 In the beginning the vision was to give a
stepping off point for discussion at our organizational meetings.
This was the vision we had for the way we thought the corps could
get started and survive. We needed and still need to discuss
these topics and others to come up with the best business plan.
Some of our objectives....
We want to give those that are interested in
participating in drum corps the opportunity to do so without
having to travel hundreds of miles to and from rehearsal/events.
Another important objective is for people to have FUN and enjoy
utilizing their talents. We also want to provide an opportunity
for people to entertain others, develop friendships that will last
a lifetime, create great memories, and enjoy life!
The name of the corps....
We did not want to limit it as a
resurgence of just one corps because it could discourage some
people and limit the number of people that would be interested in
participating. As planned, the name of the corps was determined
as a group by the third meeting.
Gathering names of interested people....
To get it all started, Dan Hines created
an extremely basic website that would gather names, email
addresses and comments and thoughts from interested people. The
goal was to get a master list of those that would be interested in
trying to put something together. It was important that people
sign the guestbook and still is. Everyone is important to this
initiative.
Using popular websites/local high schools to steer drum
corps people to website....
We would like to add a link to this
website to some of the more visited drum corps sites like
corpsreps and drum corps planet, as well as LOCAL alumni corps.
Thank you to those webmasters who added the link already; we
appreciate your support and input. We also want to send the link
in a letter to all the local high schools (50 mile or so radius)
to get interested junior and senior high school students (and
perhaps some of their parents and teachers!!!!). This will give
students that do not have a marching band the opportunity to
march.
Creation of a Steering committee or Board of
Directors....
Committee should be set up to move ahead
with this initiative. We need committee people to find and
procure horns, drums, pit/ensemble, and guard equipment. We need
committee people to find uniforms, acquire music (which includes
getting permission to use it), find instructors and techs, FIND
REHEARSAL SITES, find storage sites, and find an equipment truck.
We need a committee person to do correspondence work. We need a
committee person in charge of fund-raising and recruitment. We
now have a webmaster and Art Cornell is acting corps director.
A business manager will also be appointed.
First step minicorps/ensemble?
 Perhaps a good starting point would be to
get a minicorps together to participate at DCA in Scranton as soon
as possible for exposure. A minicorps can have up to 21 people,
so that seems attainable in the short run. We could hand out
fliers at the DCA shows to drum up more people. The same group
can perform at some community concerts to raise some money. This
would be all standstill (or sitstill) work so those that cannot
march can participate. The same group could also perform at local
sporting events and at malls around the holidays.
Parade corps next?
As more and more people become
interested, a parade corps could be formed. Those that cannot
march can still participate in the minicorps/ensembles to stay
involved and help to raise funds. There are a lot of local
parades during the week that we could book and allow those that
still march in competitive drum corps to continue to do so if they
wish. Parades would become a major funding source.
The ultimate goal - a competing field corps?
The ultimate goal would be to create a
competitive field corps. Perhaps starting out as a class A corps
with the drive to become a full member of DCA. This could take
some time, but it could be a goal the organization works towards
as the above foundation is built.
Conclusion....
It would be nice to organize the corps so that
when times are good and interest in the corps is high, we can have
a full blown competeting corps; and when times are not so good and
interest is low, we can scale back operations and participate to a
lesser degree while we reorganize and raise additional funds, and
not just fold up the tent and go away.
"Adapted from Dan Hines' original vision"
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