The Texas Retired Teachers Association (TRTA) Board of Directors, in an abundance of caution, has made the critical decision to cancel this year’s convention in Corpus Christi, Texas. The decision was not made lightly and the most important consideration in making the decision is the health and well-being of our members.
During this time of uncertainty, TRTA feels this is the very best decision based on what we know about the coronavirus respiratory illness, the risk factors we are aware of, and the potential impact on our attendees and the organization. We also want to clarify that the convention will not be rescheduled this year.
According to the Center for Disease Control, the most affected group of people by the coronavirus, known as COVID-19, are “older adults” as well as those with underlying health conditions. The city of Corpus Christi, our hotel partners and vendor partners have been very helpful. However, there are simply too many risk factors outside of our control that would prevent our organization from ensuring member well-being at an event of this size at this time.
Convention Refunds and Hotel Reservation Cancellations
If you registered for convention, you will be receiving a full, automatic refund from our membership department. The refund will include your registration fee, as well as any meal tickets that you purchased. The refund will come in the same manner that you paid. Refunds are projected to go out within the next two weeks.
Additionally, our members will not be held liable for hotel room reservations by the Omni or the Holiday Inn. Both hotels will automatically cancel the reservations booked. If the hotel has your email, you may receive an email cancelling your reservation. If you do not receive an email, you may consider calling the hotel next week to confirm that your reservation has been canceled.
Convention Delegates Information
The 2020 Convention was scheduled to be the centerpiece for association business, including the election of officers for the TRTA Board of Directors. Elections will still occur. TRTA is presently reviewing several certified online vendors that work with nonprofit organizations on elections and we will have more details soon.
All members who were named as delegates by their local units for the TRTA convention will remain and be provided with a ballot. Bylaws amendments that were scheduled to be voted upon will be suspended, and may be subject to review at a later time. We will have more details about the online voting process after we secure a vendor.
If your unit has not yet submitted its convention delegates, please submit them to the TRTA membership department no later than March 23. For locals that have already submitted delegates, TRTA will use the delegates we have on file for the online election.
Training Materials
Resource guides and one-page summaries created by TRTA state committees for the purposes of training will be posted on our website (www.trta.org) under both the member resources page and committee pages by early April. TRTA will also send out an email once the guides and summaries have been posted.
Future Events
As mentioned earlier in this article, the state convention will not be rescheduled this year. TRTA district spring leadership development conferences are still scheduled to occur at this time. However, it’s possible that TRTA will advise postponement as we receive new information. We will keep our local units and districts updated as we learn more.
We want to thank everyone who helped put this event together, especially the members in District 2. Our members are the most important part of this organization, and their dedication and passion for putting on a convention is amazing.
