Officers present: Zeke Van Fossen (Chair), Taylor Tibbs (Vice Chair), Mike Broome (Treasurer), and Ken Walsh (Secretary)
On the morning after the March meeting, the Museum communicated that they had not yet established a pandemic-related policy for in-person meetings for its affiliate groups (e.g., TriTrogs). The officers had no new information about the Museum policy before the Officers Meeting. The officers did not feel that we should be shopping for a new permanent in-person meeting location before we hear anything about the Museum policy, but they did hold a conversation about temporary outdoor locations.
Even if meeting outside, the officers plan to continue meetings for the fourth Tuesday each month. However, locations near the Museum should not be viewed as a Mecca. A more important characteristic would be nearby toilets. Discussion proceeded into some possibilities of backyards and local parks during the summer months.
The officers chose to develop a short survey that will help solicit member suggestions about how to conduct future in-person meetings while the CDC and NC Department of Health continue recommending social distancing practices. It will also allow members to express a desire for a hybrid approach (in person with a limited online component). Mike, Ken, and Zeke agreed to investigate some members’ homes in Raleigh, Cary, and Durham, and Taylor began a survey questionnaire. Ken will also check with the Museum again about policy before the April general meeting.
Because the planning for the Annual Grotto Trip typically falls mostly to the officers, we discussed Covid-related requirements that the individual officers would expect before they would plan on joining the trip. Concerns about vaccine availability for children and concerns about limiting the trip to paid members (without allowing for inclusion of family and friends) led the officers into the recognition that the officers felt that current pandemic protocols would not allow for the type of trip this year that we have been accustomed to enjoying. The officers cautiously look forward to a possible autumn trip but will not engage in any planning until Covid spread rates (positivity rates) decrease substantially.
The TriTrog officers do want to emphasize that CDC guidelines do allow for small group gatherings, of the sizes that most caving trips (four to six people) would see. The officers note that grotto members may plan caving trips but should consider pandemic protocols the same way that they consider other safety protocols for a caving trip. The officers encourage all participants to be open and honest about their expectations/concerns for health protocols on the trip, the same way that we encourage all participants to be honest about their safety expectations/concerns for any horizontal or vertical caving trip.
The grotto officers felt that it was also time to revisit the Anti-Harrassment Policy development that the NSS initiated a few years ago. A policy was not drafted for the TriTrogs, and Mike agreed to follow up to find out what information that group did gather. Ken agreed to contact some other grottoes to try to find out if they have written policies that we could adopt. The officers then had some discussion about possible effective ways to disseminate the information and what would be required to place such policy within the grotto Bylaws and into our web content.
At the April grotto meeting, Ken will be sharing a presentation featuring some award-winning cave maps. A discussion of Mike’s online basement caving adventure suggested that Mike be light-hearted in the presentation and attendees be watching with a beer in their hands.
Zeke will check in with Elise about announcements about the web site content. Mike paid the annual bill for the grotto web site.