Greetings Alumni!
With Championships week rapidly approaching, now is an excellent time for me to offer you a reflection on the 2022 season. We've worked hard since 2020 to establish a design and educational approach that provides the organization with consistency, excellence, and an enhancement in member experience. The team navigated a pandemic together, a non-competitive 2021 half-summer season, and now its first full competitive season. While I could tell you all about the bumps in the road or adjustments we plan to make as our team develops, I'll let you know about all the great things happening.
I'm sure many of you are wondering, 'how has the transition to gender inclusivity gone?' My short answer is, 'it's gone well, but we're always learning how to better support our female and non-binary identifying members.' Like our world, macro and micro-communities are complex and dynamic while simultaneously beautiful and enriching. Adding more people into the mix presents new community dynamics but has certainly pushed us to be a better organization. I feel confident that we're providing our members a community where they are welcome, celebrated, and challenged daily to give their best on and off the field.
The brass section is on its way to Wisconsin for their February rehearsal weekend. Part of my pre-Madison Scouts rehearsal camp ritual is spent reviewing the corps' historical archives and visiting historic locations in town. Today I find myself in a hotel and coffee shop on the former site of Christ Presbyterian Church, where the first rehearsal in February of 1938 was held. As I read, I realize that as much as the activity and Madison Scouts have evolved, it's relatively easy to spot the educational, cultural, and social through-lines that connect us to our past. As I find these documents, I'll be sure to share them here for those who find them interesting. Entertainment, excellence, music and performance education, character development, service to others, human connection, life-long bonds...All since day one. (The two photos of news clips come from the December 8, 1991 issue of the 'Fleur-de-Lis', the former Madison Scouts newsletter that many likely recall. The 1940-41 photos come from C.H. Beebe's scrapbook archives that were recently digitized.) Shoutout to the 1991/92 corps brothers -- These are my personal favorite Madison Scouts productions... --
Madison Scouts Alumni,
The corps is in great shape, as the production is on the field, choreographic layers are being added, and deep cleaning has ensued. The membership and staff have been working hard, and are eager to get the show on the road. We'll depart on June 25 for East Troy, Wisconsin, where we'll be parked until a short trip to Cedarburg for our annual Fourth of July celebration hosted by the Olsen family and Piggly Wiggly. Here are the upcoming rehearsal locations --
David LofyI'm writing to you from the beautiful University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire campus, where the corps is wrapping up Spring Training. The corps will perform their preview show tonight (June 24) for the Eau Claire community, alumni, and families.
These articles are from the Madison Scouts/Forward Performing Arts website newsfeed. Click the article's title to take you directly to their website to read the entire article.
Madison Scouts Alumni Association
Never walking alone since 1938
Madison Scouts Alumni Association
Never walking alone since 1938