Cadets Suspend for 2024

[TheOneWhoKnows]

1 hour ago, C.Holland said:

To do regional tour you need regional shows.  To host a show you need to be a dci event partner. So they can oversee the tour stop you’re providing them.  You as a show sponsor need to gamble your money hoping you can break even and sell a whole lot of concessions. 

 

5 minutes ago, Jeff Ream said:

and DCI pushed several tour event partners out

It definitely ain’t cheap to run a show. And one of the last of the partners, Lake Erie Fanfare, didn’t make even this year due to a second year in a row rain out. 
 

Now this show is supposed to be going to The Cadets to own this year. Maybe they can make money off it, maybe not. It was originally thought that The Cadets being back in the top 5 meant they could draw some of the big boys out to the show to increase appeal and revenue. We will see I guess. 

[TheOneWhoKnows]

On 10/16/2023 at 12:30 AM, C.Holland said:

https://www.goerie.com/story/news/local/2023/06/06/erie-pa-sports-park-ordered-dome-stage-uniform-construction-code-violations-permits-summit-township/70292867007/
 

that building had several deficiencies and had to close starting in June until Sept while things were rectified 

 

9 hours ago, Jeff Ream said:

oof.

Don't read too much into this. It was a political ####### match between the county and the owner of the sports park. The "deficiency" was a trumped up interpretation of the code in an attempt to force the closure of the dome and the area of the stage to try to stop the sports park from having their weekly music events. It didn't work.

[cixelsyd]

8 hours ago, hockeycaps said:

The gist of my posting was that this thread was meant to discuss the sad situation with the Cadets in 2024. Not to debate what may have caused it or what has caused the demise of the activity. If you want to discuss those topics, then start a new thread so those of that want to mourn the loss of another "family" member may do so without all of you so called experts bickering back and forth as to who or what is right and who or what is wrong. I'm sure none of you were in the "room" when the decision was made so I really doubt that you have the facts as to why the decision was made. 

This thread broke the news about Cadets suspending their 2024 operations, per a press release which stated the cause.  So the cause was already part of the topic to begin with.  

If you want a thread limited to mourning, you are welcome to start one for that purpose.  Click where it says "start new topic".  Give it an appropriate title and opening post, so that people know what the thread is intended for.  After that, if people try to drive the thread off-topic, moderators will delete the off-topic posts.

[Keith Hall]

A LOT I could say but it would just do no good. Continue to rant BUT the end is nigh! My guess would be that some corps will go the way of blast. It won't be competitive any more because MONEY talks! The people who are making much dinero will find a way to make more and it won't be through the corps fees of members but by corporations who will sponsor them.

Now spew your hate for me!

[NewToPosting]

I have not scrolled through all of the 60+ pages in the thread, so this may be divulged somewhere (apologies if so).

I read the Chairman's note. There was an odd line:

"Meanwhile, the reconciliation of last season’s expenses is not realized until the final bills arrive in September and October. It was only within the past week that the CAE Board reviewed the final results for the year and reached the painful conclusion that our income was insufficient to cover our expenses and that we had less cash on hand than our current debts and obligations."

Has it been made clear what unexpected expenses rolled in around September/October? 

This sounds like somebody put the summer on a credit card and people didn't know until the bill came a couple of months later. Otherwise, how do you not know that, with the season ending in mid-August? Especially after allegedly being diligent about cost-cutting measures (as mentioned earlier in his release)? Did Hoppy win a settlement or something?

Say what you will, but I saw Denise doing Zoom fundraiser after Zoom fundraiser while she was running the org and then that all seemed to stop with her retirement. It's all such a shame.

[TenHut]

7 hours ago, NewToPosting said:

I have not scrolled through all of the 60+ pages in the thread, so this may be divulged somewhere (apologies if so).

I read the Chairman's note. There was an odd line:

"Meanwhile, the reconciliation of last season’s expenses is not realized until the final bills arrive in September and October. It was only within the past week that the CAE Board reviewed the final results for the year and reached the painful conclusion that our income was insufficient to cover our expenses and that we had less cash on hand than our current debts and obligations."

Has it been made clear what unexpected expenses rolled in around September/October? 

