May 25, 2020
Recovery Friends,
I hope each of you is enjoying and celebrating a wonderful Memorial Day. Tomorrow we resume operations at the Holland Alano Association. We are looking forward to again seeing our friends in face-to-face meetings after a long 10 weeks apart. As you have heard, our operations will be scaled down from the meeting schedule and attendance flexibility of the past, as we continue to suppress the risk of COVID-19 transmission, and obey the State Executive Orders. Our ability to resume activities here requires working together for our mutual benefit.Over the past four weeks, we have discussed and decided upon a set of requirements for our tenant groups to accept as part of renting space here. Last week Friday we met with many of the Trusted Servants of your Groups, doing our best to inform them of how we will proceed until COVID concerns are lessened and Orders are relaxed. We also need your commitment to follow these same operating and participating requirements. Each is important, and each must be followed, so here is a summary:
• No Groups with greater than 10 people; PERIOD!
• Seating is marked spaces, which are laid out to provide 6feet Safe-Distancing.
• You must wear a mask that covers your nose and mouth everywhere inside the building, unless you can prove a medical exemption.
• You must NOT ATTEND if you have COVID-19 respiratory symptoms, been exposed to someone with COVID-19 during the past 14 days, or had the illness unless medically evaluated to be fully recovered.
We are hopeful, that if the illness finds its way into our facility, and that we might be transferring COVID-19, that we can inform those who had contact with the ill person. To help us, we suggest you keep a log book of the meetings and dates you attended, and IF YOU BECOME ILL, you can tell us which meeting and date you were here. We also suggest you add your name to a contact list at each meeting. This is optional, but please consider giving some name, nickname, favorite color, anything, with a phone or email, so we can contact you if someone ill, attended the same meeting as you. If we get contacted a person attending is diagnosed COVID-19, we will contact you and share that an ill person attended that same meeting. We will not share any of these names, and we will destroy the contact lists after 60 days. Again, this is optional, we are not about busting anonymity; this is about getting the word to you quickly if you were potentially exposed.
• Please wash your hands before coming here and use hand sanitizer (provided) when you arrive.
• Do not share materials, so bring your own favorite Recovery Book, your own coffee and treats. Avoid contacting each other, so for now, no handshakes, hugs or fellowship nudges.
• Avoid passing the basket, by dropping your contributions in the basket near the Chairperson.
If you are chairing, read the COVID-19 Phase 1 Safety Letter before you start the meeting, as we wish to resolve safety requirements and discussions before your meeting begins. Ask those attending if you may add their names and phone/email, as they state them, for the Contact Log. If they refuse, please write an “x” on a respective line. Please wear provided gloves while writing and handling contributions, etc. Please get a commitment from a person to wipe down tables, chairs, door handles and push-bars, bathroom faucets and handles.
Everyone, please volunteer to assist with cleaning. We have gloves and cleaning supplies; it only takes 15 minutes. After you finish, please record the time and add your initials in the boxes of the Cleaning Sheet Log, located near the door or coffee pot. Yes, we provide cleaning too, but only once daily, and we very much need your help after each meeting to reduce the risk of contamination.If you cannot or will not join us in meeting these conditions, promptly leave the property. Everyone needs to be working with the same requirements. For those willing to comply with these simple requirements, we thank you. Keeping this facility safe for each group, and every patron, is our goal. We may not eliminate the chance of COVID-19, but we are working to reduce, suppress and respond if someone accidentally brings the illness in our doors and onto our meeting tables. Thank you on behalf of the Alano Association, and its Board of Directors