Well, just when we thought it “safe to go into the water again” here comes Covid-19 wave number three. At our regular club meeting on April 6th we decided that with rising infection numbers in Thailand and Chiang Mai, that meeting would be probably be our last face-to-face meeting until the Covid-19 infection numbers significantly dropped. Later, the board decided that until Covid-19 infection numbers significantly declined our club would hold no more face-to-face meetings (regular, board or committee). Any meetings, regardless of number attending, would be ZOOM only. All service projects are on indefinite hold.
Even when the Covid-19 infection rates drop, as they have been, we will probably not be able to engage in service projects where we come into close contact with children or patients until our members are able to be fully vaccinated against Covid-19 with an approved vaccine. The Thai government has wisely decided to delay the start of the school year until June 1st and will probably extend it further, so, with luck, our service projects this school year may not start until our members are vaccinated.
We are in need of someone to fill the CMIRC Speaker Chair role for RY 2021-2022. IPP (and Charter Member) John has said he will be unable to continue filling this role. The Speaker Chair has responsibility for identifying, scheduling, communicating and coordinating the speakers for our first and third Tuesday club meetings. This is not identified as a Board position. I filled this role for approximately the first 2.5 years of the club when we held weekly meetings and found it to be a good opportunity for a member, even a newcomer, to develop knowledge about our community and to gain contacts. And since our meetings will be via Zoom for the foreseeable future, the geographic range of potential speakers is larger.