SI Chico E-blast news & more
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March 24, 2020 | Volume 20 Issue 32
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Message from President
Carrie Pavis
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Hello Beautiful Soroptimist Members,
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I would like to start by thanking all of our board members, co-chairs and delegates. We had our first virtual board meeting, thanks to the amazing efforts of Kim Huber. I heard nothing but positive feedback and also that it was fun learning something new with all of the crazy technology that is at our fingertips. With that said, our Business Meeting will be different as well. We want to carry on with our business as much as we are able, so will still have monthly reports from committees, motions etc. The agenda will be in the eblast as it always is and you will be able to review the motions, and then, if you have any, send direct questions to the co-chairs that brought forth the motion. There will be a link to Survey Monkey link with instructions about how to cast your vote for the motions. It will be very important that everyone vote, as we will still need a quorum of our membership participating in each motion’s vote in order for the motion to move forward or not.
I will have our co-chairs continue with their committee responsibilities and ask that they come up with the best way to communicate with their individual committee
SIA has asked us not to conduct any face to face meetings until June as of now., Please see the eblast if you didn’t receive the letter from our SIA President. As we have all seen, this is ever changing, so we will continue to abide by SIA’s recommendations and will see what happens in the months to come.
I hope you are all doing well with the Shelter in Place, I have to say it is great in some ways and very hard in others (my husband is always home) yikes. 😊
I am missing all of you and the normalcy of life, but hopefully we can get through this sooner rather than later.
President,
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Messages from SNR Governor Lane and Governor-Elect Sarah - Special SNR News March 23, 2020
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As I write this, our world is in an unprecedented moment. We are living in unique times and navigating a lot of unknowns. These are the times when we rely on each other most. Our Soroptimist community can be a real asset for us. We communicate our fears, open our hearts with compassion and find resilience in the face of adversity. I recently read “It is our chosen response to this event that will determine our experience of it”. How true is that? I encourage us to learn from this time, learn how to let go, accept and walk on bravely into the unknown. What stories we will have to tell, right?
So much has changed in the last week, I wanted to give you an update on what we are working on:
Conference –
Please see Governor Elect Sarah’s article below on the status of conference. Lots to know and lots still uncertain!
Elections –
Here is the timeline for elections, which we will hold electronically:
1)
As our governing documents outline, each club has 3 votes, the president and 2 delegates. Credential Coordinator Kay Dunham sent an eblast to all club presidents last week asking for email addresses for 2 delegates from each club. If your club has co-presidents, you will need to decide who is going to receive the ballot.
Those email addresses should be sent to Kay at
credentials@soroptimistsnr.org
by March 25.
2)
Please read the attached “
Report of the Nominating Committee
”. When elections are done at conference, there is always an opportunity for ‘nominations from the floor’. There will still be that opportunity in this election as well, only it will be done electronically. Please see the
Nomination Form
. If you wish to nominate anyone at this time for any region board position, please use this
form
and send it to Jenny Knisley, elections coordinator, at
electioncoord@soroptimistsnr.org
by March 29, 2020
.
3)
All current candidates have been asked to have their videos to Sharon Warner, Nominating Committee Coordinator, at
nomcommittee@soroptimistsnr.org
by March 31
. Any ‘nominations from the floor’ will need to comply with this date as well.
4)
All videos should be up on our region website, SoroptimistSNR.org, along with resumes, by early April. This will give all delegates the opportunity to ‘meet’ the candidates to make their choice. Their videos will be a maximum of 2 minutes, as that’s how long they would have had to address the membership at conference.
5)
Ballots should be sent to all delegates
by April 6
.
6)
Voting will close on
April 20
.
7)
Results will be verified by the elections committee and results will be posted
by April 25
, our original election day.
Club Meetings –
All members should have received an email from Elizabeth Lucas form headquarters stating that club events should not be held until
after May 11
(we were previously told April 15). I know this is a difficult time, as many clubs were planning major fundraisers. But it is important that we comply for the safety of our members and supporters. Your Region Board of directors will probably be holding its last board meeting virtually, rather than in person due to this mandate. As I stated last week, this is an opportunity to figure out how to hold virtual meetings via video, etc. I have also seen several very creative letters appealing to supporters of various non-profits that many of our clubs' support. You could consider some of these as fundraisers as well: A virtual ‘tea’ asking for a donation while they have a cup of tea at home (in isolation), or letters asking for donations for your fundraiser even if you can’t hold it. You could also just write letters asking for donations directly, whether you were having a fundraiser or not. Individuals could donate directly to those organizations that might have benefited from your fundraiser or that help women in this difficult time. Women in domestic violence situations could be much more at risk during this time of isolation! We must keep them in mind…. There might be creative things your club could do to help the women in your communities that are vulnerable. Inquire locally for what ‘hands on’ projects that might be possible!
