The following email was sent to all members of Region 15 on March 21, 2020.
Dear Fellow Members of Regon 15:
As announced in Patty Cobb Baker’s video message to the Sweet Adelines membership yesterday, the Regional video contest plan has been completed, but will not be implemented in the near future. The International Board of Directors (IBOD) does not have any current knowledge about when the video contest may proceed.
Your Regional Management Team met this morning to discuss our actions in response to the communication from Patty. Based on the latest information we have, we were able to make the following decisions surrounding the cancellation of our Regional contest in Albany.
Region 15 will return any submitted contest registration checks to each chorus and quartet. (These include any guest ticket purchases, as well as All Events Registrations for new members.)
Region 15 will refund to each chorus the contest portion of the paid regional assessment* for Fiscal Year 2020. Refunds are based on the final invoiced membership that each chorus paid on during the Fiscal Year 2020 billing cycle. The contest portion of the Regional Assessment will be refunded at the following rates**: $55 for Regular Members and $27.50 for Youth Members. Since Regional Assessment funds were paid to Region 15 by each chorus, the funds will be refunded directly to each chorus. Choruses will then determine the disposition of their own members’ refunds. The RMT will not be mandating or recommending any specific financial actions to be taken at the chorus level. That is up to each chorus management team to decide together with their members. Region 15 Finance Coordinator Phyllis Capolongo will be in contact with the chorus finance coordinators regarding the return of applicable funds. For Chapter-at-Large members, Phyllis will reach out to discuss individually. Any questions regarding this refund can be directed to Phyllis at [email protected].
As mentioned in our previous message, chorus hotel deposits and program advertising funds are being returned. This is currently in process and should be completed soon.
When a decision is made about the implementation of a 2020 Regional Video Contest, complete details will come directly from Sweet Adelines International. Your Regional Competition Committee and Regional Management Team will then plan and communicate next steps related to Regional-level planning and logistics.
These are uncertain times to be sure, but your Regional Management Team is continuing to plan for the future. During this crisis, we are here to help clarify communications and support our choruses, quartets, and all members to our best ability. Once we are on the other side of this crisis, the RMT will work to help navigate our way back to in-person rehearsals, live performances, and regional events – to once again join together to celebrate the joy of harmony.
Before signing off, we wanted to take this opportunity to remind you that nominations are still being accepted for the 2020 Harriette Walters Leadership Award. We have decided to extend the deadline to May 1, 2020 and will plan to announce the winner this summer (and, hopefully, celebrate them live at VocalFest in the fall). The full criteria and nomination form can be found here: https://sairegion15.org/Leadershipaward. We encourage you to take a few moments to submit a nomination for a deserving member of Region 15.
Be safe and be healthy!
Beth
Beth Fulton
Team Coordinator, Region 15 Management Team
* Based on the assessment payments submitted to Region 15 by each chorus in October 2019.
** The remaining portion of the paid assessments was collected to fund regional education efforts for the fiscal year May 1, 2019 to April 30, 2020. This portion will not be refunded.
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