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Cadets 2020


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22 minutes ago, George Dixon said:

perhaps you've missed all those "hard choices" that have been made and announced:

1. laying off YEA staff including $200K in salaries

2. a more limited  tour schedule for Cadets

3. shutting down C2

This alone accounts for $500K a year in "difficult decisions"

Cadets are also making self-built props this year - last year they paid $60K for the stairs

Many many examples are announced of smart, conservatively minded decisions 

And I'm sorry - but if her corporate background as an officer of Metlife doesn't impressed you, perhaps her background with SCV and many other corps does

JMO,

George.

Please reread my post.

I never said anything about being unimpressed with Ms.Bonfiglio  being an officer at Metlife.

What I said was I didn't know how much "hand's on" experience she has handling the technical 

aspects of running a corps.

There is no question she has the ability to handle the "musical production" components of the corps' show.

I also said that, if she does have to handle the technical aspects  of running a corps ,she would know where her expertise is,and who to bring in.

To me,recognizing your limitations , is a compliment .

I also never said The Cadets haven't made hard choices.

It just seems there are more to be made.

Your post is the first I've heard of a "limited tour" for 2020 and making their own props.

Those are positive steps.

What I would like to know,and i assume this will be addressed at some point, is,with the

"hard choices"  YEA/The Cadets have made,are they still operating in  the "the red".

If they are,how deep is the "red ink",especially with long term debt.

 

 

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3 hours ago, dans said:

Skating on thin ice? Source please.

Has to be global warming.

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10 hours ago, 2000Cadet said:

Well, I was able to find a digital version of the 2000 tour video, so I'll have to comb through it to find him. 

If your comb can reach either the bottom of Lake Michigan or the depths of a NJ landfill, you should have no problem. :tongue:

Edited by Fran Haring
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2 hours ago, njthundrrd said:

Hey guys. I usually stay clear of this stuff and I appreciate those of you that understand my position.

I'm basically going to tell you what has already been said on here. There are some smart people here with good sources.

The Cadets are working on a number of things right now. All for the good.  DCI is aware and being extremely helpful. The corps will be on the field this summer and will be highly competitive. The staff is being given the tools they need within the budget. The budgeting for the corps is realistic with expenses high and income low, it has an extremely generous line item for "unbudgeted expense," and in the words of a few highly respected Directors in the activity, it is "realistic and highly attainable and more corps should budget like this." This budget, when achieved, will leave the org with a surplus after the season also. A long term goal of a working 2 and 3 year (and beyond) plan is being forecasted. Every single drum corps (one or two exceptions) rely on donations through fans and alumni, every one. The Cadets have a phenomenal donor base that needs to continue to grow and give (that is astonishing to a large percentage of other corps) that, along with our generous sponsors, shows we run, and other events, is simply wonderful and successful. 

Denise is a rock star! The goal is to support her in everything she realistically needs. Her 30+ years of upper management (and an officer for 16 of them) at MetLife, along with her time with her father running the 27th Lancers, her time at The Cadets, and helping run Vanguard gives her the experience she needs to be both professional and a driving force for The Cadets. Her people and business skills are nothing short of amazing. She is far from a push over and has an acute mind for our activity. A quote from the movie Spinal Tap was "...These go to 11." Denise goes to 11 for The Cadets! She is more than capable of running this organization. I have considered her (because of mine and her relationship with George Zingali) a sister for many many years and that continues today. Once again. She is a rock star!

When I first came to the corps in the fall of 1980 there was a shirt that some older members and alumni wore, for obvious reasons, that in simple block letters said, "We will never die!" 

Hang in there. I know there are a lot of questions that unfortunately cannot be answered right now for legal and practical reasons. Please respect that. 

What I can also tell you is that anybody that has been to the past couple of camps have seen the corps at ensemble can attest that the Cadet sound and style (and swagger) is back! This staff is on a mission and it is infectious. 

DCP has always been particularly tough on The Cadets, sometimes for the absolutely right reasons and sometimes with not enough information. I get that. Please understand, there is an army of people (of all ages and from all over the country) that are highly motivated to be both financially and competitively successful, not for just this season, but for many years to come.

I am going to go back to lurking now. I have been on DCP since "day one" and love the debates here and actually learn a lot too (at least in the first few pages of a topic). I appreciate not being trolled or baited into an argument on this subject. 

Thanks all. 

With respect...

I think the above post from  @njthundrrd has provided some answers to your questions. 

22 minutes ago, rpbobcat said:

Please reread my post.

I never said anything about being unimpressed with Ms.Bonfiglio  being an officer at Metlife.

What I said was I didn't know how much "hand's on" experience she has handling the technical 

aspects of running a corps.

There is no question she has the ability to handle the "musical production" components of the corps' show.