Live Your Dream and other awardees -
Many of your clubs were just having their awards events when things got ‘shut down’. Your clubs should make their own decisions on how you should honor these women, i.e. if you should wait to give them their monetary awards or not. Your region board and Live Your Dream coordinator will be deciding this soon, with regards to the region winners as well. I wish all of our awardees good health and congratulations on earning this award. We need to honor them at some point, as we have learned that our faith in them achieving their dreams is just as meaningful to them as the monetary assistance.
Stay safe and healthy! Let’s make the best of these times and we will come out the other end even stronger!
Governor Lane
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Hello to all,
Here is the current scoop on Conference. We are working with the Atlantis to see if we can secure the needed space to do a combined event “Conference” and “SDR”. The Atlantis’ said they would do everything they could to get us what we need. As you all know, the states have taken action to protect their citizens, in Nevada that included closing of gaming venues. On March 17
th
the Atlantis suspended operations for 30 days.
I expect to resume my conversations with the Atlantis on April 17
th
.
The GREAT NEWS: All sponsors have agreed to continue their sponsorship to a new Conference date. WE ARE VERY GRATEFUL FOR THE SUPPORT OF THOSE SPONSORS.
Please be patient until we confirm that the Atlantis can accommodate our needs on the above referenced dates. If you have already registered for conference, please sit tight for a little while longer. Once we finalize arrangements with the Atlantis, we will notify everyone. If anyone has any questions, please feel free to reach out to me directly, email
snrgovelect@soroptimistsnr.org
.
Keep safe, smile and laugh a lot.
Best,
Sarah, Conference Coordinator/Governor-Elect
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Coronavirus Update from SIA Headquarters March 19, 2020
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Dear SIA Members in the United States and Canada,
Thank you for your continued outreach for guidance during the COVID-19 public health crisis.
Last Thursday, March 12, I wrote you: In view of the seriousness and risks associated with coronavirus (COVID-19) infection—if you are in North America, Japan and Korea, you must postpone or cancel all club events through at least April 15. You should reassess this timing based on your local health and governmental authorities' recommendations.
In the United States, Sunday night, March 15, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) reassessed this timing for us. The CDC recommends organizers postpone or cancel events of 50 or more people for the next eight weeks (estimated through May 11). The CDC defines gatherings as conferences, festivals, parades, concerts, sporting events, weddings and other types of assemblies.
U.S. President Trump is calling for all gatherings of 10 or more to cease. Some areas of the U.S. are moving to sheltering in place. In fact, any organization involved in delivering its services through public gatherings are suspending operations.
Because of these health and government recommendations, this communication supersedes my March 12 communication. April 15 is now May 11 until further notice. However, given today’s latest information from our U.S. public health officials, I would plan an additional three weeks for good measure ...
so June 1
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Here are some important points to be aware of:
- If you are with a club located in the US or Canada, our club and region liability coverage does not cover communicable diseases. Holding an event of any size given the current circumstances will be considered negligent, placing great risk upon the club, its members, the region and SIA headquarters (SIAHQ). You must postpone or cancel all club events at least through May 11th; June 1st for good measure.
- Your region leadership has received guidance from our General Legal Counsel regarding written agreements for region events and the use of “force majeure.” If your club is having challenges canceling or postponing an event due to the venue, contact your region leadership for assistance and guidance prior to investing in legal representation regarding your club contracts.
- Currently 20 of our 29 regions have canceled their region conferences and have been able to do so with the cooperation of their venue.
- Region leadership have received virtual options for sharing important information covered in their planned region conference.
- The timing of the 46th Biennial Convention in Bellevue, WA, is being evaluated. The health and safety of all our convention attendees is our highest priority. Please keep checking the convention webpage for the most recent updates.
- SIAHQ employees have been outfitted to work remotely until further notice. While the situation continues to evolve, you can count on the fact we will continue to do our very best to support you during this time.
We encourage you to continue to educate yourself on the facts using recognized experts such as Centers for Disease Control, the World Health Organization, and local and national governmental official requirements.
We encourage you to take precautions with social distancing and good hygiene.
We encourage you to create new ways to communicate with your club members, your community, and your supporters. It is imperative our mission continues, and our communities and supporters know our Dream Programs will continue to provide the services they have come to expect and treasure.