This sounds like somebody put the summer on a credit card and people didn't know until the bill came a couple of months later. Otherwise, how do you not know that, with the season ending in mid-August? Especially after allegedly being diligent about cost-cutting measures (as mentioned earlier in his release)? Did Hoppy win a settlement or something?

Say what you will, but I saw Denise doing Zoom fundraiser after Zoom fundraiser while she was running the org and then that all seemed to stop with her retirement. It's all such a shame.

No way they didn't know they were in trouble.

[Old Guy]

5 hours ago, TenHut said:

No way they didn't know they were in trouble.

I am always surprise at the end of tour to realize I have 200 000$+ to collect and even more to pay. 
 

+ thing we forgot were coming our way + things we didn’t anticipate. 
 

You have a ballpark but you can be 50-100k on one side or the other. 
 

Many thing are not known before you have them (breakdown, housing difficulties, oven broken, rain, etc).  It goes up fast. 
 

Edited October 18, 2023 by Old Guy

[ContraFart]

12 hours ago, Keith Hall said:

A LOT I could say but it would just do no good. Continue to rant BUT the end is nigh! My guess would be that some corps will go the way of blast. It won't be competitive any more because MONEY talks! The people who are making much dinero will find a way to make more and it won't be through the corps fees of members but by corporations who will sponsor them.

Now spew your hate for me!

I would never spew hate. People are allowed to be wrong 😛

[Jurassic Lancer]

3 hours ago, Old Guy said:

I am always surprise at the end of tour to realize I have 200 000$+ to collect and even more to pay. 
 

+ thing we forgot were coming our way + things we didn’t anticipate. 
 

You have a ballpark but you can be 50-100k on one side or the other. 
 

Many thing are not known before you have them (breakdown, housing difficulties, oven broken, rain, etc).  It goes up fast. 
 

C’mon … you know what bills are going to hit with a pretty good semblance of accuracy. The board , CEO and CFO knew what was coming with a reasonable degree of accuracy.  If they didn’t … that is simply incompetence. 

Edited October 18, 2023 by Jurassic Lancer

[Old Guy]

3 hours ago, Jurassic Lancer said:

C’mon … you know what bills are going to hit with a pretty good semblance of accuracy. The board , CEO and CFO knew what was coming with a reasonable degree of accuracy.  If they didn’t … that is simply incompetence. 

Hey!  The only way to know while you are on tour is to have a very tight day to day control. There is 10+ persons, each with their own role, responsibility and credit card. 
 

Sometime credit card doesn’t work and some people will use their own credit card. Everything goes fast. There is a million thing to do. And so many parts moving at the same time. 
 

I am not surprised many corps find out in October where their corps stand. And that is from someone with math skills and a reputation of a bit of a control freak when it comes to money. 
 

Now, I hope everyone is planning a lot of free space on budget because once your gone on tour, you have limited control over bad news. From bus company who’s saying that you modified the schedule and now have an hour to give an extra few thousand in cash to the driver, to a truck that break down with the pieces coming next month for repair, to a freezer that caught fire, losing both the freezer and the food for the following week,   housing unavailable few hours before pulling in, needing to be replace by a motel, plume getting soaked by a subit rain, etc. 
 

The list of surprise on tour never end. And it doesn’t help that the price are at an all time high, company doesn’t have enough workers, efficiency seem (to me anyway) at an all time low, etc. 
 

I never been so scare of a break down on the road because pre-pandemic, the fix would be quite fast, nowadays, repair shop often say « next month ». Well, next month, tour will be over. 
 

Had to rent an extra vehicule last summer because of that. Sunday…. Everything was closed except the airport. 4-5 companies…. None had a 12-15 passengers van. Until I reserved one on the web at the same airport from the same people who said they didn’t have any at the airport. Go figure. 
 

Let me add that not one corps face the same challenge as the other ones. Do you run your own fleet, are you working with volunteers or paid staff, did you face a lot of adversity or not, etc.
 

Anything can happen. Because of rain at our home show,  we had 30% of expected sales. Just one exemple. 
 

I am just writing for the fun of it but let me tell you, it’s much easier to run a manufacture than a drum corps!