I also said that, if she does have to handle the technical aspects  of running a corps ,she would know where her expertise is,and who to bring in.

To me,recognizing your limitations , is a compliment .

I also never said The Cadets haven't made hard choices.

It just seems there are more to be made.

Your post is the first I've heard of a "limited tour" for 2020 and making their own props.

Those are positive steps.

What I would like to know,and i assume this will be addressed at some point, is,with the

"hard choices"  YEA/The Cadets have made,are they still operating in  the "the red".

If they are,how deep is the "red ink",especially with long term debt.

 

 

 

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51 minutes ago, George Dixon said:

perhaps you've missed all those "hard choices" that have been made and announced:

1. laying off YEA staff including $200K in salaries

2. a more limited  tour schedule for Cadets

3. shutting down C2

This alone accounts for $500K a year in "difficult decisions"

Cadets are also making self-built props this year - last year they paid $60K for the stairs

Many many examples are announced of smart, conservatively minded decisions 

And I'm sorry - but if her corporate background as an officer of Metlife doesn't impressed you, perhaps her background with SCV and many other corps does

JMO,

George.

On your points about savings:

#1 I was told the savings for payroll was closer to $400,000

#2 Don't know if this amounts to much when they are doing a 6 week pre-season camp when most other corps are in the 4-5 week range. They still will be paying for food and housing but will not receive performance fees for that 1-2 week period. Then you have to add in the week of inactivity with again no performance fees in July.

As for #3 I think the loss of C2 hurt more from a level of training and talent on the field than any financial savings that may be realized.

Re. props I agree the $60K was a waste of $$$ as the props size and the awkward handling them during the show was a MAJOR distraction. Hopefullly by doing this in house it will decrease the size and the cost of props

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25 minutes ago, fsthnds said:

On your points about savings:

#1 I was told the savings for payroll was closer to $400,000

#2 Don't know if this amounts to much when they are doing a 6 week pre-season camp when most other corps are in the 4-5 week range. They still will be paying for food and housing but will not receive performance fees for that 1-2 week period. Then you have to add in the week of inactivity with again no performance fees in July.

As for #3 I think the loss of C2 hurt more from a level of training and talent on the field than any financial savings that may be realized.

Re. props I agree the $60K was a waste of $$$ as the props size and the awkward handling them during the show was a MAJOR distraction. Hopefullly by doing this in house it will decrease the size and the cost of props

If you're referring to the first week in July, the corps will be rehearsing in Dartmouth and then performing in two of the largest July 4th parades in New England (Bristol RI and Wakefield MA) for which I would expect they will receive performance revenue.   

The alternative would've been to follow the tour down to Orlando.   On the surface, this decision not to travel south seems like a prudent financial one.

 

Edited by ykw
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58 minutes ago, ykw said:

If you're referring to the first week in July, the corps will be rehearsing in Dartmouth and then performing in two of the largest July 4th parades in New England (Bristol RI and Wakefield MA) for which I would expect they will receive performance revenue.   

These are actually two of the highest paying parade fees that I have encountered and Tom Augnst is one of the Directors at Dartmouth which will also save us money on housing while in the Boston area. 

Edited by njthundrrd
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33 minutes ago, fsthnds said:

#2 Don't know if this amounts to much when they are doing a 6 week pre-season camp when most other corps are in the 4-5 week range. They still will be paying for food and housing but will not receive performance fees for that 1-2 week period. 

There is a huge savings in doing this. The numbers have been run. 

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11 hours ago, 2000Cadet said:

Well, I was able to find a digital version of the 2000 tour video, so I'll have to comb through it to find him. 

you won't see him. he was under the turf

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6 hours ago, George Dixon said:

I’m sorry but you aren’t being constructive and you don’t know what you’re talking about. It’s a dangerous combination

oh look she has lots of experience running multi million dollar organizations:

Professionally, Denise recently retired from MetLife where she was an officer of the company for 16 of her 35-year career. During Denise’s tenure at MetLife, her “hands-on” approach brought her to the front-line managing Insurance Product Software Development, and Quality Assurance functions in several locations around the US and Canada. Throughout Denise’s career at MetLife, she was extensively involved in company mergers and acquisitions converting software Illustration systems onto MetLife platforms. Denise managed a staff of 20 as well as associates in different locations around the country. Denise also played a significant role in relocating and transitioning MetLife’s Retail business operations to North Carolina.

Denise is currently the Co-Founder and President of the Bonfiglio Foundation. As a non-profit charitable organization, the Foundation’s philanthropic mission is to raise money to provide scholarships in honor of George and Patsy Bonfiglio. Applications are accepted from young men and women that participate in DCI organizations. George Bonfiglio was the first president of the DCI Board of Directors and played a significant role in leading the organization through its early years to ultimately build a foundation for future success.

underachiever (insert sarcasm here)

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