Message from SOSA Board of Directors

Message from SOSA Board of Directors Regarding COVID-19

Today, March 23, the SOSA board held an emergency meeting to discuss what we need to do to respond to the current COVID19 crisis. I think it's fair to say that all of us felt the weight of this issue not only for the club, but for our own personal lives. This situation challenges all aspects of our existence.

The Bottom Line

We have decided that the club needs to be closed. There will be no ground or flying activity at the club, and no use of any of the facilities. Activities essential to the safety and maintenance of the club, or of your personal property or equipment, will of course be required from time to time and in exceptional cases. No one may stay overnight, or congregate in any of the buildings. Any changes to this directive will be made known to members and public when appropriate.

The Reasoning

The planet has to participate completely if this pandemic is to be controlled
As a member of the planet, SOSA needs to participate 100%, and follow all directives from public health and legislative bodies
COVID19 lives on surfaces for about 9 days, thrives better in colder temperatures, and is easily passed from body to object and then to another body
It is increasingly clear that people who have minimal or no symptoms are readily transmitting the virus. No one can tell if they have it or not.
Any activity at SOSA will involve touching surfaces that have been, and will be, touched by many others. We cannot rely on disinfecting practices to avoid this.

Let us keep "flying"

We have to keep our brains and our hearts in the air somehow. The board and other members are actively developing some things to offer to members in order to keep our flying fresh and our club strong through this. Stay tuned for more information and be in touch if you have any ideas.

Ongoing Communication

The board will be meeting every week because this situation is changing so fast. Any changes to the status of club function will be made known primarily through the web site. Please go there first for your information. CnG and Slack will also be used. Yahoo groups will not be used any longer. We strongly encourage that if you have questions or concerns about any aspect of how we are navigating this, you get in touch with any board member directly. These issues will not be discussed effectively in a larger group.