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Help spread the word about the telecast


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Hey guys,

Just brainstorming a few days ago about how to develop more support for the activity by leveraging the broadcast next week on ESPN 2. I contacted DCI with this idea, hoping they'd pick it up and publicize it asking everyone to help with this "grass roots effort". Unfortunately, never heard back from anyone but figured I'd give it a shot myself locally and see if some others might do the same in your local area.

I've developed a little bit of a relationship over the years with the DJ team at Atlanta's #1 morning radio show "Steve and Vikki on Star 94". This morning, I've emailed them, the afternoon drive time team and the mid day folks asking all of them to help us publicize the broadcast next week.

If EVERYONE that reads DCP would contact your favorite morning show or afternoon "drive time" team and ask for their help in publicizing it, we might reach a rather significant audience that would otherwise never even know that the broadcast occured.

I realize that some morning shows, would use the event as a "punching bag" for their humor, so use your good judgement, but these guys in Atlanta have always supported music programs and I'm hoping they will continue by helping with awareness of this.

I've pasted a copy of the letter I wrote below as a suggestion. Obviously word it however you want and personalize it if possible as I did with one of the hosts.

Anything we can do to leverage the telecast to help support the kids that march and the organizations that provide them the opportunity to do so will be a positive for the activity.

Hope you'll join me in this effort.

Later, AA

Hey guys,

Since each of you makes your living in part due to the music industry, I thought you might be willing to help publicize something that will feature over a thousand young musicians aged (14 – 21), making it’s first appearance on ESPN 2 next week.

Drum Corps International ( http://www.dci.org ) is the governing body of Drum and Bugle Corps that tour the United States each summer, competing each night culminating with their World Championships each summer in a major stadium in early to mid August. Each summer, the world championship attracts anywhere between 20 to 40 thousand people to the finals competition featuring the top 12 Drum and Bugle Corps in the World. This years championship was held in Gillette Stadium in Foxboro Mass. home of the New England Patriots.

This year, for the first time, a taped broadcast of the championships will be telecast on ESPN 2. The Championship broadcast has appeared on PBS in some form since I believe 1976 but this is the first time to appear on a major cable network. The show will be broadcast Tuesday evening, September 6th from 10 PM till midnight and rebroadcast again a couple of times in an afternoon slot after that.

The Drum and Bugle Corps activity is one that demands military style discipline, high quality musical performances, and EXTREMELY intense and physically demanding visual/athletic performances from each member. These young men and women practice on average six hours each day for months on end, performing in different cities each night all over the country. They are truly “musical athletes” in the most literal interpretation of that word.

Cindy, being from Canton, OH, you might be interested to know that the Canton Bluecoats enjoyed their most successful season EVER, finishing in fifth place in the world. Atlanta was once home to one of the elite groups in this activity, but due to a lack of community awareness and support, that group moved to a different state a few years back.

In order to get out the word to more people about this broadcast, I was hoping you’d take a second and mention it on your daily broadcasts on Monday or Tuesday of next week. Many of us are trying to “get the word out” to not only help support the thousands of young men and women who spend their time in such a positive way each summer, but also to let many others know about the activity so that it might gain more popular support. There are hundreds, (possibly in the thousands) of drum corps alumni in your listening base, (many of them alumni of the corps formerly based out of Atlanta) but many may have lost touch with the activity through the years. Publicizing this telecast might help bring back a wonderful time in their lives.

Again the broadcast is Tuesday evening, September 6th at 10 PM till midnight.

You can check out a little more about this event at the website below.

http://www.dci.org/2npse/intro.cfm

Thanks in advance for any help you can offer in letting folks know about this. If you have any questions about the activity, the broadcast or just in general, you can catch me here at this email or via phone on my cell at XXX-XXX-XXXX

Thanks for all the great community service you do with your shows. I hope you’ll take a minute or two and support this effort to let folks know about this event.

Later, AA

T. Alan Armstrong

Director of Bands

Northgate High School

Newnan, GA 30265

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<snip>

Thanks for all the great community service you do with your shows.  I hope you’ll take a minute or two and support this effort to let folks know about this event.

Later, AA

T. Alan Armstrong

Director of Bands

Northgate High School

Newnan, GA  30265

Great idea and fantastic letter, Alan! I hope it achieves the desired results here in the Atlanta area!

Respectfully,

Michael Terry

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