craiga Posted January 18, 2023 Share Posted January 18, 2023 For more than 20 years, during the lean times of the 80s into the 90s, the entire Boston staff taught without pay. Mostly BAC alums, our mission was to keep the corps alive no matter what. We actually had no money. At all. No hall, no trucks, no sponsors. But we never took a season off. The kids who were marching then are running Boston now. What will SCV do? 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scheherazadesghost Posted January 18, 2023 Share Posted January 18, 2023 (edited) A significant amount of trust has been lost between leadership and alum who have tried, in countless ways, to understand our weaknesses and help build solutions. I know several stories like that from alum both younger and older than me. Where I couldn't afford to volunteer last year, I'd offer it now if there was mutual trust. Actually, I have offered to help with the last request they made of me, but I've been ignored. (It doesn't help that there is still a board member whose family member enabled the treatment I experienced when I marched. 🤷🏽♀️They also circulated my open letter internally but never told me or followed up with me about how that went. Another alum, who no longer works with them and has taken their passion and expertise to another corps, told me separately.) And say what you will about me, there are others more qualified who were met with closed doors too. There is a difference BTW what leadership will do to answer that question and what some of us want to see happen. But leadership won't even acknowledge some questions we voted on. My own, which cracked the top 10 questions with 30+ alumni votes, was avoided in order to address "toxic alum" as problematic instead. I have receipts. And again it's not just me and my questions that were avoided or inadequately addressed without an accessible opportunity to followup in real time or at all... beyond "join the alumni association". I've gotten lots of mixed messages about this leadership, and I want to trust them, but how can I when I've personally experienced more closed doors than open ones across the years? So, the dirty laundry gets aired here instead so there's some record of it. I hope, with Richard's post, it makes more sense why now. We have precious few other ways of communicating transparently at this point. Sure wish more alum would speak up here... if nothing else to support Richard for saying what they cannot. Edited January 18, 2023 by scheherazadesghost 1 2 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjoakes Posted January 18, 2023 Share Posted January 18, 2023 Really fascinating reading. Thanks to the OP for bringing to this group some expertise and detailed knowledge. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjoakes Posted January 18, 2023 Share Posted January 18, 2023 On 1/16/2023 at 9:11 PM, Daave said: Are non profits allowed to engage in investing, if it is reported/reflected in the 990's? I know others have answered this. I'll add: My nonprofit invests all the time, but mostly short-term, low risk money market stuff to earn some tiny interest on cash that isn't needed next week. We have occasionally done long-term CDs earning slightly higher interest timed for maturity when we know we will need the cash. We don't buy Tesla or crypto. Any nonprofit investments should be guided by a written policy approved by the board, as the OP suggested he wrote. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeN Posted January 18, 2023 Share Posted January 18, 2023 2 hours ago, craiga said: For more than 20 years, during the lean times of the 80s into the 90s, the entire Boston staff taught without pay. Mostly BAC alums, our mission was to keep the corps alive no matter what. We actually had no money. At all. No hall, no trucks, no sponsors. But we never took a season off. The kids who were marching then are running Boston now. What will SCV do? Take a season off. Mike 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musicteacher Posted January 18, 2023 Share Posted January 18, 2023 Re: that bit of BAC history, Craiga is absolutely correct. My pay my first year on staff was the caption head slipping me a few bucks "for gas money." 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Lesher Posted January 18, 2023 Author Share Posted January 18, 2023 15 hours ago, troopers1 said: Also, to be clear, I'm not trying to be argumentative at all. I find this a very interesting question to get answered, for the good of all of us. And I am also amazed that they went from the strongest position in DCI to inactive so quickly. Oh I understand how forums likes these work. I have to accept a degree of back and forth. That's the point. The major cause for that is unknowns from either point of view, and we are all without 2022 operating data. So what is very clear is SCV at the start of 2022 was in overwhelmingly the strongest economic position of all DCI member organizations and then went under at the end of it where no others, certainly not among their peer size corps did either. I want folks to call me out, I want folks to dig into the data and 990s and say I am full of it. I am being explicit for that very reason. They don't, not on any point of substance. Not yet anyway. I've about exhausted topics where I can pull my arguments from public information, and once I go beyond that then it turns into speculation (informed or otherwise) and topics of discussion where all parties viewing the conversation cannot validate the high points for themselves. SCV right now is on the rampage to shut down things being discusses that present the organization in a negative light, and specifically critical of the organizations leadership and management. So while they are censoring my factual and accurate discussion using 990 data they themselves made public on their website that still leaves our conversations around this topic of actual 2022 activity unknown. That's what this forum is for, just what happened in the days of the 2022 season. I don't know. I hear things, but I can't share it. What is public, or out in the open at least is that the entire Visual Staff was either fired or resigned in protest in the Spring of 2022. What was that about? 5 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IllianaLancerContra Posted January 18, 2023 Share Posted January 18, 2023 (edited) 52 minutes ago, MikeN said: Take a season off. Mike Hate to say it, but looking at all of this that is coming out, I don't think we will see SCV again. Edited January 18, 2023 by IllianaLancerContra more better english 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeN Posted January 18, 2023 Share Posted January 18, 2023 I'd be surprised if they were back by next season as they intend. As someone who's had to do bad news and crisis communication for my corps, it's kind of... weird... that they were all "we're gonna take this year off and come up with a plan" because it implies you don't yet *have* a plan. The timing of the immediate, abrupt shutdown strongly suggests SCV's financial stability was 100% tied to the bingo hall approval they discussed, and that, coupled with the "we'll create a plan" is telling everyone they gambled the corps' future on a roll of the dice without a plan B. Again, this is just the connotation from what they themselves have said. I'm certain there are a million moving parts we don't know about as well. Mike 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scheherazadesghost Posted January 18, 2023 Share Posted January 18, 2023 1 hour ago, Richard Lesher said: What is public, or out in the open at least is that the entire Visual Staff was either fired or resigned in protest in the Spring of 2022. What was that about? Actual footage of some alumni/others trying to decide whether to weigh in or not: I have only theories, but nothing worth sharing here since my only trusted contact within the org is no longer there. Not vis staff. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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