The Cadets 2023

[IllianaLancerContra]

10 hours ago, 2000Cadet said:

If that Spring Training site they had last year is any indication, Erie should be a fantastic location for Cadets. 

Plus, it is on the other side of the state than a certain convicted former director, so less chance of 'accidental' encounters at grocery store, etc.

[craiga]

I think having a new base of operations in Erie makes perfect sense for the Cadets.   It is a fresh start in a place where they haven't been on the front page of the local newspaper on a regular basis, and it is a town with a long drum corps history. I have heard the facilities there are pretty good and apparently they feel welcome there.  Sounds like a good step to me.

Also, one of the above posts in this thread said something like no world class drum corps are based in their city other than a post office box.  The BAC employees who actually work in the corps building in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Boston would probably disagree with you. 

[Tim K]

If moving to Erie makes sense for Cadets, fine. I don’t think it will make too much of a difference on the field though where behind the scenes issues can impact morale, perhaps it will. I guess I wonder how much in this day and age, location matters for many corps. Drum corps is a non profit and in more than a few cases drum corps does little to build up the local economy. For World Class especially, it does little to serve the local youth. Don’t get me wrong, I believe drum corps does serve an important purpose and contributes to the overall economy, but local businesses want to support programs that reach local residents. Relationships can develop by joining the Chamber of Commerce, Rotary, Kiwanis, etc., but that takes years. 

People can point to Boston Crusaders as an example of local support, and Inspire Arts does incredible good work, but Boston Crusaders has been in the same vicinity its entire history, there are BAC alums everywhere in the area. Most moved from the city to suburbs and retire to the the Cape for the summer and Florida for the winter. It’s not as true for the under 45 or so crowd. BAC has built new relationships, no question, but it built on the past.  

[CadetDood]

11 minutes ago, Tim K said:

If moving to Erie makes sense for Cadets, fine. I don’t think it will make too much of a difference on the field though where behind the scenes issues can impact morale, perhaps it will. I guess I wonder how much in this day and age, location matters for many corps. Drum corps is a non profit and in more than a few cases drum corps does little to build up the local economy. For World Class especially, it does little to serve the local youth. Don’t get me wrong, I believe drum corps does serve an important purpose and contributes to the overall economy, but local businesses want to support programs that reach local residents. Relationships can develop by joining the Chamber of Commerce, Rotary, Kiwanis, etc., but that takes years. 

People can point to Boston Crusaders as an example of local support, and Inspire Arts does incredible good work, but Boston Crusaders has been in the same vicinity its entire history, there are BAC alums everywhere in the area. Most moved from the city to suburbs and retire to the the Cape for the summer and Florida for the winter. It’s not as true for the under 45 or so crowd. BAC has built new relationships, no question, but it built on the past.  

I think a big point of the move is a hope to have more local involvement. The Cadets used to do a lot of community involvement in Allentown, but I think a lot of those programs have gone away over time thanks to all of the Hopkins stuff. Now that the corps is in a solid financial position I think it's a great time to move somewhere that actively wants the corps to be involved in the community (through clinic programs during the summer, parades, and potentially programs that take place during the off-season). There's already strong relationships with Erie Sports Center for the corps, and with the older local drum corps, the Erie Thunderbirds. The hope is to further develop relationships in the area, but I think the point is there already exists stronger relationships for the corps in Erie than there are in Allentown. 

[IllianaLancerContra]

1 hour ago, craiga said:

 

Also, one of the above posts in this thread said something like no world class drum corps are based in their city other than a post office box. The BAC employees who actually work in the corps building in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Boston would probably disagree with you. 

There is always an exception to the rule.   But, how many members come to practice every Wednesday night January-May  at the Corps building?  With little to zero local membership there is no need for renting physical office space.  Covid proved that remote staffing for office jobs is a viable option.   

[craiga]

35 minutes ago, IllianaLancerContra said:

There is always an exception to the rule.   But, how many members come to practice every Wednesday night January-May  at the Corps building?  With little to zero local membership there is no need for renting physical office space.  Covid proved that remote staffing for office jobs is a viable option.   

Boston doesn't rent office space because they own the entire building.  They also have three local musical ensembles dedicated to under served local youth, which the organization provides at no cost to those kids.   Two of these ensembles are based right there in Hyde Park.  BAC does have monthly camps in Texas because many of the members come from there, but the Texas kids are ever bit as much "Crusaders" as the east coast members. Meanwhile, the Hyde Park Brass and HYPE percussion ensemble do rehease right there in Hyde Park.  One last clarification.....for the record. BAC has marching members  from Massachusetts in EVERY section in 2023, including the drum major. I would not be shocked to see the Cadets do something similar in Erie as time progresses.

Edited December 26, 2022 by craiga

[fsthnds]

47 minutes ago, CadetDood said:

Now that the corps is in a solid financial position

I question that statement! The corps had several money issues recently under Denise's leadership, including paying staff and vendors. If anything why would you want to incur additional debt associated with relocation ?

[IllianaLancerContra]

29 minutes ago, craiga said:

Boston doesn't rent office space because they own the entire building.  They also have three local musical ensembles dedicated to under served local youth, which the organization provides at no cost to those kids.   Two of these ensembles are based right there in Hyde Park.  BAC does have monthly camps in Texas because many of the members come from there, but the Texas kids are ever bit as much "Crusaders" as the east coast members. Meanwhile, the Hyde Park Brass and HYPE percussion ensemble do rehease right there in Hyde Park.  One last clarification.....for the record. BAC has marching members  from Massachusetts in EVERY section in 2023, including the drum major. I would not be shocked to see the Cadets do something similar in Erie as time progresses.

Good.  

[M R]

The Cadets are in a good place right now due to the changes made in the offseason.  Also, it is nice to see The Cadets interested in building bridges instead of burning them!

[CadetDood]

1 hour ago, fsthnds said:

I question that statement! The corps had several money issues recently under Denise's leadership, including paying staff and vendors. If anything why would you want to incur additional debt associated with relocation ?

What are you referring to? If it's to the charter bus situation, as I understand it the corps decided to cut ties with the bus company due to disagreements between the old administration and the bus drivers. Not because the corps couldn't afford the busses, seeing as how they turned around and hired a different charter bus service immediately after cutting ties with the other bus company. I haven't heard of any other potential "money issue", or instance of not paying staff members what they were promised. I've seen accusations from Hopkins of money issues, but I think everyone can agree he's an unreliable source that just wants to paint the corps in a bad light now that he's gone. I agree that the corps was in a bad spot from 2018 through COVID, but by all the accounts that I've heard the corps is in a much more stable position now and is simply looking for ways to be in an even better one by relocating.