Glenn426 Posted June 26, 2019 Share Posted June 26, 2019 5 minutes ago, fatbrassboy said: I'm not saying that the alumni should design a show, but that the staff should accept help from these professionals when offered for technique, etc. That's a slippery slope in my opinion... Alumni always mean well and want whats best for the Corps... But the help has to be carefully monitored so that there is a unified style, aesthetic.., And Right now In June is not the time for alumni to visit the corps to offer their help for whats happening on the field... IF they are well known/respected perhaps come in spend the day with the corps and offer your support in a speech, volunteering in the food truck, etc.., But for the alumni to be directly involved with anything that is happening on the field would just simply be a mess to regulate and control if the floodgates are opened. As an alumni of BAC, I offered my financial support through the "rough" years and was always a fan... That alot of times is the best you can do without doing more damage than good.. The time for Alumni to make the most impact is at these BOD meetings in the Fall, If there are any open meetings where alumni can voice their opinions that is when alumni can help steer the group into certain directions... 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fatbrassboy Posted June 26, 2019 Share Posted June 26, 2019 12 minutes ago, Glenn426 said: That's a slippery slope in my opinion... Alumni always mean well and want whats best for the Corps... But the help has to be carefully monitored so that there is a unified style, aesthetic.., And Right now In June is not the time for alumni to visit the corps to offer their help for whats happening on the field... IF they are well known/respected perhaps come in spend the day with the corps and offer your support in a speech, volunteering in the food truck, etc.., But for the alumni to be directly involved with anything that is happening on the field would just simply be a mess to regulate and control if the floodgates are opened. As an alumni of BAC, I offered my financial support through the "rough" years and was always a fan... That alot of times is the best you can do without doing more damage than good.. The time for Alumni to make the most impact is at these BOD meetings in the Fall, If there are any open meetings where alumni can voice their opinions that is when alumni can help steer the group into certain directions... I agree. It's too late now to have them get involved. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricS Posted June 26, 2019 Share Posted June 26, 2019 (edited) A DCP friend who was in the corps when a certain designer was once said to me that this person was very self absorbed and took himself way to seriously and stood aside from others for fearr of his self appointed importance being questioned. This type of personality would not welcome any outside involvement. Edited June 26, 2019 by EricS 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim K Posted June 26, 2019 Share Posted June 26, 2019 42 minutes ago, OldSnareDrummer said: That's pretty sad, FBB. One of the life bloods of all active corps now should be their alumni. Do you think the rejections came as a result of (and I'm totally guessing here ) outsider influence and power of the corps? Greenblue spoke of the Cavaliers and I know there are people involved with them who've been involved in some way for decades. I agree, but alumni and drum corps can have a rocky relationship. In many cases, those who run the corps today have no connection with people who marched with the corps in the past. With people moving from one corps to another, the bonds may not be that strong. Many corps want the money, but not the advice, and while corps do need to be accountable, it does become a problem donors feel they can dictate. Of course it is a different matter if funds were donated for a specific purpose and not used properly, which has happened. This is not a problem that is only faced by drum corps. Schools have the same issues. i do not want to comment specifically about Phantom since I do not know their situation in detail. My recommendation would be to begin planning on developing a better relationship with the alumni. Consult private high school or college alumni offices about best practices. Cultivate the relationships before asking for money, find non financial ways people can share gifts and talents, and develop a way for all to feel part of the organization. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricS Posted June 26, 2019 Share Posted June 26, 2019 4 minutes ago, Tim K said: I agree, but alumni and drum corps can have a rocky relationship. In many cases, those who run the corps today have no connection with people who marched with the corps in the past. With people moving from one corps to another, the bonds may not be that strong. Many corps want the money, but not the advice, and while corps do need to be accountable, it does become a problem donors feel they can dictate. Of course it is a different matter if funds were donated for a specific purpose and not used properly, which has happened. This is not a problem that is only faced by drum corps. Schools have the same issues. i do not want to comment specifically about Phantom since I do not know their situation in detail. My recommendation would be to begin planning on developing a better relationship with the alumni. Consult private high school or college alumni offices about best practices. Cultivate the relationships before asking for money, find non financial ways people can share gifts and talents, and develop a way for all to feel part of the organization. Sounds like, from a couple of previous comments, that a better relationship between the BOD and alumni and supporters needs to be established. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
general_tsos_chicken2 Posted June 26, 2019 Share Posted June 26, 2019 BURN IT ALL DOWN! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fatbrassboy Posted June 26, 2019 Share Posted June 26, 2019 1 hour ago, EricS said: Sounds like, from a couple of previous comments, that a better relationship between the BOD and alumni and supporters needs to be established. And just how does that happen? It's not something that can be forced by the alumni. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kdaddy Posted June 26, 2019 Share Posted June 26, 2019 2 hours ago, Weaklefthand4ever said: I think the fear of alumni is that they way want to go backwards sometimes to the "Back in the day we did ______" types of things. The designers are always trying to move forward and the fear that a strong alumni control could hold a corps back visually might be very real. What's needed is a balance. I wish I knew what that looked like. I'm guessing that alums today are far more worried about "let's be competitive" and "let's not stay outside the top 12" than they are "let's revert to the old days." With any donation, the donor wants to know that the donation is in good hands - will the organization be a good steward of my money? Today, I don't think alums with $$$ would feel good about it. But if they knew that there would be change from top to bottom (similar to BAC's transition a couple years ago), they'd probably be more open to it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rocketman Posted June 26, 2019 Share Posted June 26, 2019 As an alum from the 'good old days', I don't want the glory days back, that simply isn't going to happen. What I want is for them to be relevant. That could be taken any number of ways so, lets say, I want them to be competitive. They haven't been for 1/2 a decade or more. The designs have been mediocre at best. This year is an example of the lack of an original thought (Joan). The uniform/costume changes make no sense, the props seem to be there just to say 'we have props' (I'm hoping they will be utilized more going forward), visual design is, at a minimum, five years behind the times, I could go on. My biggest concern is, if they continue the trend (downward), they may cease to exist. I know it sounds extreme however, they are (IMO) no longer considered a 'destination' corps. 6 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geluf Posted June 26, 2019 Share Posted June 26, 2019 3 minutes ago, Rocketman said: My biggest concern is, if they continue the trend (downward), they may cease to exist. I know it sounds extreme however, they are (IMO) no longer considered a 'destination' corps. I think that's a bit much. Plenty of corps exist in the semi-finals realm and have for quite some time. Madison is going over ten years of downturn, competitively, as an example. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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