BOSTON TOASTMASTERS

Saturday, October 1, 2022

Dear Fellow Boston Toastmasters and Friends,

We are writing to keep you informed about the current state of our transition out of the SARS-CoV-1 pandemic.

For the last year, the club has been operating hybrid meetings, first in a pilot format with A/V technicians only and as a closed-hybrid since March of 2022.

Additionally, based on our survey data, current health guidance, and the practices of other organizations, BTM will require that club members who wish to attend on-site:

• RSVP before arriving (Easy-speak allows physical and online RSVPs. We will enable this feature as we launch hybrid meetings.)
• Confirm their vaccine status with the club before arriving on site.

The vast majority of our members are performing verification by uploading an image of their vaccination record. However, we continue to make 1:1 Zoom sessions available for members who would prefer to verify that way.

As of October 1, 2022, we have made the following adjustments to our program:

• Vaccinations required: original series, plus 1 booster of any type within the last year (based on 10/1/2022)
• No on-site meetings for the 2 weeks following major travel/gathering events. (e.g. Thanksgiving holiday)
• Now open to visiting members from other TM clubs, subject to the same vaccine verification guidelines as our members.

At this time, guests will only be allowed to attend online. We expect this to change once we are able to comfortably accommodate members. Specifically, once we complete 4 or more consecutive meetings with 7 or more attendees onsite. For now, the best guest experience comes from attending online, so we will continue to ask potential members to attend at least one meeting online before joining and attending on-site. New members will have an opportunity to confirm their vaccination status with the club as part of their onboarding process.

It has been a slow process, but we are grateful for everyone’s patience as we continue to build up our onsite presence and invest in technology to improve the hybrid experience. We look forward to discovering a new, more accessible, more far-reaching Boston Toastmasters with you.

Sincerely yours,

Your Boston Toastmasters Leadership Team:

Shivaanee Kothavale	Rachael Dubinsky	Sutikshna Veeravalli
Erik Stricker	Jesse Welty	Tam Nguyen