The Business Side of Color Guard

I found a cool thing today. But first, some back story.

I use Wix.com to create and manage our incredible website. Over the years, it has grown and changed, streamlined and grown some more. And now, it's a beautiful full-service managerial service site. I do pay for a combo package subscription and because I have used this same service for so long I've been grandfathered in under the old price and it's glorious.

Over the years, they have added a lot of really great features to their point-and-click site designer system. A Facebook likes box, a YouTube subscribe button, a Twitter feed... Things that just sort of tie all of our online presence together in one place. When they added PayPal buttons I thought I was in heaven. It was a great solution to the issue of camp registrations that I was having! They then connected apps like Blogger and Google AdSense so that I could really tie everything up and make the online creations of our website work hard for us, earning a little bit of money on the side to help supplement our underfunded programs. But there are two apps in particular I want to gush over today...

The first one I actually started using a while ago and you probably have seen it already; the e-mail list. I used to have an e-mail service called FlashIssue connected to my Google mail account and it worked quite well for what I wanted. It allowed me to send one e-mail per month to a large list of people without getting flagged as spam, blocked, or blacklisted. It also allowed me to make the e-mail look pretty and have lots of information and links. However, because of the number of subscribers I had at the time (over 500) I had to pay a monthly fee of $15 to use the service. I let that go on for way too long until I realized it was somewhat of a cash leak on our bank account. Plus, they kept updating and changing in such a way that my templates would be no good after about a month or so and I would have to start from scratch. It was getting to be quite frustrating. Enter Wix ShoutOut. People can subscribe to the list by putting their e-mails in on the website, I can use the same template for each e-mail, and I can send up to 3 e-mails per month completely FREE. Well, I mean it comes with my Wix website of course... but yeah, it's all included so why on earth would I pay more?

The second app has been around for a little while, but I only recently felt like I had the time to actually even attempt to use it. It's called Invoices and that's basically all it is; an invoices app. Most of you color guard folks probably couldn't care less about this one but OMG. I haven't been able to find an invoices app that was free and easy to use OR a simple enough setup for what I wanted that I wouldn't mind paying a little bit for the service. So what did my stubborn self do? I created an Excel book that had pages for each member, tracked charges and payments, and took FOREVER to start new sheets or add payments and charges. Mostly because I kept having to flip through everything, copy addresses and such from registration paperwork, and so on. In fact, after our first weekend of rehearsal it took me four hours to input everyone's data and then add their charges and payments to get totals. I just thought "what on earth am I doing with all of this time?" So I finally buckled and checked out the Wix Invoices app. It was really quick to set up, even with putting everyone's information into it! It is also very easy because it sends the invoice directly to the recipient's e-mail address for me, thus eliminating the process I was using of sending individualized Facebook messages to every single member every single week. And probably the best part of all is that it's all hooked up to the Spintronix PayPal account, so payments can be made directly on the website. Genius. I have a feeling I am going to wonder how I lived without this app.

However, it's not entirely perfect. And I already gave some feedback on this point to the developers just because it's that important to me. Payments go in all lumped together under a category that just says "Payment." I can't seem to put in any dates, notes, check numbers, or anything else on the payments. They don't even show up as separate payments, and that was the one advantage my spreadsheet had over this program. If a student said "Hey, how much did I pay last week?" I could confidently say "This much." So I guess I'll just have to keep track of that separately now. Good luck to me on that. Ha!

<3 Jackie

Inconceivable! - Reprinted with Permission

It's hard to believe that I am nearly finished with my second book. I started writing and dreaming of becoming an author when I was only in the 5th grade. At ten years old, my dreams were more about those award-winning authors who made millions from selling their stories to big publishing companies. Now, it's about fifteen years later, and my focus has changed a lot. However, I am still writing and I am very proud of myself for that.

 

My writing style has changed a lot, obviously, as I have grown. I have also changed it a lot just since I published my first book. Hopefully my readers will think that I have changed it for the better, since I was conscious of their feedback while working on this second story! My writing can only get better from here with experience.

