One last COVID Update and a return to normal
Friends- this is a very important message and one I have looked forward to sending for a long time.
The day has arrived! A day that we have been hoping for and working towards for over a year. Masks can come off and capacity restrictions are lifted. You as a private business can still require them if you choose. We are now moving forward in a major way. Our focus on vaccinations is now the work we must do.
Thank YOU for the work you have done for the last 14 months in participation, cooperation, vaccinations, collaboration. We worked with and relied on so many other partners to help bring our members and the community the information they needed and could trust. From the Good to Go initiative managed by the Convention and Visitors Corporation that helped businesses know what the rules were and implement them, to the Mask For Nash mask-wearing campaign, to the vaccination awareness programs we brought you with other partners and members, and so much more and with so many.
All of it got us here and we should be proud and celebrate. The pandemic has taught us many things, and how we work together and how we communicate and share information are the things that we will keep going and help us thrive in the months ahead. We sent 98 emails regarding COVID19, created a Coronavirus resource page, and were here for you as we lived through something I hope we never have to do again. We were “all in it together” and we know we helped many, as they reached out and told us.
The COVID19 numbers in Nashville currently look very good. However, as we move forward and fully open, it is important to remember that we are not out of the woods. Please continue to follow best practices to the best of your ability in the interest of sustaining our momentum. Vaccinations are key to this and Tennessee has some of the lowest rates in the country. We have to talk to everyone we know about getting vaccinated and why it is important to do so. The vaccine is truly our ticket to normalcy, thank you science. Get vaccinated!
We hope that we have provided support, guidance, relief, and advocacy for you all over the last year. As restrictions wind down, we expect this will be the last update you receive regarding COVID19 alone. This also will be the begging of emails going to everyone in our system, whether you are a member or not. We stopped charging for membership and opened up the chamber to anyone who needed our work as soon as COVID began. We have been serving everyone regardless of their ability to join, renew or engage since then. We announced at the end of 2020 that we were going to start invoicing for memberships and asked you to pay if you could. We will go back to our member-only communications and require paid membership status to be listed in our directory, beginning July 1st.
We hope you will consider supporting us if you are not a paid member. And if you have joined or renewed, thank you. The outpouring of support, especially this year has been incredible. Our corporate support has increased so much and is what allowed us to serve our small business and community members, and I want to specifically thank them for that.
So, celebrate this historic day! Remember that we still have a VETO campaign going to stop anti-LGBT discrimination and we have a FULL and exciting Pride Month ahead. To use our slogan from our 20th anniversary as it really applies to everything now, “We Are Just Getting Started”!
With you,
Joe
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