There is a version of this story we like to tell because it feels good. A kid joins band. They fall in love with music. They find their people. They grow in confidence. They become a leader. They graduate. They come back years later and say, “Band changed my life.” That story is real. Nothing new here. It happens all the time. We hear it all the time and it makes us all feel warm and fuzzy on the inside. As directors, this is what we want. Adding to our numbers makes us feel like we have done...

On July 4, 2026, the United States marks 250 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence. That is not just a date on a calendar. That is a moment. A big one. A complicated one. A beautiful one. A loud one. A sweaty one. A parade route full of kids in white shirts and black shorts, parents pulling wagons full of water, directors watching the sky and the heat index, and a snare line somewhere already playing too loud before step-off. America250 describes this milestone as a...

Most organizations do not have a volunteer problem. They have a culture problem. That was the point of the first Culture Brief I posted... And almost immediately, someone responded with something along the lines of: “I do not agree. We have kids whose parents do not even watch them perform, let alone attend their banquet.” And honestly? That comment did not disprove the point. It revealed the point. Because what that person described is not the opposite of a culture issue. It is one of the...