By Jerry Rousseau
For the WCTA, cancellation of our largest annual undertaking, the 2021 conference and trade show, ranks #1 on the scale of COVID related disruption. There will be other shows but sadly, we’ve missed so many of the meaningful things that happen at the conference each year.
Read more: Travis Olson, Immediate WCTA Past President, Finally Gets His Award!
By Gary Bartley, UBC Athletics
I’ll start this message with the question that many of you are going to be asking – “What have I done to Cameron Watt, our elected President?”
2020 has definitely been a year of challenges but I’ve heard that smooth seas don’t make good sailors. Challenges force us to step outside of our comfort zone and learn new things. They help us discover innovation in places we hadn’t thought to look before. Challenges help us grow as professionals in our field and as individuals in our life. Without challenges and hardships, life would be pretty boring; we would probably still be cutting grass with a scythe and fertilizing our turf with sheep sh… well you know.
A new year brings new… and familiar challenges. With 2020 in the rear-view (phew!) many of us have looked to 2021 with a sense of hope. Hope that we will be rid of the pandemic, hope that we will return to normal.
The Covid-19 pandemic has affected all of us this year, and it seems it will continue to do so well into 2021. Our WCTA board, like many other industry associations, has been faced with many difficult decisions. We have talked long and hard about the effects of the pandemic and what we need to do to best serve our members during these difficult times. We have polled our membership to get a sense of what is needed and we have explored numerous options for continued education and networking opportunities. As a board we have remained hopeful that holding our 2021 conference live and in-person would be still a possibility.