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Madison Scouts 2023


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On 10/28/2022 at 11:29 AM, TexasPRfan said:

It's really a shame that there is so much division within the Madison Alumni.  United they are massive and could delivery so much support and momentum for the corps.  Times change, get over it.  And they've doubled their possible recruiting pool.  The analogy with Cadets was great above.  Wouldn't you rather have a thriving Scouts corps with the Madison culture, regardless of what sex the members are?  Or do you want to live in the past and be negative, toxic and unsupportive of a corps that you proclaim to love?  

The attitude and behavior of some of the Scouts alums reminds me of the #### show that is Auburn (and to a lesser degree Texas) where high roller alums feud and try to control rather than support their university.  

Note, I'm not making this a personal rant against any individual - just an observation from watching all the vitriol amongst Scout threads.  Phantom almost imploded from somewhat similar negativity and clinging to the past - which hurt them financially and led to the loss of an all star design team in the late 2000s.  Thank goodness people came to their senses after 2019 and realized things had to change, and change now.  It seems to me that a healthy, competitive entertaining Scouts that retains a great membership culture would matter far MORE than all the tradition bull crap.  They can still be the Madison Scouts, with a fiery brand of entertainment regardless of the minutia people are hung up on.  One of my closest Drum Corps friend's son marched Madison this past summer and immensely enjoyed the experience.

The activity NEEDS Madison to be relevant and entertaining and competitive again.  And the org needs the alumni to set aside their differences and positively support the corps.  Those who can't should just go away.  I'm rooting for them.  Go Scouts!

Harvey

In typical DCP fashion, you really have no idea what you are talking about here. The alumni have a right to be ######. Not only has the current administration shunned its alumni for years, they have been a complete and utter failure. 2015 (the Jim Mason hangout) was the last successful program Madison put out and the last time they were competitively successful. If you, or I, failed at your job like this administration has, we would have been fired long ago. But, the BOD has no backbone. I'm all for inclusion and glad they went co-ed, but that's not going to solve their problems. The board needs to stand up and clean house. 

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On 11/3/2022 at 3:56 PM, DudleytheWest said:

In typical DCP fashion, you really have no idea what you are talking about here. The alumni have a right to be ######. Not only has the current administration shunned its alumni for years, they have been a complete and utter failure. 2015 (the Jim Mason hangout) was the last successful program Madison put out and the last time they were competitively successful. If you, or I, failed at your job like this administration has, we would have been fired long ago. But, the BOD has no backbone. I'm all for inclusion and glad they went co-ed, but that's not going to solve their problems. The board needs to stand up and clean house. 

The admin and show design team are not the same. One’s job is to fund the other, and to feed, move, and house the group.   The other is responsible for show design, recruiting, and teaching of students. 
 

the retention rate is high, the funding is better than it’s been in a long time. The design team was on the right track last year compared to years before. 
 

if you want instantaneous results the only way to do that is to show up with enough $$$$$$$ to poach everyone else’s staff and students.  You have an extra 6 mill lying around to do that with?  Otherwise you gotta build a little every year.  

Most of the alumni have been out of touch with the activity, assuming that Aussies and malagueña are the only paths to success. 
 

ask any of the current membership what their experience has been. Seriously. 

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On 11/5/2022 at 11:45 PM, C.Holland said:

The admin and show design team are not the same. One’s job is to fund the other, and to feed, move, and house the group.   The other is responsible for show design, recruiting, and teaching of students. 
 

the retention rate is high, the funding is better than it’s been in a long time. The design team was on the right track last year compared to years before. 
 

if you want instantaneous results the only way to do that is to show up with enough $$$$$$$ to poach everyone else’s staff and students.  You have an extra 6 mill lying around to do that with?  Otherwise you gotta build a little every year.  

Most of the alumni have been out of touch with the activity, assuming that Aussies and malagueña are the only paths to success. 
 

ask any of the current membership what their experience has been. Seriously. 

The administration is responsible for recruiting, hiring, motivating, retaining, and managing the performance of the creative and instructional staff. 

"The design team was on the right track last year compared to years before?" What does being on the right track mean and how do we know this? Also, where did the Scouts place last year? Having an appealing show and a great experience are important. If being competitive isn't a high priority, let's respectfully agree to disagree. 

The retention rate is high? How do we know? What are the numbers? How do the current performance results on this metric compare to the results over time for the organization? How do the Scouts' results on this metric compare to their peer groups over time? All of these numbers aren't shared, even with the board. Without this data, we really don't know how they're doing. We do know the Scouts aren't a destination corps. They were a destination corps not too long ago. This is frustrating for alumni, fans, and donors. We need more than a glib claim, "the retention rate is high." 

None of the comments I've read here nor does anyone I know expect instantaneous results. This is a deflection. When I look at the long-term trend I see continued decline competitively. Show me three years in a row of improved placement year-over-year at DCI finals or three out of four years of continued competitive improvement based on scores and results, which is a positive trend. One or two years of competitive improvement year-over-year are a positive sign, but not a trend. They're challenged maintaining the status quo. 

"Most of the alumni have been out of touch with the activity, assuming that Aussies and malagueña are the only paths to success." This is a cheap shot like this don't elevate the conversation. Stop the ad hominem attacks. 

How is the funding better than it's been in a long time? It looks like they may have finally addressed the deficits, which is good. We'll need to see some more performance results post COVID to verify they can do this consistently. Looking ahead, I don't see evidence the organization has the capabilities to fund an organization in the top tier or two of DCI finalists. They recently reappointed Gregg Auby to the board, who oversaw many, many years of deficits without taking corrective action and sat on his hands when Jim Mason was fired. That says a lot about their board recruitment.

"Poaching" staff isn't going to help the Scouts given their organizational issues. Komnick got into some type of pissing match with Jim Mason, who produced a DCI championship corps, was fielding a product for the Scouts that continued to improve, was a very generous donor, and fired him. How dumb was that? Dumber still, the board was caught by surprise by this move, and then sat on their hands and looked the other way. Even with $6 million, I think the Scouts would have a hard time attracting and retaining top shelf creative and instructional talent with the current management. They know. 

This is tough to hear about an organization we care about. It's tough for alumni, fans, and donors to see what's happening off the field and how that's driving what's happening on the field over a long period of time. More than a decade. If alumni, fans, and donors saw meaningful changes happening off the field, I don't think there would be as much public dialogue about this. Some day the board may get it. 

Edited by madisonsmiley
Grammar and clarification.
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the design team was on the right track yes. while they werent a finalist, the design was more inline with what works today. it wasn't relying on Madisons greatest latin hits either.

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I’m curious to see where they go musically now that Scott Boerma is back.

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On 11/24/2022 at 10:32 PM, Jeff Ream said:

the design team was on the right track yes. while they werent a finalist, the design was more inline with what works today. it wasn't relying on Madisons greatest latin hits either.

Says who?  Really, sorry if I don't take 108k posts as "expert" status.  Latin music is fantastic because there is quite a lot of it that has yet to be fielded.

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On 11/29/2022 at 10:19 PM, copyright said:

Not sure, Boerma was announced as a member of the design team and brass arranger yesterday.

Music will be better.

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10 hours ago, Mello Dude said:

Says who?  Really, sorry if I don't take 108k posts as "expert" status.  Latin music is fantastic because there is quite a lot of it that has yet to be fielded.

note i didn't say Latin music in general. I said Madisons greatest Latin hits. reading everything typed will help you, regardless of how much you try to insult me for your lack of reading comprehension

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