Hi All,

Below please find a message from Rick Williams, our current NEOA President,
about the cancellation of the NEOA conference this year. If you have any
questions, or have any messages you would like me to bring to the board,
please let me know!

-Steve

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Williams, Rick <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Tue, Mar 10, 2020 at 3:40 PM
Subject: An Important Message form the NEOA Board of Directors
To: <[log in to unmask]>


NEOA Membership:



In the last few days, The New England Educational Opportunity Association
has received numerous inquiries about our upcoming Annual Professional
Conference in light of the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) outbreak. Please
know that the NEOA Board of Directors takes the health and safety of our
members and other guests very seriously and we are monitoring the evolving
situation. At this time, we have had a Board Meeting by phone and I have
contacted the Heritage Hotel and Kim Kossl of Helms Briscoe (our meeting
planning partners) to look into the possibility of rebooking our conference.
Every year, we look forward to connecting with our colleagues and community
at our Annual Conference. However, given the growing concerns around
COVID-19, including strong warning respecting travel and meetings, *we have
made the difficult decision to cancel this year’s conference.* But again,
we are working closely with the Heritage and we will consider rescheduling
for at a later date or offering some sort of teleconference in its place.



Many of our states and our colleges have instituted travel bans at this
time or will do so in the near future and Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont
has issued an immediate freeze on state employee travel on state business
outside of Connecticut. Additionally, and where it impacts our Annual
Conference at The Heritage Hotel in Southbury, CT, is that “any state of
Connecticut-organized large meetings, conferences or gatherings that are
anticipated to have over 100 people in attendance between now and April 30
will be evaluated to determine if the events should move to teleconference
or be postponed.”



We are by no means alone: a number of major higher education events,
including the American Educational Research Association annual meeting,
and, most recently, the annual meeting of the American Council on Education
(ACE), have been cancelled, recast as virtual meetings, or deferred. An
increasing number of institutions also have cancelled classes or
transitioned to online instruction.



Please see below for answers to questions you may have regarding refunds
for registration and participation. We will continue to provide necessary
updates and truly appreciate your understanding and support.



*REGISTRATION: *Right now NEOA plans to cancel all of the registrations for
this year once we hear back from the Heritage. Members will have the option
of receiving a full refund, or you can apply your 2020 registration for our
next conference.

*LODGING: *As stated, we are working closely with the Hotel and I will have
more information about whether our membership has to cancel their
individual / program registrations or if the NEOA Conference Committee will
be able to cancel on behalf of the membership. As soon as we hear back from
the Hotel, I will send an additional email.



*CONFERENCE PROGRAM: *The NEOA conference Committee is grateful to each of
our speakers, invited guests, and members for their willingness to present
at our event. Although the call for proposals is often changed each year to
align with the most pressing issues of the time, we will encourage each
workshop presenter to consider adapting their presentation for the next
scheduled conference. The conference committee will assume that you will
still want to present at the later date and Kim Gorman will reach out to
you as we develop our plan.



Again, it is with great sadness that I share this development with all of
you. Please give the Board of Directors a few days to work the situation
out with the hotel and the individual state associations to chart a viable
path forward.  If you have any questions, please contact me at any time.



Respectfully,





Rick Williams, NEOA President

Director Upward Bound Lyndon

Northern Vermont University

1001 College Rd

Lyndonville, VT 05851

802-626-5000

802-274-5648

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-- 
Steve Visco
Assistant Director
Maine Educational Opportunity Center
Maine Educational Talent Search
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(207) 581-3706