Thank you for the information and your opinions.
I will admit I'm somewhat torn about how appropriate it is to re-vote on
something like this. We hardly ever truly vote on something, and to so soon
reconsider a vote in this manner somewhat undermines the legitimacy of our
decisions as a body. We have the luxury of being a reasonably sized board
comprised of people who agree most of the time on important and day-to-day
issues. Were we a board with different stakes and members who consistently
challenged each other's views, we would have to stick by the decisions we
make lest chaos ensue.
I am ok with taking another vote by email based on the developed opinions
of some members. Can every board member please email with one of the
following:
- I vote to begin band next Tuesday
- I vote to delay the start of band 2-3 (TBD) weeks
- I abstain
Tom
On Wed, Jan 5, 2022 at 9:44 PM Jessica Johnson <jessica.a.johnson@xxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
I can see the point about polling not being necessary or beneficial at
this juncture. Honestly, the main reason I recommended it was to just buy
us some time to process this decision a bit more, especially in light of
the information Jimmy shared and the massive increase in cases that Warren
just mentioned.
I talked with a good friend who works full time at a hospital in Austin
(not the same one I’m at). He genuinely thought I was joking when I told
him about the plans to start this Tuesday. That’s why I’m concerned about
this. Along with:
-Short-staffing due to RNs, PTs, techs, etc having left the field over the
past year
-Short-staffing due to COVID+ personnel
-Even if a patient is hospitalized for say, a broken bone, and they are
found to be asymptomatic COVID, the staff still have to take extraordinary
caution to not spread it to their next pt.
-Omicron is spreading so rapidly that there is a good chance (not a
guarantee, but a good chance) that this wave will burn out more quickly
than others, meaning that postponing wouldn’t be a months long delay like
it’s been for us in the past.
-***No one is more tired of this damn pandemic than hospital staff.***
I’m not sharing this to guilt trip anyone. It’d just feel shady(?) if I
didn’t.
Jessica
On Jan 5, 2022, 8:32 PM -0600, Warren Gill <mymaestro@xxxxxxxxx>, wrote:
First, I agree a poll at this time is not going to change anything, and
would not be helpful in making a decision. For those and other reasons Tom
brings, polling won't work.
Two things changed my outlook, since last night.
1) Advice from a trusted professional (other groups also not rehearsing,
and cases hitting "close to home")
2) A look at the latest stats. 1250 new cases TODAY will probably tip the
scale to move into Stage 5 (another source shows 2,310 new cases but 0
yesterday (hmm)
https://g.co/kgs/obRjzq
https://austin.maps.arcgis.com/apps/dashboards/39e4f8d4acb0433baae6d15a931fa984
3) My gut feel is this will pass quickly, with the new variant being very
contagious but not loading the hospitals as deeply.
On Wed, Jan 5, 2022 at 7:51 PM Thomas Hensle <tomhensle@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Hi Team,
My first question is: what has changed since last night? I don't think
that circumstances have shifted significantly since our meeting. We touched
on the possibility of postponement, but no one expressed interest in it or
pushed for further discussion of it that I recall.
I don't really like the idea of another poll. It feels like a punt of
responsibility after we've already discussed and made the decision. If we
really do want to postpone, we can decide to do so without a poll.
Part of our decision was acknowledging that band members are capable of
deciding what risk they will tolerate in the current era of Covid. This is
somewhat of a shift from our earlier pandemic reasons for postponement when
there was less information and no vaccines and/or boosters. Would a poll
save us a wasted hour if only 12 people show up next Tuesday? Yes. But is
that really a wasted hour at this point, given the framework for how we
came to our decision last night?
I do think we should be flexible enough as a board to change our
collective mind and re-vote on a decision we made if the need arises and/or
we get new information. My opinion is that we do not need to in this case.
We should continue this discussion relatively quickly so that we can
inform the band of what is to come.
Thanks,
Tom
On Wed, Jan 5, 2022 at 6:21 PM Marc Frazier <marcdfrazier@xxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
Polling wouldn’t hurt anything.
