2018 and 2019 have been a time of change for the Oregon Crusaders. The organization decided not to field a drum corps for the 2019 season but plans to rebuild.
“While we did have some challenges with the articles that had come out, we as a group just felt like we wanted to make sure that we get everything organizationally as right as we can before we decide to reemerge,” says Dr. Philip Marshall, president of the Oregon Crusaders board of directors.
The articles in question referred to sexual misconduct allegations against a staff member, which the organization dealt with.
Marshall emphasizes that the hiatus is not the end of the corps, which is already working toward a comeback.
The Oregon Crusaders established a Human Resources Committee in fall 2018. “The idea is one that I think a number of corps are now looking at,” Marshall points out.
The committee will use the RACI model, a matrix to determine who should be Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, and Informed about each situation and the actions taken in dealing with it.
This way, “everybody respects and understands there’s a need for confidentiality, but you have the process in place [for each situation],” Marshall explains.
In addition Marshall pitched a measure to Drum Corps International (DCI) to create an online database of employees, including those working in school systems. “While I think it’s essential to [do] background checks, … background checks are inadequate,” Marshall observes.
He elaborates that there are many aspects of a person’s career that former employers cannot discuss due to confidentiality.
“[The database] would have to be driven from the staff” in order to work, Marshall adds.
Staff would create a profile, which would allow current and former employers to add information, positive or negative, to be shared privately with other drum corps. While DCI expressed interest to Marshall, the idea is currently still theoretical.
