As a member of the Madison Scouts Color Guard this summer, I would really like to do my fair share in obtaining contributions to help with our Fuel-A-Thon efforts. This will be my first year with the Scouts, and since I'm not even old enough to drive yet, I need to rely on you as my sponsors and my parents to help pay for my tour costs.

My parents are already helping a bunch by paying for my dues of $2,000 as well as my travel costs to and from Madison, Wisconsin for practice camps (November, December, April and May) and for our final move-ins in late May, at a cost of at least $350 per trip for airfare.

The Madison Scouts are not asking a lot from you, and of course every little bit helps! For $20, you'll be moving our vehicles 5 miles down the road. For $50, you'll be covering us for 12.5 miles. And for $100, you'll be getting us 25 miles closer to our next performance location. We'll be travelling through 16 states by the time we go home at the end of the summer - you'll see our full performance schedule below.

Why should you help with my Madison Scouts Fuel-A-Thon efforts? I love color guard, and I'm honored to have been invited to join the Madison Scouts this year. This summer will give me an opportunity to learn and grow under the direction of a world-class staff, as well as developing invaluable life skills that will truly help to shape my future. The Scouts pride themselves in their commitment to a strong value system, providing superior performance training, character building and leadership development, and training in the value of teamwork and good sportsmanship. As one of the youngest members of the Madison Scouts this year, I'll be looking forward to a great future, including several years with the Scouts.

Making a contribution is easy! Simply right click on the form below, select "copy", and then paste into Notepad or something similar. You can then print the form, fill it out, write a check payable to The Madison Scouts Drum & Bugle Corps, and send it in!

Here's where to send your contribution:
The Madison Scouts
c/o Fuel-A-Thon
4606 Pflaum Road
Madison, WI 53719

Your contribution will go to my Fuel-A-Thon account (that's me, Kevin Slocum, 2008 Color Guard member), and be allocated 50% to my account with the Madison Scouts, and 50% to the fuel and transportation fund for this year's tour.



Here's the small print in case you need it: The Madison Scouts Drum & Bugle Corps Association is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation. Please consult your tax advisor about tax deductibility for your donation. Tax ID: 39-1131530.

IGive.com is an easy way to make contributions to the Madision Scouts, and it costs you nothing! Simply join iGive.com and merchants will contribute to the Madison Scouts every time you make an online purchase. You'll find all sorts of merchants partipating in this program, with some giving over 8% back to the Madison Scouts, just for buying online!

While you're visiting iGive.com, don't forget to enter their $50,000 Surfathon[TM] contest. All you have to do is visit stores for a chance to win $1,000 for the Madison Scouts.

Join iGive.com today!

If you're a guy between 16 and 21 and love to spin, then you should consider joining me on tour with the Madison Scouts this summer. Recruiting is ongoing, with the next audition camp the weekend of April 18-20. You can download a brochure for more info here, but here are the highlights of this year's program:

Program Design by Ramiro Barrera, who has an impressive record of 10 WGI Scholastic World Titles, 5 DCI Championships, and 8 WBA Marching Bands Titles.

Choreography by JC Caceres, with WGI Championships and WGI Finalists titles under his belt with Northern Lights, Infiniti and Nolan.

Tracy Wooten as Color Guard Caption Supervisor, with 3 WGI World Titles with Pride of Cincy, as well as being a member of the WGI Board of Directors.

Impressive credentials for the brass and percussion staff, including Nick Williams, Clay Wachholz and Dan Ritacco for brass, and Roger Carter and Casey Brohard for percussion.

Worried about finances? The Madison Scouts will provide several opportunities to help you out! There are 2 fundraisers (including the Fuel-A-Thon discussed here), a raffle with prizes like a Plasma TV and a trip to Disney World or Vegas, help with obtaining business sponsorships, and the new Color Guard Fellowship program, which connects the alumni with current members. So far, the Fellowship program has been able to reduce the dues of all colorguard members by $300 this year. There will also be a limited number of individual guard scholarships, to be distributed according to financial need.

Visit the Madison Scouts Guard Auditions page for more details! See you at camp!

The Madison Scouts will be competing in 27 drum and bugle corps competitions in 16 states this summer, leading up to the DCI (Drum Corps International) World Championships from August 7 through August 9 in Indianapolis. This final competition is like the Super Bowl of Drum Corps, so catch us there if you can!

Here's where you can find me this summer as I tour with the Madison Scouts:

June Performances:

June 21: Rockford, IL. Phantom Regiment's Show of Shows

June 22: Stillwater, MN. Drum Beauty

June 23: Mankato, MN. The Thunder of Drums

June 26: Oswego, IL. Festival of Brass Drum Corps Show

June 27: Normal, IL. DCI Central Illinois

June 28: Madison, WI. DCI Madison Presented By Drums on Parade

June 29: Naperville, IL. Cavalcade of Brass

July Performances:

July 3: Cedarburg, WI. Rotary Music Festival

July 5: Kalamazoo, MI. DCI Kalamazoo

July 6: Michigan City, IN. Pageant of Drums

July 7: Louisville, KY.

July 12: Denver, CO. Drums Along the Rockies

July 14: Albuquerque, NM. Drums Along the Sandias

July 15: El Paso, TX. Battle on the Border

July 16: Midland, TX. Thunder in the Desert

July 17: Dallas, TX. North Texas Festival of Drums and Bugles

July 19: San Antonio, TX. DCI San Antonio, the Southwestern Championship

July 21: Wichita Falls, TX. Rumble in the Falls

July 23: Van Buren, AR. Battle on the Border V

July 26: Atlanta, GA. DCI Southeastern Championship

July 27: Jacksonville, AL. Alabama Battle of the Brass

July 28: Sevierville, TN. Drums Across America

July 29: Centerville, OH. Soaring Sounds 29

July 30: Columbus, OH. Artistry in Motion

August Performances:

August 1: Allentown, PA. DCI Eastern Classic

August 3: Buffalo, NY. Drums Along the Waterfront

August 4: Toledo, OH.

August 7: Indianapolis, IN. DCI World Championships World Class Quarterfinals

August 8: Indianapolis, IN. DCI World Championships World Class Semifinals

August 9: Indianapolis, IN. DCI World Championships World Class Finals

The Madison Scouts Online Store provides drum corps fans an opportunity to show their support for the Madison Scouts Drum and Bugle Corps. With every purchase, you help sustain the Madison Scouts organization and ensure the continuation of our program.

You'll find a wide variety of items at the Madison Scouts Online Store to help show your support, including polos, baseball caps, bumper stickers, t-shirts, sweatshirts, wristbands, and more!

Also available are CD's and DVD's of Madison's performances through the years. Great stuff!

DCI (Drum Corps International) has a great library of Madison Scouts audio and video recordings from 1973 to 2007.

Download sales benefit the Madison Scouts directly, so you can enjoy some great audio and video recordings while helping out the Scouts!

Audio downloads start at $3.49, and video downloads start at $5.49. What a great deal!

Click here to visit the DCI store for Madison Scouts audio and video downloads.