Short delays might be easier for everyone to stomach than on again-off
again.
Sent from my iPhone
On Jan 5, 2022, at 5:12 PM, Jessica Johnson <jessica.a.johnson@xxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
I support the idea of polling the membership to see if we should
postpone starting rehearsals for 2-3 weeks.
Jessica
On Jan 5, 2022, 4:48 PM -0600, Caroline Soper <
caroline.m.soper@xxxxxxxxx>, wrote:
I'm thinking it might be best to postpone 2-3 weeks atleast with the
latest surges going on after the holidays. That would give people
additional time to get boosted. There have been a number of cases at my
work place too in the last month. What is our current plan if Travis county
moves to stage 5?
Caroline
On Wed, Jan 5, 2022, 4:17 PM Ellen Knapton <eknapton@xxxxxxx> wrote:
We could poll members to see who would actually return now vs
postponing a week or two.
Sent from my iPhone
On Jan 5, 2022, at 4:00 PM, Warren Gill <mymaestro@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Much as I hate second-guessing, a week delay?
On Wed, Jan 5, 2022 at 2:27 PM James Bigham <jbigham98@xxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
*pokes head up out of trenches* "stuffs really on fire, yo.
Hi gang. Just wanted to give a heads up that things are grim on the
front lines. I've had 3 minions go down with a case of covid over the
last
2 days. Lots, and I mean lots of tests are coming back positive. As much
as I want to be back and playing again, an unbiased assessment of the
dumpster fire we're in is necessary. It might behoove the group to
postpone.
Alright, back to the trenches. More shells incoming. Stay safe out
there.
Jimmythetuba
On Wed, Jan 5, 2022, 1:59 PM Marc Frazier <marcdfrazier@xxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
Nicely done.
Sent from my iPhone
On Jan 5, 2022, at 12:32 PM, Warren Gill <mymaestro@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
The acweboard@xxxxxxxxxxxxx email address does not accept mail from
outside the group.
In fact I sent one to this mail from another account, and I don't see
it in the forum.
On Tue, Jan 4, 2022 at 10:50 PM Thomas Hensle <tomhensle@xxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
Let me know if there are changes to be made or things I missed.
Thanks for the notes Melissa!
Hello Band!
Happy New Year!
The Board voted last night to go ahead as planned with beginning
ACWE's season next Tuesday the 11th at 7:30 PM. Vaccinations are
currently
required to attend rehearsals. Please read through the points below for
all
of the information regarding rehearsals and the Band's Covid Protocols.
- Vaccinations are currently required to attend rehearsals.
Participants must be fully vaccinated, by the CDC definition
<https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/fully-vaccinated.html>
(currently 2 doses of Pfizer or Moderna or 1 dose of J&J). *Please
bring proof of vaccination to the first rehearsal you attend.*
Once Travis county drops to stage 2 of Covid Alert, proof of
vaccination
will no longer be required.
- If you are exposed to someone who tests positive for Covid, or
is showing Covid symptoms, please do not come to rehearsal for at
least one
week.
- Any member who gets Covid agrees to inform the ACWE board by
email (acweboard@xxxxxxxxxxxxx). The board will then notify all
ACWE members who were at the previous rehearsal with that band
member.
Please wait to return to rehearsals until one week after symptoms
disappear.
- Attendance will be taken at each rehearsal. Minimum attendance
requirements will not be enforced. Please stay home to be safe as
needed.
- Masks are required in the Covenant Church building, please
wear a mask when outside of the rehearsal area.
- Brass players, please bring your own cloth to catch spit each
rehearsal.
First rehearsal items to bring:
-proof of vaccination
-mask
-spit cloth for brass players
-your horn
-you!
We hope to make the best of this season while maintaining a
reasonably safe environment for our friends. Please do not take any
risks
you are uncomfortable with. The Board has spent a lot of time discussing
the Band's return to music in person. We've tried to find the
appropriate
balance of risk and reward, and more than anything we look forward to
being
able to play music together again.
Thank you,
Tom
