Greetings CONvergence Members!
As the world continues to change with the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic at the forefront of everyone’s attention, a number of other large events have begun to cancel or change plans. We remain deeply concerned about the impact to the health and well being of you, our membership. We are monitoring COVID-19 information on national and local levels. The situation remains very fluid, with new information emerging each week. We are making the best decisions possible with the information available, as quickly as possible, in order to inform everyone in the most timely manner. At this point in time, we remain strongly committed to proceeding with CONvergence on August 20-23, 2020.
While we understand there is apprehension because of the continuing uncertainty of the next several months, we are considering all factors involved as we determine what CONvergence can look like this year.
Factors we are considering include but are not limited to:
- Members’ individual health-related concerns
- The feasibility of executing panels, activities, and gaming
- ConSuite and parties
- MainStage productions
- The quality of the experience for our CONvergence members
- Contract and insurance clauses that impact our decisions and timeline
We are in the process of reviewing and researching all of these factors so that we can continue our current plan to hold CONvergence as-scheduled in August 2020, or choose a new plan as necessary. We are exploring numerous scenarios, and we will commit to updating you on a monthly basis between now and the convention. Should new relevant information arise before this monthly update, we will share that with you as soon as possible.
We would like you to know that we are taking several steps right now.
First and foremost, we are continually monitoring the information that is coming from the State, City, and Hotel levels. If the Governor has not lifted the Stay-At-Home order, or if a ban on large gatherings is in place, and as a result hotels are not allowed to hold conventions, then the decision is made for us. At that point, we will announce the cancellation of CONvergence 2020 and begin in earnest making plans for CONvergence 2021, as well as develop options for members regarding your 2020 memberships.
Second, at the April 2020 Convention Committee meeting, CONvergence departments were charged with developing strategies for CONvergence 2020 that address the requirements of social distancing, contamination minimization, and any additional considerations relevant to holding a safe convention. It is an ongoing planning process that is happening as you are reading this. We want to emphasize that it is still too early to have determined answers to every “what if” question and scenario. As such, our refund policy and process for transferring a membership remains the same for now.
If you are interested in joining the effort to develop strategies for making CONvergence 2020 safer, please contact us.
While we urge you to do what you think is in the best interests of your health and the welfare of you and your family, we encourage you to stay tuned for future announcements about CONvergence 2020 before making any decisions. Rest assured, the health and welfare of our whole community is our priority. We are actively taking the impact on everyone into account, especially the impact on those with health issues and limitations exacerbated by this pandemic. We will enact the best measures we can, and we are endeavoring to do so with the appropriate amount of information so that we can analyze and prepare for the effects of any decisions. Thank you for your patience and understanding.
CONvergence values everyone’s input. Please feel free to reach out and contact us with concerns and ideas you might have.
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