 

That being said, I am so excited about this second book coming out! I haven't gotten a date set yet, because even though I only have one chapter left to write, it is going to be difficult to find the time to work on it in the coming weeks. Marching band season is incredibly busy and stressful for me (the good kind of stress!) so we shall see. Once I do have a date set, though, I am planning on doing a $0.99 special price on Kindle only for the first month to give all of my dedicated readers a reward for coming back and reading my second work! After that, it will be $2.99, but I am also planning on doing a few special free book days in between. After three months, it will be available on other platforms besides the Kindle through Barnes & Noble, iPad, Smashwords, etc.

 

Something else I have been thinking about a lot lately; rewriting old stories from when I was young. Some of my friends must remember my twin characters Jenna and Jemma of "Daredevil," and even more may recall when Rachel Carson moved halfway across the country in "The Yellow Notebook." These stories didn't have anything to do with color guard, since I had never heard of it before, but I was thinking maybe I could integrate them into the Spinsation series somehow. Let me know what you think!!

J.M. Hope

Going into Overdrive at Guard Rehearsal

Hey there Spinthusiasts! This is Sam and I am here to inform all of our lovely fans about the most recent Spintronix rehearsal.  This was also the first rehearsal that I was able to attend.  Upon arriving, people swarmed me and got excited (mostly because they knew that I would be cooking breakfast the next morning).  Unfortunately Anna was not in attendance, but it was still a wonderful weekend.
        Practice on Friday night began with rifle class. We split into our respective groups and tossed until our arms felt like they were going to fall off.  We also learned our rifle warmup up and our flag warmup.  Or maybe everyone else already learned it, but I had to go into overdrive and learn everything I missed out on in the last couple of weekends.  The rifles learned some sick new tricks and after our arms were ready to fall off we did the awful arm workout thing that includes lots of pushups.  It was immediately followed by Swan Lake so by bed time all of us felt like chopping off our limbs because they felt so useless and sore.
        Before we could get some much needed sleep though, it was time for team building.  We did a team building exercise that the SIG 2016 group did towards the end of their season.  It didn’t work out quite as well as in the previous season so after many attempts, we finally stopped and discussed why it might not be as well suited for a group as new as ours.  We then talked about what we needed to do in order to grow together as a family and make this season a successful one.  I think that was even better team building than the actual game.
        At seven the next morning I arose stealthily, fell off the top of my bunk bed, woke Lee up to see if he’d like to help me cook breakfast (he’s usually my company in the kitchen before anyone else gets up), and I padded down the frigid hall.  Jackie and Bekah were already up and moseying towards the kitchen and they talked while I got food ready.  We did put things in our new fridge and reorganize a little. (Basically more teambuilding in order to maneuver two fridges in such a tiny space.  After that little endeavor I cooked waffles (in our haunted waffle iron) and sausage.
        Shortly after breakfast we were off to rifle class.  Here we split off into our groups again and tossed for what felt like years.  We also danced the rest of the morning away, starting our across the floors with emotion walking and working our way into more structured things before working on turns for ages.  We also cleaned tendus until
lunch.
        After lunch when we all returned it was time to jump straight into flag class.  We cleaned and cleaned and cleaned basics in order to prepare us for more difficult choreography later on.  We finally ended with a short chunk of choreo to our show song for this season.  But we’ll see if we keep it ;)  Chores were done and we left for home feeling tired, but proud.

- Sam

The Design Process vs. Actually Ordering Stuff

This is definitely a post for someone who has been teaching indoor guard for a while with no budget... or a warning for those of you just getting into it.

The design process is a fun thing where you toss around ideas with your team, other instructors, designer, or whoever you have to toss around ideas with. You come up with the most beautiful costumes, create intricate flags, and sketch out floor designs that make your heart flutter. You put everything together and the design is so incredible that in your head you've already won circuit championships and you are taking it to the next level by signing your team up for WGI!!

