody for 1 year. Not sure still!! Nothing here was a secret at any time during the decision process. Parents, members, friends and sponsors have been notified by meeting, e-mail, facebook and phone calls at the beginning of February. 2 weeks after my mom surgery... and 2 weeks before the first camp of the season. From personal perspective, it was not a fun decision to take, nor to annonce. But on the good side, since then, about 20 (additional) persons have joined committees and work weekly in order to use that time to build a stronger organization. There is at least 1 meeting a week (except for the lobster month) and the corps is very active on many levels to prepare for 2019. Gabe Francoeur President Stentors Edited May 28, 2018 by Gabe92 Typo 2 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Florida Sun Posted May 28, 2018 Share Posted May 28, 2018 4 hours ago, Gabe92 said: The corps is not inactive. Suspension of rehearsal and withdraw of the summer schedule has nothing to do with the minimum requirement. As stated by BigW, drum corps in Canada have outgrew the traditional sponsors. To survive corps had to find extra source of revenus. In the case of the Stentors since 2001, that extra revenus has come from our lobster dinner (started during the Academie Musicale period 1983-2000). History of that dinner is quite something. It started small with 300 guests in the basement of a church to an high point of 2000 guests in 1994 and still going strong with a bit more than 1700 guests just 2 weeks ago. It became so big that even the Prime Minister of Quebec have joined us in 2007 and Canada's leader of the official opposition two years later. Banks calls in to know the "date" in order to plan for national meeting with a "night out" with us or to make sure their calendar allow them to be in attendance. Nearly 3 tons of lobster are cooked and served in 2-3 hours. A spectacular sight! It started with a team of parents, but when their kids moved along, so did the parents. It rapidly became a "Francoeur" thing. And mostly has been since 1984. Last november, out of nowhere, Mr Francoeur died of a hart attack. Came January... Mrs Francoeur entered hospital for 5 five coronary artery bypass. You now have a corps director who has to take care of his mom, replace his parents in running the lobster dinner and the family manufacture. The decision to withdraw have been made to allow me to take those challenges succesfully and secure the financial future of the corps. Trying to do more would have been a corps suicide... Now, 1 of the next 3 things could have save the season: 1) Having people ready to rise in leadership and invest the require time to fullfill the empty space. Leading a drum corps, whatever the size, is no easy task anymore. No one felt ready to invest 20-30-40 hours a week, every week. 2) Having 100 members in the roster. That would have provide for more volunteers but also stimulate people that is was worth it to invest a large portion of time in running the corps while not having to worry about membership. 3) Having sufficient funds to hire capable people to lead the corps for 1 year (at least). Here you have to take in consideration that somebody with the require qualities would have to leave a "safe" and well paid job for a "not so safe" job that required way more time but also a much wider and complex knowledge on multiple subject. However, with a 80 000$ salary we may had been able to find somebody for 1 year. Not sure still!! Nothing here was a secret at any time during the decision process. Parents, members, friends and sponsors have been notified by meeting, e-mail, facebook and phone calls at the beginning of February. 2 weeks after my mom surgery... and 2 weeks before the first camp of the season. From personal perspective, it was not a fun decision to take, nor to annonce. But on the good side, since then, about 20 (additional) persons have joined committees and work weekly in order to use that time to build a stronger organization. There is at least 1 meeting a week (except for the lobster month) and the corps is very active on many levels to prepare for 2019. Gabe Francoeur President Stentors Running any corps is like having a full time job,wish you and Les Stentors a long life .And best of luck in 2019 . 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N.E. Brigand Posted May 28, 2018 Share Posted May 28, 2018 11 hours ago, Gabe92 said: The corps is not inactive. Suspension of rehearsal and withdraw of the summer schedule has nothing to do with the minimum requirement. [...] Gabe Francoeur President Stentors What a helpful explanation. Thanks! