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SI Chico E-blast news & more
March 31, 2020 | Volume 20 Issue 33
Greetings!

Please take the time to read the complete E-blast so you can keep up to date with all the happenings in our club, SNR and SIA. With COVID-19 things are changing daily and we don't want you to miss the latest updates. Make sure when you see this message at the bottom of the page: [ Message clipped]   View entire message to click it or you can click it here.

Joyce Brown
SI Chico E-blast Editor
Message from President
Carrie Pavis
Hello Beautiful Soroptimist Members,
I hope you are all doing well and finding ways to keep yourselves busy. This week we will be our first ever Virtual Business Meeting. There have been many firsts in recent times, right? We want to carry on with our business as much as we are able to, so thanks in advance for rolling with this new process which is a learn as we go! It's that time of year again to vote for our 2020-2021 SIC Board of Directors. This year we will be voting through Survey Monkey. We will also be voting for Motion 24 and Motion 25 (see below). If you have any questions, send them to the committee co-chairs that brought forth the motion. There is a link to Survey Monkey in this E-blast below to cast your vote. It is very important that everyone vote, as we will still need a quorum of our membership participating in each motion’s vote in order for it to move forward or not.

Our club Delegates and myself will also be voting electronically for our District 1 Officers in April. See article below for complete details.
 
I would guess by now many of you have had a virtual meeting or two. It’s amazing how we can adapt to change and make it all work! Thanks to all the committees for continuing to fulfill their responsibilities. A reminder that preliminary budgets are due to the Administration committee. Send those on to Joan or Gayle please! SIA has asked us not to conduct any face to face meetings until June as of now. Please see the article further down in this E-blast 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 for me, I am enjoying cleaning and organizing. I am missing all of you and the normalcy of life, but hopefully we can get through this sooner rather than later.


President,  
t's that time of year again to vote for our 2020-2021 SIC Board of Directors. This year we will be voting through Survey Monkey. We will also be voting for Motion 24 and Motion 25.

Here is the list of nominees:


Click here to vote for SIC Board of Directors and Motions (make sure after you vote click "Done" at the bottom for your vote to count)

If you have any questions about the SIC Board of Directors nominees you can contact the Nominating Committee:
Sandi Decker - tom2sandi@gmail.com
Stephanie Giacovelli - Raeja57@gmail.com
Vanessa Haro - veeharo@yahoo.com

Contact:
Kim Huber - kim.n.huber@gmail.com & Carol Burr - cburr@csuchico.edu with any
questions about Motion 24 and Motion 25
Giving Committee Motions










o    Motion 24:
Move that SI Chico donate $2000 to the Peg Taylor Center to provide 570 rides to the center and back home via Chico B-Line. The cost of these critical rides recently increased.

o    Motion 25:
Move that SI Chico donate $1000 to SI Australia’s Bushfire Recovery Support from the International Goodwill and Understanding fund.

Please click on the Survey Monkey voting poll on the left to vote.
District 1 Election of Officers
If you have time and interest in assessing the candidates and having input, please let President Carrie or any of the Delegates, Kimm Randle, Jeanne Smith, Bev Rozendaal, or Vanessa Haro know prior to the close of voting on April 20. We will cast votes on behalf of SI Chico.


There will be videos on our region website, https://www.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.

Ballots should be sent to all delegates  by April 6 .     Voting will close on  April 20 .   Results will be verified by the elections committee and results will be posted  by April 25 , our original election day.

Committee Happenings
Below are minutes submitted at our last Board Meeting, prior to COVID-19 shelter in place order. Most events have been cancelled or rescheduled except for Installation of Officers, Summer Picnic and SIC Retreat. There are no plans to postpone or cancel the 46th Biennial Convention in Bellevue, WA






Hands-On Projects
It’s time to create or renew Hands-On Projects!

 The Giving Committee is taking applications for local projects that benefit women and girls in our community.

If you are interested in proposing a local Hands-On Project for our club, use the attached form to nominate a new project or renew an existing one.


This is a great way to complement Soroptimist financial support with member energy to fulfill our mission and the mission of the organization you nominate.

Please contact Carol Burr cburr@csuchico.edu or Kim Huber kim.n.huber@gmail.com if you have questions.
April Member of the Month
is Katie Salcido
My family moved to Chico in 1972 (I was 2 years old). I was fortunate to grow up in Chico with my older sister and brother. Bidwell Park was my playground as a child. I recall having multiple swimming holes and forts scattered along the creek on the north side of lower park.
 
My first job was delivering the daily newspaper after school from my bike. When I turned 15 ½ I was hired to bus tables at La Comida, a workplace and time I look back on with great memories.
 
I attended Butte College and Chico State from 1987-1997, earning a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy. While finishing up my undergraduate degree at Chico State I worked part-time at UPS. Since graduating, I have held a myriad of professional positions that range from UPS sales executive, bank manager, Chico State Financial Aid Analyst, to my current position as a community partnership liaison in my role as the Butte and Lassen Counties Partnership Specialist for the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2020 Census.
 
In May 2019 I earned my Master in Public Administration, officially becoming a Jill of many trades and a master of one. This past October I accepted a position with the US Census Bureau. In my current role I am able to unite my passion for community involvement with my desire to ensure that my community gets counted in this important decennial event.
 
When not working or going to school I enjoy running and hiking in Bidwell Park with friends, long dog walks, house projects with my partner of thirteen years, Holly Day, as well as biking, fishing, Pickleball, and gardening. I also enjoy dark coffee, hoppy beer, and great company. I look forward to becoming more involved in Soroptimist with you all!

Congratulations Katie for being our Member of the Month!
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
Coronavirus Update from SIA Headquarters March 19, 2020
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 .

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,
Elizabeth M. Lucas
Executive Director & CEO
Soroptimist International of the Americas, Inc.
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
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.


Thank-you everyone!

Bonnie Chapman & Lupe Medrano
Co-Chairs Fundraising Committee
This event has been CANCELLED
SAVE THE DATE
Billie's Installation: 
June 15 at Canyon Oaks 6pm - 9pm   

Summer Picnic:
August 23rd at Merlo Park, Stirling City

Click on the picture above to see a 4 minute video of this beautiful park.

Retreat:
September 18-20 at Railroad Park Resort in Dunsmuir 

Click on the picture above to visit their website.
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
Sandi Decker & Linda Kerch
Co-chairs SI Objectives Committee  

Natalie Conrad & Kit Oldham
Coordinators
Epicurean Rendezvous Major Sponsors
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Joyce Brown
Editor