Michael Boo Posted August 1, 2006 Share Posted August 1, 2006 I received the following from Bob Bennett, who has led the Allentown committee for more years than I can remember. He gave me permission upon my request to reprint the following, but he was concerned about it sounding like bragging if it got out to the public. I told him it's not bragging if it's true. The following helps explain why people go back to Allentown year-after-year. Mike Mike, I have always considered you a good friend of DCI East and you have been very complementary in the past about how we run our show. Today I sent this out to the committee to get them ready to run the show this weekend. What I told them is the essence of why this show is so highly regarded. It's the committee and its experience. There are some interesting stats in the following. Thought you may like to read it just to give you some background on what East really is behind the scenes. To the 2006 East Committee I was looking over the committee listing and have come up with some numbers that may be of interest to you. We have 75 volunteers this year. When you add the ushers, runners and people who provide water to the corps when they come off the field the number of volunteers is right around 100. Of our 75, 85% are returning volunteers. Of the 75 I also estimate 75% have worked the show five or more years. And around 25% of the committee has worked the show for at least 20 years. Mitch and Cecily have worked all the DCI East shows. We also have a large number of family members working the show. By that I mean husband, wife, significant others, sons and daughters. We have 24 families represented, consisting of 50 people. (That in itself is 75% of the committee). Finally I know that for a good number of the committee members this is the only show they work. Every year at this time I remember one of our long time DCI friends, Bob Wiles, who has passed on. He told me and the track crew one year that East was the only show he would work for free. He loved coming to Allentown and working with our committee. I believe the above gives some insight into why this committee is so special and so good. It is not just a volunteer group, it is a family that gets together every year to run this show. The comradely, respect for each other and love of the event are evident not only to me but to those who come to the show. The spectators know you and know what to expect from you. They feel at home here. It is like the year the show returned from Philly. A young man came through gate 1, got down on his knees, kissed the asphalt and said “I'm home”. I thank you for your continued efforts on behalf of DCI East and I am truly proud to be working with you. You know what to do. Now let’s just do it. Don’t forget we have some big expectations to meet this weekend. After all this is DCI EAST! See you at the stadium. Bob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimwolf359 Posted August 1, 2006 Share Posted August 1, 2006 I received the following from Bob Bennett, who has led the Allentown committee for more years than I can remember. He gave me permission upon my request to reprint the following, but he was concerned about it sounding like bragging if it got out to the public. I told him it's not bragging if it's true. The following helps explain why people go back to Allentown year-after-year.Mike Mike, I have always considered you a good friend of DCI East and you have been very complementary in the past about how we run our show. Today I sent this out to the committee to get them ready to run the show this weekend. What I told them is the essence of why this show is so highly regarded. It's the committee and its experience. There are some interesting stats in the following. Thought you may like to read it just to give you some background on what East really is behind the scenes. To the 2006 East Committee I was looking over the committee listing and have come up with some numbers that may be of interest to you. We have 75 volunteers this year. When you add the ushers, runners and people who provide water to the corps when they come off the field the number of volunteers is right around 100. Of our 75, 85% are returning volunteers. Of the 75 I also estimate 75% have worked the show five or more years. And around 25% of the committee has worked the show for at least 20 years. Mitch and Cecily have worked all the DCI East shows. We also have a large number of family members working the show. By that I mean husband, wife, significant others, sons and daughters. We have 24 families represented, consisting of 50 people. (That in itself is 75% of the committee). Finally I know that for a good number of the committee members this is the only show they work. Every year at this time I remember one of our long time DCI friends, Bob Wiles, who has passed on. He told me and the track crew one year that East was the only show he would work for free. He loved coming to Allentown and working with our committee. I believe the above gives some insight into why this committee is so special and so good. It is not just a volunteer group, it is a family that gets together every year to run this show. The comradely, respect for each other and love of the event are evident not only to me but to those who come to the show. The spectators know you and know what to expect from you. They feel at home here. It is like the year the show returned from Philly. A young man came through gate 1, got down on his knees, kissed the asphalt and said “I'm home”. I thank you for your continued efforts on behalf of DCI East and I am truly proud to be working with you. You know what to do. Now let’s just do it. Don’t forget we have some big expectations to meet this weekend. After all this is DCI EAST! See you at the stadium. Bob And That says it all IMHO Thanks Mike for printing that and Big Thanks to Mr. Bennett for his and his committee's great hard work! Jim Wolf 71-77 NJ Black Watch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WordRider Posted August 1, 2006 Share Posted August 1, 2006 God Bless The people who provide water to the corps when they come off the field. ^OO^ Thank you 2006 East Committee. Terrance Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomMoore Posted August 1, 2006 Share Posted August 1, 2006 As a long-time fan, I've enjoyed this show immensely year after year and have always thought it to be superb. As a member of the administration of the Reading Buccaneers, I'm thrilled to be able to see it from the perspective of a performing unit. I'm sure it'll be just as special, and we're grateful for the opportunity to perform on Saturday night. Plus, a number of our volunteers work on the show, and they're TOP NOTCH folks. So if you've got 70+ top-notch folks working on this show, no wonder it's such a mainstay in DCI! Congratulations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted August 2, 2006 Share Posted August 2, 2006 one of the best event organizers out there. these folks have it down to a science Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drumcat Posted August 2, 2006 Share Posted August 2, 2006 I think it's fair to say that whenever people talk about Allentown, and that sometimes people wish the East regional wasn't there, it's clear that the argument has nothing to do with the outstanding team that's there. I think we all wish the facility was magically able to keep up with the effort of the volunteers that run the Allentown show. Only a group of people with that much know-how could get a show like Allentown, in a place like J Birney, to run so smoothly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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