We encourage you to rethink your club year in 2020—use this time to take planned activities in April, May and June and move them further out to a time when it becomes apparent group gatherings are allowed in our respective areas.
We are grateful for your continued demonstration of professionalism, dedication, and compassion as we work through these challenges together.
Continued best wishes to you, your families, and your communities for good health and resilience in the weeks to come.
With care and concern for you,
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Elizabeth M. Lucas
Executive Director & CEO
Soroptimist International of the Americas, Inc.
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H
ello all,
SIA has sent out a directive in regards to Covid-19. As of this moment all DIBI programs are to be cancelled or postponed until at least April 15th.
I know many clubs are just getting going on their programs. If anything changes I will let you know.
Elaine Cassell
SNR Dream It Be It Coordinator
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Linda Lotspeich is still a member in good standing and was visiting us at the time we were giving out the recognition pins for years of service. Linda was mistakenly not mentioned for her 30 years of service. Linda was SIC President 1995/1996.
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St. Albans March Newsletter
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Dear SISTAs,
Please find attached the latest issue of our Club Newsletter.
Please do find a quiet time to read it - Jean does such a great job putting it together for us - thanks Jean!
The
breaking news
today is that we have had to
cancel the quiz on 21 March because of the Coronavirus
- we have a duty of care to everyone attending so it could not go ahead. We will postpone and run the event in the Autumn instead. We will keep you updated on any further programme changes.
Keep safe and well everyone. It sounds as if life with a viral pandemic will be challenging for all of us so please let us know if you need any help in the coming weeks,
in friendship,
Jane Slatter
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As you may have suspected, The 2020 Home and Garden Show will not be taking place next month as originally planned. Instead,
it has been rescheduled to the new dates of July 25 and July 26
. Our obligation and schedule will remain the same, however we will start over with a new sign-up genius. We realize it's difficult to know what our plans will be in July, but please go ahead and sign up and each of us can easily change our chosen shift if needed at a later date.
The new signup will be coming soon.
Thank-you everyone!
Bonnie Chapman & Lupe Medrano
Co-Chairs Fundraising Committee
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This event has been CANCELLED
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Billie's Installation:
June 15 at Canyon Oaks 6pm - 9pm
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Summer Picnic:
August 23rd at Merlo Park, Stirling City
Click on the picture above to see a 4 minute video of this beautiful park.
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Retreat:
September 18-20 at Railroad Park Resort in Dunsmuir
Click on the picture above to visit their website.
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Let's Take The Train to the SIA Convention Update
There are no plans to postpone or cancel the 46th Biennial Convention in Bellevue, WA.
The Health and Safety of all Convention attendees is Soroptimist’s highest priority. We have been assured the highest possible degree of hygiene, safety and medical care at the convention will be taken. The
convention web page
will be updated regularly in the coming months leading to the Convention.
That said:
- Recommended by the SIA Convention Committee
- Breathtaking Scenic Views
- Fun and Affordable
- No matter what, you’ll have a day of travel...why not do it the relaxing way?
Where are we as a group so far?
Governor Lane and I are booked.
We’ve decided to book Business Class for our trip to the SIA Convention. She will depart the train station in Sacramento, and I’ll get on in Chico.
It’s not too late.
Go to Amtrak.com and make your reservation on the Coast Starlight, to arrive on Tuesday, July 21st. I will be returning by train, Business Class, on Sunday, July 26th.
We’ll make a dinner reservation for the early seating.
The Coast Starlight has a dining car, the famous Sightseer Lounge Car with floor to ceiling windows, and a club car.
Book a room for Tuesday night at the SIA Convention Venue.
Use our Soroptimist Convention code to receive the discount. We’ve found this is a fabulous deal; likely the best in Bellevue.
Click
here
to download a shareable flier!
Lisa Fitzgerald, District 1 Director
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Sandi Decker & Linda Kerch
Co-chairs SI Objectives Committee
Natalie Conrad & Kit Oldham
Coordinators
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Epicurean Rendezvous Major Sponsors
THANK YOU
for making our fundraiser a big success!
As a major sponsor you receive one year of FREE advertising in our E-blast and on our website
Find out more about our major sponsors by clicking on their logo below or visit our website fundraiser page by
clicking here
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Support our advertisers. They help pay for the cost of our weekly E-blast. To visit their website click on their business card below. To visit their Social Media page click on the caption below their business card
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Articles and announcements are due by 5pm Sunday to our email address at:
Joyce Brown
Editor
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