CANCELED: WCRP Spring Conference & Board of Directors' Meeting 
March 18-20,2020 | Suncadia Resort | Cle Elum, WA

Message from the Executive Director 

The decision to cancel an event is not an easy one to make, but after much thought and analysis, as well as consultation with the Board President, Vice-President and Secretary/Treasurer, the decision has been made that the  WCRP Spring Conference & Board Meeting at Suncadia Resort next week, March 18-20, is CANCELED.  

The Coronavirus (COVID-19) is having a particular impact on us here in Washington and, while there is no need for panic, it should also be taken seriously.  The best way to combat this virus is to limit non-essential travel and to try to isolate, rather than converge people from different areas together.  Because our group comes from 2/3 of all of Washington’s counties, having us all congregate into one place is the opposite of an isolation effort.

As with any large group, a number of our board members and attendees are either of a susceptible age, have underlying medical conditions, or are close to people back at home who are.  It would be devastating to learn that someone contracted this virus while at our conference and/or passed it to someone who took it back home with them to their friends, families and communities.

When analyzing this decision, the most important thing to look at is how essential the event or meeting is that is being canceled and what impact it has on the organization and the attendees.  In our case, we happen to have a board meeting agenda that is very light on action items, none of which are essential right now, and can certainly wait until the board meeting at our Summer Conference in July.  Further, our only out-of-state speaker has canceled their attendance, also leaving a gap in our Thursday sessions.  All of these make it clear that our Conference next week is not essential and canceling the event is really the responsible thing to do.

I’m sorry to all of those who were preparing for this trip, have moved their calendars to make room for this Conference and Board Meeting, and for the work you may have to do to now cancel your travel plans.  I don’t like doing this, but I hope you understand it is being done out of an abundance of caution and to mitigate risk.  

Here are a few things to know:

• The Pool will contact the Resort and will cancel all rooms associated with our block.  If rooms are canceled today, you will not be charged for your stay.  Please keep an eye on your credit card to be sure you are not charged.  If you booked a room outside of the block and are concerned that your name may not be included in the block list, you can contact us to confirm if you are on the list of rooms to be canceled.
• Because some people may have been planning vacations around this Conference, and may still want to go to Suncadia, the Resort has indicated that they will honor the rate we had.  If you would still like a room during this time, please contact memberservices@wcrp.wa.gov and indicate that you would like to keep your room and someone from Member Services will contact you to assist with this.  Please contact us by the end of the day tomorrow (Wednesday) to confirm this.
• We plan to work with the Resort to limit the cost of having to cancel this event.  We are hoping that they will allow us to save costs by  holding a future event at their location.  We will update you all on this at a future meeting and as information is available.
• The WCRP Summer Conference & Board Meeting is July 22-24 at the Hilton Hotel in Vancouver, Washington.  This Conference is still going forward and we are excited for some fun activities, great learning opportunities and a action-packed board meeting.  Keep an eye out for more information in the near future.

Thank you all for understanding this difficult decision and situation.  I know we were all looking forward to getting together and having a fantastic Spring Conference.  I hope you have a safe and healthy few months between now and the Summer Conference and we will see you in Vancouver in July, if not sooner!!