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimF-LowBari Posted May 28, 2018 Share Posted May 28, 2018 (edited) On 5/10/2018 at 3:24 PM, Terri Schehr said: He made us feel that way and we’re citizens! Had that back in the 80s. Spent few days with relative in Toronto and 2 days in Niagara Falls. Crossing into US guard had problem with car ahead of us and POed. Took my license to check and then he saw crappy souvies on the floor in the back. Got told to go to customs away and kept my license. I refused to move until he told me when I would get my license back. He wouldn’t tell me so I stayed put as no one behind me anyway. Finally he told me and we gathered all the loose crap in the back of the car and went into customs. Told them how long we were in Canada and how much the coffee mugs, postcards, etc cost. Guy at customs muttered something about “not believing this ####” gave me my license and out we went. Know it’s a hard job but never hit attitude this bad in 35+ years of working on a military base. wonder if the same guard checked my aunt coming into US at same place following year. Kid from Toronto drive her to US to see rest of family. She moved to UK decades before but kept US citizenship as resident alien. So she had US passport with this hellish thick Brit accent. Edited May 28, 2018 by JimF-LowBari Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jurassic Lancer Posted May 28, 2018 Share Posted May 28, 2018 (edited) 7 hours ago, JimF-LowBari said: Had that back in the 80s. Spent few days with relative in Toronto and 2 days in Niagara Falls. Crossing into US guard had problem with car ahead of us and POed. Took my license to check and then he saw crappy souvies on the floor in the back. Got told to go to customs away and kept my license. I refused to move until he told me when I would get my license back. He wouldn’t tell me so I stayed put as no one behind me anyway. Finally he told me and we gathered all the loose crap in the back of the car and went into customs. Told them how long we were in Canada and how much the coffee mugs, postcards, etc cost. Guy at customs muttered something about “not believing this ####” gave me my license and out we went. Know it’s a hard job but never hit attitude this bad in 35+ years of working on a military base. wonder if the same guard checked my aunt coming into US at same place following year. Kid from Toronto drive her to US to see rest of family. She moved to UK decades before but kept US citizenship as resident alien. So she had US passport with this hellish thick Brit accent. On the other hand ... I was a member of the Windsor Guardsmen back in 76-77. A van of us Yankees would cross from Detroit to Windsor and back several times a week for practice. We got to know some the guards and they got to know us. One time, we pulled up to guard we knew, and broke out in a four part version of “I’m a Yankee Doodle Dandy. “ He laughed and waved us through. Ah, simpler times ... Edited May 29, 2018 by Jurassic Lancer 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimF-LowBari Posted May 28, 2018 Share Posted May 28, 2018 13 minutes ago, Jurassic Lancer said: On the other hand ... I was a member of the Windsor Guardsmen back in 75-76. A van of us Yankees would cross from Detroit to Windsor and back several times a week for practice. We got to know some the guards and they got to know us. One time, we pulled up to guard we knew, and broke out in a four part version of “I’m a Yankee Doodle Dandy. “ He laughed and waved us through. Ah, simpler times ... Lol one of the guards at the base I work at had a dad and grandfather in one of my old corps and I knew them both. Going in one day he said he had to ask me something and i thought oh oh. Turns out he saw the corps sticker on my car. Then I saw his last name and..... small world. Yep same kind of guard just different location 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim K Posted May 29, 2018 Share Posted May 29, 2018 18 hours ago, Gabe92 said: Border story are always exagerated... probably because it make for a more spectacular story to tell!!! To my knowledge, the Stentors never had any trouble crossing eitheir way. Time have changed. So yes, we now need passport (16 years old and over) and yes we all need to get down the bus, get inside the office for a passport scan which take about 30 secondes each (3-4 officers a the same time to proceed everyone). We categorize as "difficult" when an officer ask 3-4 questions, or a kid forget his passport home, or when they look inside the kitchen trailer. All in all, it takes between 15 and 30 minutes everytime for the entire corps. It actualy take way more than that in any airport of the world. But we still make stories... and they get exagerated a lot while traveling in the stands. Now we sometime wait in car lane for an hour before reaching the bus exit to custom. That is another story. Of course, as an organizer, there is a major stress as there is not much we can do if somebody wants to be a j.... to