Then you check out your budget for the year, see that you have a little money. So you're like ok, we will skimp a little bit on the uniforms by leaving out the head piece, purchasing the cheaper version from Amazon, or going barefoot instead of using the glistening shoes. Then you look into buying your lovely flag design digitally printed and see that it's twice the cost of having a flag pieced together with the same colors, so you go with the money-saving option. There's also a guard in the next town over trying to sell a hand-painted floor that is similar to the digital design you imagined so you buy that used off of their hands. Pretty soon, your show is a mere mirage of what you had imagined.

The thing is, we have to keep from getting discouraged at this point. Remember what color guard is really all about; beautiful flags on the floor. Art in motion. Even without the perfectly designed show, you can still create something great and beautiful. It takes the students', instructors', and parents' beliefs in the show to bring it to life. The skill and performance quality are the portions of the show truly judged. That's what counts.

<3 Jackie

Human Relationships - Reprinted with Permission

Isn't it funny how human relationships work? I like to sit back and think about the psychology of it all sometimes. When you meet someone new, you hope that they are being honest with you, but you are suspicious that they might be. You also have the understanding that they are putting their best foot forward because they are trying to make a good impression on you just as much as you are trying to make a good impression on them. You can't really start to get to know what that person is truly like until you get past all of that nonsense.

 

There's also a problem if you go the other direction. If you are completely yourself when you first meet someone new, act as if you don't really care what they think of you, they might think you aren't interested in them because you don't care about their opinion of you. So... be yourself but be your BEST self I guess is the best advice.

 

I have problems behaving like a "normal" person in public often. I would be the kind of person who would organize and then perform in a flash mob (and I have on a small scale before). I dance out of nowhere. I occasionally burst into song. I snap my fingers. I can't whistle but if I knew how to whistle I probably still wouldn't whistle because the sound of whistling sometimes drives me a little crazy. Point being, I don't do what everyone else does all the time. I'm a menace to society. I also enjoy my life a lot more than a lot of people who are so worried about social norms that they actually alter who they are on the inside to fit some sort of outer mold.

 

We are Rome, ladies and gentlemen. Just please don't forget that Rome did fall.

J.M. Hope

My First Weekend at Spintronix

My first Spintronix weekend will be one I remember forever. I walked in thinking it was going to be an easy weekend full of great people and lots of down time. Needless to say I was wrong about a few things. The weekend was hard work, sore arms, and lots of bio freeze. Luckily though, I nailed the idea of the type of people that would be there and made lots of friends. We worked on "basics" with flag, rifle, and dance. I put quotes around basics because I have been doing colorguard for 3 years and I didn't know a lot of what I learned. I am very glad to have been welcomed and accepted at Spintronix. I can't wait for next weekend and the many that come afterwards. <3 <3

Shandon (1st year member)

Counting our Blessings!!

I couldn't ask for a better start to a season, and I don't want to jinx it, but I'm also not superstitious so I want the world to know what's going on at Spintronix Indoor Guard! We had the largest audition turn-out that we have ever had for this season, and we are about to commence in the biggest show we have ever done. The costumes are beautiful, the flags are going to be incredible, and we are working hard to get everything ordered for this. We moved the staff bedroom into the office, and set up more bunk beds in the old staff room to house more girls. I'm still looking for more bunk beds, but we have a few singles in the meantime and they are very helpful.

We had a very successful kick-off fundraiser so that's always a good way to start the season. The money is going to pay for our contest entry fees so that we can attend a competition in Memphis this year! It will also pay off our propane bill so we can be guaranteed to have heat this year as well. We also have more parents who want to be more involved than ever so I am very appreciative of the help around the Angelica building in keeping things organized, stocked, and clean!

