Program Meetings Evolving Better

Since COVID paused our ability to have in-person Program meetings in March of 2020, we have been through some major changes in how we present these meetings. Post-COVID shutdown, in September 2020 we held our first ever Zoom Program meeting with a speaker presenting from Washington! It was a drastic change, but we continued hosting monthly Program meetings via Zoom for that whole season. In 2022 we continued with Zoom-only programs for most of the year except for three hybrid Zoom/in-person Programs for speakers who wished to have a live audience.

That experience made us realize how much we missed gathering together for our Programs. So in September of 2022 we began meeting in the Campbell Center in Eugene, where we could enjoy a live gathering and have Wi-Fi access for Zooming as well.

Dennis Arendt Has Been Key

I’ve described this timeline to present a picture of the big changes from our old Program format and to acknowledge the driving forces behind the successful programs we have provided through these changing times. Dennis Arendt has envisioned and managed these changes, as well as recruited our diverse and engaging speakers from far and near. He also followed up by editing the Zoom recordings to make them presentable for viewing. So we now have about 22 saved Program recordings that folks can access through our website! Click here. This greatly broadens our outreach potential!

Dennis also looks for new ways to make the Program experience run more smoothly, so the presenters and audience, both in-person and on Zoom, can hear and see the whole event. We truly thank Dennis for keeping the Programs fresh, and for pursuing a quality end product! His commitment to improvement and support for our Programs, speakers, and audience is amazing. Thank you, Dennis!

We also owe many thanks to a few other folks who have helped during each program meeting:

• Debbie Schlenoff, who hosts the Zoom aspect of the Program. She monitors the chat and gives feedback about any glitches on the Zoom end, so we can make improvements, if possible.
• Vjera Thompson has recently helped with the live end of setting up the Zoom Program, thus taking the pressure off Maeve for some of those tasks.
• Ron Renchler helps host the in-person Program with an information table, answers questions, and helps with setting up and taking down of the room.
• Dick Lamster helps with general room management as well, getting the room ready for each presentation and helping shut things down afterward.

Each of the people helping with the Programs plays an important role. Thanks again to Dennis, Debbie, Ron, Dick, Vjera, and Maeve for making this Program season successful! We look forward to seeing you again in September!