The 2020 Phoenix Cruiser Travel Club Spearfish Reunion has been cancelled
The Phoenix Cruiser Travel Club has made the decision to cancel the reunion for 2020. The Spearfish reunion will slide to September 2021. Full registration fee refunds will be issued to everyone still registered (less PayPal convenience fees, if applicable). Registration for 2021 will have a special early reservation period open only to those who were registered for 2020. After that time frame, registration will be open to everyone as usual. We are trying to reschedule for five nights starting Sunday, September 19, 2021, but are waiting to see if we can get Snapper’s Club and the campground sites for that time frame. We will put the final date in the newsletter as soon as we have it.
This was a difficult decision. Our number one goal was to keep everyone as safe as possible in these uncertain times. We discussed ways to mitigate the risk and, until recently, were inclined to hold the reunion with considerable restrictions as follows:
• Social distancing of at least 6’ would be required at all times.
• We could still rent the meeting hall but the city states that social distancing and all CDC recommendations would be required. We would need to drop to 40 participants to qualify for indoor use of the hall. This means we would have had to cancel out 30-40% of registered members. During inclement weather our annual meeting, bingo, four breakfasts and one dinner would have to take place inside the hall as well as any social gathering. During good weather we’d gather outside.
• Facial Coverings/masks would have to be worn when inside the meeting hall (except when eating and drinking) and any time you could not maintain a minimum of 6’ social distancing outside.
• Meals were all set to be buffet style with servers wearing masks and gloves and handling the utensils. Someone would be tasked with regulating buffet lines to maintain social distancing.
• The bus trip would have been cancelled.
All these restrictions would have a serious impact on the socialization aspect of the reunion. We COULD do it, but SHOULD we? That was the question we’ve agonized over for months. Recent news coming in about the Sturgis Bike Rally pushed us over the edge. Thousands of people from all over the country will be gathering and partying in the Black Hills about one month before our event. The possible (and somewhat expected) spike in Coronavirus cases following this event would hit just before we arrived which could put our members at risk.
After much agonizing (daily - for months), we have made the difficult decision to cancel.
