Allegiance Elite to go inactive

[SoonerFan04]

Interesting thoughts from Iplaytimpani and soonerfan004! I'm curious though to sooner - exactly what kinds of topics came up and were worked out through this "council" if you will? I know we never formally had such a "feedback" group in place and am curious as to what types of things the members were willing to bring up? It could be a great idea as long as it didn't turn into the weekly gripe session! I know we had some meetings over the years when the members would request it, but often times, they asked to have NO staff or managment present which I took to mean it was an issue they wanted to address by themselves, for themselves. Perhaps a council would be a more positive step in this direction.

And as timpani puts it, managment does need to know what is going on within the membership. Where I guess I would draw the line though for our corps is when members would want to meet to try and change rules that were.. simply put... rules. For example, males and females have ALWAYS slept on opposite sides of the gym. That is a rule we had since our inception, something we promise the parents in our literature, and I think most will agree, it is a good rule and there for the member's protection. Another one is, we insist our members wear hats and most of the time, shirts. The reason? Not because we don't enjoy the suntans but rather because 1) the school we used for our home camps had a rule for the females (no sports bras or halters allowed on premise) so we equally brought that on to the males as well; and 2) with all the info available now about skin cancer from direct sun, it seems wise to look out for the members health.

Anyway, I will keep checking here (and apologizing to Allegiance Elite for getting off the main track of mourning yet another friend not on tour this summer). Or if you guys would rather, e-mail me direct. Would love to carry on the conversation.

I honestly have no idea what came up during the discussions as I was not part of the group, however if you would like to email Trey Moore at Memphis he may be able to provide some insight into the discussions and if they provided any help in the first place. I can't personally say if it directly improved the corps in any manner, because I don't know what issues/resolutions were a part of the discussion, only that I believe it was a good idea.

About the members calling meetings, I also think that is a good idea - we had a couple throughout camps and the summer. It is a good idea for vets especially to outline what is expected of the new members as well as set goals and the tone of the summer (not simply talking about the competitive aspect). There were a few times when no staff was involved, like you said, because in the end it was between the members and issues regarding that - not nessicarily issues that could be resolved, so to say, by the staff or administration.

However, sometimes issues that can't be resolved by the members because they may (or may not) be coming from the organizational end of the spectrum should be spoken out to the appropriate staff member(s). I'm not refering to "rules" that members may not agree with, because that is something they KNOW ahead of time before joining on for the summer (i.e. gym sleeping and hats/shirts, like you mentioned). The discussion shouldn't be about rules or things of that nature, as rules are a part of society, but rather certain issues arising from the organization if there are any. Issues that would help improve member retention and recruiting as well as improve the overall experience of members, old and new.

When a member feels they are TRULY a part of the organization, not just marching for it, then it can greatly influence their preception of the summer.

Like I said, members should in no way overstep their boundaries by throwing a fit about a sleeping situation rule (we have the same one as you mentioned at Memphis) or any other rule for that matter; but positive, calm and mature discussion about real and evident issues from the MEMBERS' eyes should be heard when presented in that mature manner.

Again, all MY opinion and nothing more. Thank you for replying Mr. Luniewski, I believe this is a good ducussion and I also apologize that it is somewhat off-topic, as it certainly doesn't take away from the sadness of another great corps not fielding this summer. Hurry back AE!

I think that what Sooner and Iplaytimpani may be getting at, is a discussion re: How the membership feels... Not like an Island council(watching survivor too much) to vote and begin changing the organization's rules, policies, etc. as that is obviously up to the management and board, but a way to have their concerns voiced and be heard.

After that point, it would be up to the board and management to see what they can do with the comments they are provided with. Happy members=More + Returning members.

Also, In keeping with the route this conversation has gone, I'm wondering, how much of the problem with membership in "struggling" (for lack of a better term) corps is due to a lack of Organization? Eg. people not being sure where rehearsals are, parents not knowing what the fees/deadlines are, or what camp schedules are going to be like.. etc.

Again, I suppose this issue would ultimately boil down to lack of communication again..

Exactly - not a panel to change rules and policies (that would be overstepping boundaries), just a mature medium for communication about internal issues to be voiced.

That is a good question. Perhaps someone who has run into that problem can answer if it has affected their view of an organization, without naming names. I agree, it can come down to communication again, but anyone who has directly encountered a problem of that nature that resulted in a negative view of any kind may be able to answer with a little more 'insight'.

[LER Director]

Still following this one along. I guess a "council" of members might not be a bad idea and one I would consider for my corps in the future. But my "recruiting" and/or "retention" I think had some other issues. First off, as far as communication on "when and where" with prospective and returning members, I know we e-mailed the info, posted on our web, called the kids and also sent info in the regular mail. I know I personally followed thru on each and every interest survey and based on the responses I was getting thru the e-mail, I fully expected about 50 people at camps. Yet when camps actually came, only 10-12 people were showing. After seeing what has been said in this discussion, if it was issues from the past, why would people string the corps along? But anyway, I don't think it was a lack of communication. Look at my posts - I can't even get them down to a couple short sentences. Think of what I must put out to the prospective members!

[Iplaytimpani]

Ray, as a former member if your corps, maybe I could help. I'm really not sure. There were a few reasons why I did not return, but that was a few years ago as well. PM me if you're interested and maybe I could help get LER back on the right track. Just a thought.