us. We do bring food... the entire tour food (1 month) accross the border and follow all the direction the border office provide on their website. We do have refugee now in the corps as well as a lot of people with foreign origin. That makes it a bit harder on paper work prior to crossing. And... sometime... an officer (who's having a gun) is having a bad day and enjoy to play tough on a 13 years old, 85 pound kids who doesn't speak english. That is sad and always become a legend! But it wouln'd refrain the corps to enter USA. It is just sad that somebody feel the needs to show their power to well behave and polite kids who is already quiet and shy to be in there. Perhaps the story was exaggerated, but if you’re almost too late to appear in a show and you were saved by a rain delay, and you spent about two hours at the border, I can see blaming the border patrols. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gabe92 Posted May 29, 2018 Share Posted May 29, 2018 4 hours ago, Tim K said: Perhaps the story was exaggerated, but if you’re almost too late to appear in a show and you were saved by a rain delay, and you spent about two hours at the border, I can see blaming the border patrols. You how it works... blame all you can on the others! lol If memory serve me well, we did arrive there around 14h/14h30 for a show start at 17h? We were on a rush not because we were late but because everybody knew that we needed to stay on schedule every step of the way to gain maximum time everywhere. A few things to consider along the way... It would have been best for us to get to Manchester the night before but the city often have problem offering housing and as a team player, we do our part by not to asking the sponsor to spend a few extra thousand $$$ on housing while home is only 4h30 away. Leaving on tour for 24 days (2016) on that very morning makes it difficult because leaving on time the first morning of tour IS always a challenge. The corps is not in training so kids come from home with the usual consequence. People shows up too tight to be able to leave on time. First travel of the year, everything is not lock up. Moms and dads want to kiss good bye.... Etc etc etc. Border: Border is a stress for 2 reasons. You don't know how long it's gonna take to cross if any officer have a bad morning that day ... And you don't know how long it's gonna take to get to the border, depending on how many people want to cross at the same time as us. The last mile before entering USA could take 15 minutes or 2 hours. First show of the year with half a corps who has never done any marching competition in their life... you want as much time as you can to prepair. So 3 hours before a show on tour is way too long. But 3 hours before the first show ever for half the corps, comprise of 13-17 years old kids is tight. Now, we can leave at 3h00 AM and avoid all this, but what you gain in border crossing and prep time at the show site, you lose it on the other side by being exausted before you even start the tour. All in all, I think we took the right guess for the corps we had in hand (age, experience, vehicules, staff, volunteers, housing cost, etc.). I hope you don't mind the long post but at least it give you a look from inside the corps. Which I am always please to share! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigW Posted May 29, 2018 Share Posted May 29, 2018 On 5/28/2018 at 12:50 AM, Gabe92 said: Great post BigW! I agree with a lot of it. Quebec indeed have a great indoor season with a lot of winter guard and a rapidly growing drumline circuit. We went from 1 show (drumline) about 3-4 years ago with 3-4 drumline (+ competing team from Ontario) to a 3 shows season and a championship of approx 15 drumline a few weeks ago. FAMQ still run a two days happening with the summer unit from all horizon in 2 differents cities. The Stentors started it in 2011 if my memory serve me well. FAMQ co-organise it now with whoever is the corps sponsor. We try to move from city to city every few years to give everyone the opportunity to shine home! I need to put up pics of my 1978 Les Ambassadeurs pin and 1979ish Les Chats pin for you. I just found them at my parent's hiding where Dad said they were not hiding. Mom and I knew better. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimF-LowBari Posted May 29, 2018 Share Posted May 29, 2018 45 minutes ago, BigW said: I need to put up pics of my 1978 Les Ambassadeurs pin and 1979ish Les Chats pin for you. I just found them at my parent's hiding where Dad said they were not hiding. Mom and I knew better. Les Chatelaines pin may be from our stop at 1979 DCI East Prelims on way to monsoon fest show at NJ. At least that’s where I got mine lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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