Whats up with the Madison Scouts Board of Directors?

[mdsnsctfan]

Don't put words is my mouth. I didn't type any of that, I jus typed one sentance. YOU added all the rest.

I never said you were saying exactly that. All I said was that those things happened, and was wondering if not making finals in their home city (the statement you made) meant that the board could do those things?!?!?

And in response to the following...

*Is not the logo still the Fluer de Lis? Yes it is.

Yes, it is still the Fluer de Lis, but a much much different one. As if the board wanted to change everything about the current day/Scott Stewert Scouts. Mean while, spending all the money on trivial things......taking one of the most stable corps in DCI (nearly 1,000,000 in the bank) to becoming another struggling corps with nearly 500,000 in debt

*Was this the first uniform change? No it wasn't, it has changed several times. Like

EVERY other corps.

No it wasn't, but did it come at a time when it seemed like the board wanted to change everthing about the current day/Scott Stewart Scouts...the answer to that is yes. Mean while, spending all the money on trivial things......taking one of the most stable corps in DCI (nearly 1,000,000 in the bank) to becoming another struggling corps with nearly 500,000 in debt

*Did they move their home city? No, they moved their office. The corps is still the Madison Scouts. I saw the corps MANY times over the past 4 years. Not once did I hear them announced as being from Sun Prairie. Of course some of their "printed material" has Sun Prairie on it. That's where the mail gets delivered. And how many other corps have changed their mailing address over the years?

Yes, plenty of corps move, but very few have their home city in their name. (And yes, after reading more and doing some research, I do realize that they moved prior to the 2003 season.) I must retract this Statement.

*8th place in 2006? No, I believe they were 9th, but who cares.

Oops, lets change everything next year because they almost didn't make finals this year. 9th is much worse than 8th...change the uniform and spend all the money they have saved.

*Retention rate of 95% now down to 30-20%? No, wrong on both ends. I don't think you'll find ANY corps with retention rates approaching 95%. Even the defending World Champions from '05 had, according to Hop's blog, had over 80 first year members.

I talked to a friend who marched the corps in 2000-2002, and he varified that they did infact have nearly 90% of possible returning members back. The drop off in 2003 was dramatic. And to top it off, they had an average age of 19-20 and now if I remember reading correctly the average age is barely 18.

*Bring back "our" Scouts. Funny, but "my" Scouts never left.

The Scouts I know and loved have not been present since 2003 (when they still had much of the same staff on board!). And I'm sure plenty of fans, and also alumni will agree.

Edited August 28, 2006 by mdsnsctfan

[dciguy1987]

Three lower placing years does not constitute "sliding into oblivion" in any endeavor drum corps included.

Could the corps have survived another year of not making finals? I doubt it.

[Morgoth Bauglir]

I was responding to this post:

A "turnaround" from what? A “tournaround” from the fan-friendly, thrilling shows and financial stability offered under the leadership of Scott Stewart? I am hoping for a return to those years. I doubt seriously that I am the only fan who stopped contributing to the Scouts after Scott left. With a return to shows that appeal to Scouts fans, I will bet the financial health of the Scouts will also improve. I note that most of the people who post on this forum who claim to be so enthralled by the Scouts' shows during the past few years are actually long-standing fans of other corps.

Vic Russell

It seemed clear to me that Mr. Russell was wearing some rose-colored glasses while typing. Yes all the things he listed about the Scouts are true. But not everyone worshipped the way things were being run in the early 2000s. I have heard a lot of rumors about staff throwing away tapes, being disrespectful to judges, skipping critique, etc. No I don't know what's true, but from 1999-2002, the Scouts placement dropped every year, all the way down to 14th. To some people, this is not a positive thing.

Some want Scouts to keep their style, but do it in a way the was competitive as well. And clearly, the Scouts were not doing that.

I was simply pointing out that not everything about the years right before Stewert left were as great as some would like to think. Dropping out of Finals is a significant event, no matter how much some wish it were not.

[mdsnsctfan]

I was responding to this post:

It seemed clear to me that Mr. Russell was wearing some rose-colored glasses while typing. Yes all the things he listed about the Scouts are true. But not everyone worshipped the way things were being run in the early 2000s. I have heard a lot of rumors about staff throwing away tapes, being disrespectful to judges, skipping critique, etc. No I don't know what's true, but from 1999-2002, the Scouts placement dropped every year, all the way down to 14th. To some people, this is not a positive thing.

Some want Scouts to keep their style, but do it in a way the was competitive as well. And clearly, the Scouts were not doing that.

I was simply pointing out that not everything about the years right before Stewert left were as great as some would like to think. Dropping out of Finals is a significant event, no matter how much some wish it were not.

