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Cathy and Members, I am so sorry that I will not get to end my presidential year with you all sharing ideas and celebrating victories. To the conference committee, I know how hard you’ve worked and all the obstacles you’ve overcome. I cannot thank you enough for the love and energy you put into this conference. I’d like to share that next year in Memphis we will hold an extended honors and awards session to personally recognize all our scholarship and award winners from this year and next. The conference booklet will go out soon so you all can help us celebrate these amazing people. I also want to share that we’ve made the decision to honor all the scholarship winners, as TLA celebrates your continued education and would not want to impede in your academic efforts and success. With that said, Cathy, I would like to donate my conference registration fee to TLA in hopes of helping to offset the losses in scholarship fundraising that would have happened at the conference. I love this organization, the work we do, and all we stand for. So, please put my fee toward our goals. Thank you everyone! Jill Rael TLA President On Tue, Mar 24, 2020 at 12:42 PM Executive Director TLA <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > *[External Email]* > This is another LONG email - my apologies! > > It is with much sadness that I inform you our 2020 Annual Conference is > cancelled. The Knoxville Convention Center informed TLA early last week > that our rescheduled dates were now included in their mandatory shut down > period and we would need to reschedule. In working with the Convention > Center and the Conference Hotel, it became obvious to us all the best > option for our group was to cancel as June and July get into Summer > Reading, August and September are back to school and October would put us > competing with Tenn-Share and TASL for conference attendees. > > The Holiday Inn Worlds Fair indicate they have canceled all reservations > that were in our booking group. To be safe, I would call and make sure > your reservation is cancelled. Be prepared to wait a while on the phone - > they have laid off most of their staff due to travel cancellations. > > The silver lining to this cloud is because we are unable to meet due to > the Convention Center's internal policies, TLA is not responsible for any > cancellation fees. Therefore, TLA is waiving our no conference refunds > policy and will give refunds for anyone who requests them. Keep in mind, > membership dues are not refundable, only conference registrations. If you > do not want a refund, do not request one and know that TLA appreciates your > generous support during these difficult times. > > To request a refund, just send me an email that lets me know: > > Your Name > How much you/your institution paid > If you paid by check or credit card > Who the check should be made payable to, you or your institution > An address where the refund should be mailed > > There are many of you who have coworkers that registered from the same > institution and the institution paid your registration. If you could get > together and request one refund, that will speed things along. Please keep > in mind I am one person with a laptop and a printer. It will take me some > time to get these processed. I will do my very best, but I have a day job > and a family too, so you may have to get in line. > > I feel I need to tell you just how hard this Conference Planning Committee > worked to make this event happen. It was going to be glorious! They are > all very brokenhearted right now, and have every right to be. With all of > that in mind, I am happy to announce that after our 2021 Conference meets > in Memphis, the 2022 Conference will be in Knoxville and the committee > members who served us so diligently this year will be asked to stick around > and show us what they had in store. I am hoping they all agree. > > Thank you all so much for your patience and endurance as we worked through > these hard decisions. I have heard the words "uncharted waters" so much > that I am sick of them, so instead, I will say that our conference three > day tour did not go as planned. But of all the colleagues in the world that > I could have been marooned with, you would be my choice, every single time. > I would choose you because as crazy as things are right now, I am inspired > every day by you and the creative ways you are finding to serve your > patrons, students and communities. The world needs us now more that ever. > Continue being the light. > > Be well, > Cathy > > Cathy M Farley > Executive Director > Tennessee Library Association > PO Box 6297 > Sparta, TN 38583 > 931-607-1182 > [log in to unmask] >