All that being said, it definitely takes a village to raise these children so we are still looking for some donations of paper products (paper plates, toilet paper, paper towels, tissues, etc.) and cleaning supplies (sponges, brillo pads, dish soap, floor cleaner, etc.) to keep our facility rolling. If you have any donations you can drop them off at the Angelica building or at Farmer's Feed in Mountain View, MO. If you would like to mail them our address is:

Spintronix Color Guard

P.O. Box 141

Mountain View, MO 65548

We ARE a non-profit 501(c)(3) so all donations are tax-deductible! We appreciate everything that anyone can help with!!!

Balancing the Arts and Earning - Reprinted with Permission

I've had a lot to do lately, and I am trying to do all of the things that I did when I was younger on top of it. The way I see things, when I was young I did a lot in order to improve myself as a person. I read, wrote, exercised, danced, sang, did math problems, took care of my pets, cleaned my room, etc. I still do a lot of those things but otherresponsibilities of being an adult have taken over a huge portion of my self-improvement and I feel as if I had been at a stand-still of personal growth for the last several years. It was like I suddenly felt content with the person I had become and was perfectly happy being that person for the rest of my life. Maybe I was at the time, but the world keeps changing, so if I can't change with it then I am going to be stuck!

 

So now I am incredibly busy (much like I was when I was young). I read almost daily, I write in a journal 1-2 times per week (although sometimes this blog is all that counts as my writing for the whole week, pathetic I know), and I write to my pen pal 5-6 days a week. I still dance, of course, but I am dancing more now, and watching what I eat, too so that I don't get lazy and just eat whatever is available. The only problem with all of this, I feel, is that my job performance may soon suffer because I am so self-focused right now. There are definitely two possible outcomes; I am going to crash and burn, or I am going to continually grow and become better at all of this.

 

Everyone wants more spare time. I say, for what? But then again, I find myself having a hard time finding the time to work on my next book, too. Hopefully I can remedy this as well.

J.M. Hope

First Weekend - SIG17 Member Blog

So this past weekend was the first weekend of the 2017 season for Spintronix, and a lot of really exciting things happened first we claimed our bunks for the season which makes Angelica feel even more like home away from home. And even though we didn't have a full guard, we had a very productive weekend. In only the first few hours of rehearsal we learned our WHOLE flag warm-up routine, which is AWESOME. We even touched a good bit of basics on rifle, though we all got a little frustrated and overwhelmed everybody was a trooper and pulled themselves together and pushed through. We moved on to dance when rifle got to be too much which was a nice change of pace everybody seemed to have lightened up and enjoy themselves. We even got to do a couple of across the floors in heels that we will be wearing for performances. We uped the anty by adding flags to jazz walks. We had a really great team-building exercise that helped us learn each others names and was a really fun and entertaining game that I think all of us are looking forward to playing again soon. Overall I think we had a very successful first weekend. I hope next weekend will be just as progressive and better with the full guard. It makes me giddy to think about how much potential this guard has due to such amazing individuals in our cast this season. Keep up the good work and remember to practice. I can't wait to see everyone this coming weekend. 

Megan

Do You Think We'll Make It? - Reprinted with Permission

You can look all the time at these quotes such as "it's not about the destination, but the journey" but until you can apply that in real life, these quotes are just words.

 

Take me for instance (and who could be a better example than myself when it comes to writing in my own blog?); I enjoy color guard. Duh, I know, because if I didn't enjoy it then why on earth would I spend so much time thinking about it and writing about it and teaching it, etc. So, I love color guard. When, during all of my color guard adventures, am I the happiest though? Is it during the 4.5-11 minute performance time that I usually can't even remember anyway because of my incredible adrenaline rush? (By the way, it doesn't matter if I'm performing or watching my students perform, my physiological reaction is the same!) Is it the endless hours of rehearsal? Is it the long car rides to performances? Is it the breaks where everyone gossips and bonds? Is it the actual spinning of my equipment?

 

Really, it is a combination of all of these things! If I took any one of them away it would not be the same. The end game might be a gold medal for me, or just a good championship performance, but really it is all of the fun and memories that are created along the way that make me love what I do so very much...

J.M. Hope