Dr. Phil’s “Blogajawea”

Last Saturday, during our first camp and Orientation for the 08 season for the Oregon Crusaders, I asked our vets to stand.  About 40 students rose, and 35 of them had been rookies just a year ago.  They had gone through the drum corps experience.  They had learned so much, and they were ready to now enter a new year transformed.  Transformed as veterans. 

It would be easy to talk about the students.  All the experiences.  The friendships.  The competitions.  The gates.  But it has been more difficult to realize my own transformation.  Before this last season, I talked about drum corps from a first person perspective like I really knew about it.  I had been a long-time fan, and had even been fortunate enough to get to know the Santa Clara Vanguard as a member of their Board of Directors.  But I had never marched drum corps.  I had never even really volunteered for drum corps.  Whatever it was I had, it wasn’t exactly drum corps experience.  But at the end of 2006, when my local drum corps had lost its staff and was in danger of folding, I thought that I could help.  I became the executive director, with the plan of hiring a corps director to help manage the corps.  I wasn’t able to find that person last year, but was lucky enough to find other passionate and talented staff to help me to keep the corps going and to create a new foundation for the group.  I served as corps director as well, and during the process I had one of the most rewarding and gruelling years I could ever have imagined. 

Before 2007, I loved drum corps because I loved the artform.  The power. The sound.  And I had a vision for what the artform could achieve.  New and wonderful things.  I have never been emotionally moved like I am with a strong drum corps (or a hornline with a good melody and plenty of impact, at least).  But 2007 changed that.  By the time we had gone through the camps and all-days, the staff and students had become just as important a part of drum corps to me as the art.    And then there was tour.  It was a a blur.  A gruelling blur that is mostly blocked from my mind.  Housing was a nightmare, at least in California.  Getting the fleet where it needed to be was a major stress.  There were a number of issues.  I thought that I would have some emotional epiphany when we finally reached Finals in Pasadena, but I had been so emotionally and physically drained by the journey that I had nothing left.  No reserve.  I just wanted to get us back to Portland safe and sound.  

When we reached Portland, it took me a while to recover, and then a few weeks later we had our banquet.  Despite the stress, the pain, the strain of the tour, the kids had had a great experience and they were so thankful, and they were looking forward to next year.  Their spirit lifted me up, and I was more enthusiastic than ever that we could achieve something new, something great.  And what’s more, we were able to find fantastic staff members to add to our staff of 2007 - a program coordinator, and a corps director.

So with our new momentum, and with the experience of 2007 behind us, I knew a lot more about what to do and what not to do. Things were back into perspective.  And with that, we’ve kicked off the new season with a great camp, and I spent Thanksgiving being confident about our year ahead.

Confidence.  Perspective.  Drive.   A rookie no more.