That is a very fair statement. I have also heard those rumors about the staff and what not, and of course it was devastating for all to see the corps falling in placement, especially out of finals...however, I am the first to admit that I am an example of your last sentance. My big thing is that the board of directors and new director went to the very extreme and changed EVERYTHING in less than a year...and in doing so took one of the largest bank accounts in DCI and turned it into a debt. Shame on them.

I had a friend who became a band director and the first thing that he was told was....you can make changes, just don't do it all in the first year. To me, that makes perfect sense...and I think a lot of fans and alumni would be more ok with the changes if they all didn't happen so abrubtly.

[Michael Boo]

I received an e-mail from Scott Boerma just now. He requested that I pass along the following information. The following is extracted from his request and I forward it for informational purposes only.:

<< As of last evening, I have officially resigned as the Brass Arranger and Brass Co-Caption Head as has Mark Waymire as the Brass Co-Caption Head. Most of our brass staff members resigned last night as well. I have been with the Madison Scouts for 23 years (18 as the arranger), so it is with heavy heart that I did this.

The caption heads for all other captions have also resigned, as well as a significant number of instructors and administrative staff.

My purpose for this letter to you is simply that of information. Please feel free to share this information with anyone you know, be it online or through word of mouth.>>

[sburstall]

I feel a disturbance in the Force.....

Edited August 28, 2006 by sburstall

[madcontra99]

It's over

[ssorrell]

I find it troubling that the BoD did not have a clue who to replace their existing administrative staff with. It's been almost a week and they have not made an announcement. Word in the Madison area is that they have lost their assistant director (quit) and their office manager (quit). You can't make a wholesale change without having a safety net in place. There are so many variables that go into their next year. Members are left hanging, potential auditionees are watching for a sign of stability, every corps out there is hiring their staffs, venders are thinking about where to place their product, and any number of other things that need to be solid are seemingly...I don't know the right word.

Regiment nailed it when they made the change, but the Madison folks seem to be scurrying. You can say that the change to Bob Wall was a mistake, and I wouldn't argue you on that point, but that board was proactive. I hope they can make an announcement soon or it may be a tough year for Madison.

Can you be a little more dramatic?

The BoD knows darn well that they need to hire someone, but they must take the needed time to do it properly. You can't compare Madison's circumstances with those of Phantom's. Just because the Madison BoD didn't announce a replacement immediately doesn't mean that they are doing anything wrong or incorrectly...just different. Phantom might have known well ahead of time to prepare for their change in administration where Madison's Board might have not known until the last minute that they had a majority that felt like they needed a change.

You speculate that potential auditionees are waiting for a sign of stability...I would guess that most guys that will head to Madison for a spot this fall have no clue that anything has changed, and even once it is changed, they won't know the difference.

For crying out loud...it's been one week. ONE week. It's still August. Give this corps and its board time to do things right, find the right person, and get their ducks in a row. There's plenty of time and no need to be so dramatic.

Everyone needs to get over themselves in thinking that the Board needs to react on your schedule. Good decisions are not made in haste.

Edit: after reading Michael Boo's post above, I still stand by my post...it will take time to hire, but now, they've got their hands FULL. Perhaps the Board was a bit pre-mature with their decision to let Sal go?

Edited August 28, 2006 by ssorrell

[crunch2402]

I'm going to reply to a few things, and so won't quote everything... First of all, the uniforms from pre-2003 were ratty... i didn't march pre-2003, but we were told (and some vets confirmed) that the uniforms were in the condition of "potato sacks..." now does that constitute a re-design? not necessarily, but with a new director and new design team, if you're going to spend the money, and the design team feels a need for a re-design, why not do it at that time? I didn't feel like any less of a Scout in that uniform.

The drop off in 2003 was dramatic. And to top it off, they had an average age of 19-20 and now if I remember reading correctly the average age is barely 18.

Whether or not this is referring to the average over the last four years, or the 2003 season in particular, I don't know... But the average age in 2003 was somewhere between 17-18... I was told by staff that I marched with that this year's average age and retention was higher than it had been the last few years... I also would say that the talent level was another notch up following a 6th place finish in '05... It can't be easy to pump out a fantastic visual show when a brand new designer comes in (especially one like Rosander)... And why did the previous designer (Webber, and even back to Thompson) leave the corps? That's for another discussion...

All that being said, as an alum, all of the changes are fairly troubling... The sound of the Scouts for the last 18 years certainly seems in jeopardy... But as an alumni, I will not stop supporting the corps or rooting for the corps... It is my understanding that current members of the corps do not know what's going on anymore than we do... But I can assure you that they read these forums, and I feel strongly that these current members desparately need the support from those of us that are alumni/long-time supporters/those who feel they will continue to support the Madison Scouts... To me, "May You Never Walk Alone" means that no member will go through anything without the support of their brothers, be it past, present, or future, positive or negative, major or minor... And I choose to be there for them if they need it...

my $.02

[MikeD]

It's over

What is all over?