Cadets Suspend for 2024

[Jeff Ream]

11 hours ago, ContraFart said:

If I had those answers, I would be DCI CEO. 

Let me ask you guys a question.... Would Cadets be marching this year if they did not bring out props and an extra truck, or are their problems larger? 

larger.

[Jeff Ream]

11 hours ago, NewToPosting said:

Parades. Community events (such as First Fridays, Art Walks, engagement with local symphony if there is one, Crown has done shows at Nascar events in Charlotte, I taught a corps that teamed up with a local rapper and did shows around town). Clinics with local bands. Summer sporting events. Soundsport. Clinics for just anybody who wants to learn. Start a winterguard. Start an indoor drumline. Start a Winds group. Local theater group engagements. Most corps have food trucks and there's a WHOLE foodie scene in pretty much any medium-sized town nowadays, utilizing *gasp* food trucks!!!!

Nobody goes to a circus and says, "Gee, I really hope the circus can make it down the road". It's in the town and then it's gone, just like modern drum corps. Yes, the local engagements cost money, but they also bring in revenue...and eyeballs...and engage with potential future members (that, unfortunately, most likely WON'T become the activity's "elite" performers).

The top of our activity is incredibly esoteric. There's a LOT more "popular" things, in the sense of being "in the population", that a regional schedule could look like. 

A drum corps can do a lot more than just be competitive for competition sake. I wish the activity would move in that direction to maintain the competitive aspect.

Cadets had an indoor guard and percussion group, a band circuit that did lots of clinics, a dance ensemble....and past mismanagement ruined that. 

i said this before....Erie may have that facility, which is great, but that region isn't chock full of monster bands. outside of the city, most of the school districts are small, and there aren't as many districts as Eastern PA has, which is also close to the roots in NJ. Western New York and eastern OH aren't rolling in giant band programs to draw from either.

[Jeff Ream]

11 hours ago, LabMaster said:

I think you got it wrong.  Cadets didn’t let down supporters as much as supporters let them down. And the CEO let them down by not being open and honest with the BoD about finances. There are corps who have expanded their base of op’s that still have supporters who enjoy the corps and support it well.  Maybe Cadet alums could help more,  but it seems there are conditions with their support.  Like going to Erie is a problem (because Allentown needed to be in the rear view).  Could they have returned to Garfield?  Would the alums empty their wallets then?  I get, to an extent, the restraint, but imo, if you truly care about the org, you let some things be and provide support.  Holding back has the corps in the position they are in.  What seems to be a most significant element of the decision to suspend is a lack of incoming revenue.  In any way.  Lots of contributing factors, but no plan to generate revenue is crippling.  Hopefully they can be back at some point.

maybe there were some codisition, but management has made some seriously questionable decisions. look at the fiasco with how everything ended with Denise. of course, the drama of 2018. losing USBands. i feel bad for Litzenburg....he quit teaching to go try and keep his corps alive, and he got chucked to side. and then the Aungst firing fiasco. 

 

it's like sports teams. d###### management turns people away. stop having people buy tickets, you lost money. well in drum corps you make stupid management decisions, you can lose donors. i am amazed Madison is still here given their alumni issues

[Jeff Ream]

11 hours ago, JimF-LowBari said:

What facilities did Allentown or Garfield have to offer for the corps and at what cost? Get the Erie corps group newsletter and sounded like Erie area had a lot to offer. IIRC it all started because the corps did their camp at Erie one year and was a good experience all around. And Erie has had a corps presence for decades with all different types of corps.
And with members coming from all parts of the country. What percentage of Cadets alumni live near Allentown or Garfield.

Jersey was never going to happen. way too many burnt bridges before the move to Allentown that led to the move to Allentown. Sure some camps were run there, but the red carpet for a lot of things was rolled up.

Cadets i do believe had a decent regional membership base even in this day and age.but those kids had maybe a 2/3 hour drive to Allentown now looking at like 7 or more hours to Erie

[Jeff Ream]

10 hours ago, ContraFart said:

That tells me everything I need to know about your intentions

well...he's linda right. the roosters having too much control of the hen house. too focused on scoring well. not all corps have equal say. the list could go on and on. the central office should have more institutional control

[Jeff Ream]

10 hours ago, ContraFart said:

Can Spartans Vote? They seem to be doing pretty well along with a few other open class corps.

for now.

[Jeff Ream]

9 hours ago, TenHut said:

There are waaay to many people on staff. Frankly, it's ridiculous. 

and they aren't all there at the same time or being paid for not being there. it's been said a zillion times, but in todays world, people just can't take the whole summer off anymore.

[Jeff Ream]

8 hours ago, craiga said:

I don't dispute your figures. There were also more than 60 corps here in eastern Massachusetts.   

However, of the +1500  corps you accurately reference, +1400 never had anything to do with DCI, national tours, electronics, props, huge staffs, or having 15 unit convoys.  They simply went away because they DID NOT HAVE ADEQUATE REVENUE...even then.

Also, as many have noted, many fell victim to changes in society, just as Catholic churches, Grange halls, boy scouts, and most other neighborhood activities. 

Look, I'm now in my 60s, and there is nothing I would love more than to transport myself back to attending the World Open in Lynn, MA in 1979 and see 60 "local corps" over two days.  It's just not going to happen and DCI had nothing to do with it.

well you just ruined a zillion conspiracy theories. oh wait those conspiracy theories still persist. 

[C.Holland]

13 minutes ago, Jeff Ream said:

Cadets had an indoor guard and percussion group, a band circuit that did lots of clinics, a dance ensemble....and past mismanagement ruined that. 

i said this before....Erie may have that facility, which is great, but that region isn't chock full of monster bands. outside of the city, most of the school districts are small, and there aren't as many districts as Eastern PA has, which is also close to the roots in NJ. Western New York and eastern OH aren't rolling in giant band programs to draw from either.

Eries sports complex didn’t meet code.  Read that again.  It means it can’t have people in it. So it’s moot. 

as someone who taught in Erie area. Erie bands are not great. It’s not the students. It’s the directors who just don’t teach fundamentals very well. 
 

as someone who works with a lot of non profit. Anytime you suspend operations, it means the board didn’t meet their fundraising numbers. And not by a few grand.  But by a large number. 
 

 

[Jeff Ream]

5 hours ago, JimF-LowBari said:

Late 70s Crossmen had buses that had “seen better days”. 😱 One was called the Hindenburg. No idea which one it was but bus #1 burned a lot of engine oil. You could tell because the front corner of bus #2 was black from the oil smoke. 😨😨

Crossmen you may push your busses to competition