Greetings Business Meeting Attendees!

Hello our meeting is about to start. Be sure to check in by entering a comment AND be sure to refresh your browser frequently so you can see the new comments as they come in. 

If you get lost you can call or text me at (970)749-9569. 

Jama

• GENERAL - general discussion and topics not listed below
• FACILITY - facility closures, shop users, shop stewards, facility needs
• GEM SHOW - updates, status, considerations
• CLASSES - both school group and public classes
• MEMBERSHIP - updates, status, considerations
• OUTREACH - how to serve our community at this time

Please visit each category displayed at the right and feel free to weigh in your opinion. Please sign your posts so we know who is speaking with your first name only (or first name last initial). Your responses must be approved to prevent spammers from infiltrating this websites.  Thank you - Jama

these circumstances. This is where online service to our members becomes helpful. 

One idea is serve our members is to extend their annual membership by the number of months we will suffer closure. If you purchased your membership last December, then it would expire on March 31 instead of Dec 31. 

​Any other thoughts, ideas?​

Coping is a period of rest and escape. It can be healthy (taking a hike, doing a household repair, skyping with family and friends) and not-so-healthy (drinking, overeating, binge watching TV). Coping in both healthy and unhealthy ways would be perfectly normal for these abnormal times!

Creative expression is generally a healthy way to cope. You can use creativity to express deep emotions, as a well-earned rest from the news of the day, and to do things that help others.

There are creative ways you can help our community. You can post on facebook to connect to others and to alleviate the loneliness that can set in during weeks of isolation. We might raise funds for disaster relief, by hosting online sales of donated jewelry. We can offer inspiration, some laughter, and feelings of brightness during a bleak time by posting our own creations. 

Please think of ways the Club can become a meaningful place of refuge, companionship, and community assistance during our isolation for the weeks to come. 

Some good news for teachers: we were able to obtain insurance coverage for our teachers and students. Our class offerings (by independent instructors) were not previously covered under our general liability or board liability insurance, nor did our instructors have their own independent art instructor liability insurance.  However … teachers … your class MUST COVER safe use of tools and equipment, and every student must sign a liability waiver every class. Leave the liability waivers in the membership box. - Jama

Our very own Show Chair Megan Maurillo was a suspected case of Covid-19 and prescribed treatment accordingly. She was ill for about two weeks, and is very much better now. She might be soon counted among the first to be recovered! 

Some Gem Show planning activities continue in the background. Carl finished an amazing poster (pictured). I continued to work on Gem Show classes. But neither of these are to be published or released until we know if the Show will go on. Megan has continued to receive and process contracts from dealers. 

​We have spent $817 to date on the Gem Show, with no further spending since late February. These were for a $700 ad on the Durango Discovery Map which is mostly a year-round promotion for the Club, and $117 on office supplies and postage to mail out contracts.

We are delaying further Gem Show spending until we better know the fate of our 2020 Gem Show.  

Part of our consideration will be the financial impact of the Show on the Club's finances. Here are our likely options:

• We cancel the Show without further spending. We lose $817 on Show spending to date. 
• We continue Show spending but cancel later. We lose $6,000 to $14,000. 
• We hold the Show but anticipate a 70% decline in dealer fees, admission fees, class participation, and other show income. We gain about $10,000. 

We are presently under no contractual obligations. Contracts with the fairgrounds, food vendors, google ads, etc. are not in place. Contracts with our dealers allow us to cancel the Show but to return payments to our dealers. We are not responsible for other losses they might incur by cancelling our show. And we are at the mercy of emergency response, which may take over the fairgrounds for ongoing community testing. 

And YET … we sincerely hope to hold the Show in mid July as scheduled, as a celebration of our community's return to normal life!