[MASTA Board] COVID-19 Pandemic and MASTA Camp

[Caitlin Mihalko]

Hello MASTA Board members,

I was hoping I wouldn't have to send this email yet, but with the news that
keeps coming out each day and the information from medical professionals
and public health professionals, I feel a responsibility to bring this
forward to the board. I have been talking with Ted about this and it is our
recommendation that we cancel our 2020 camps. We do not take this lightly
because we understand the many ramifications of this. However, the health
of our community, our students, and our staff are more important than any
of those things. Governor Whitmer has communicated that there is going to
be a communication coming soon about school being closed through the end of
the year. It is my understanding that most universities are moving summer
classes all online. The Olympics in July have been canceled. This virus is
not going away any time soon and as long as it is active, and there is no
vaccine or treatment, we CANNOT have camp.

Whatever your personal feelings may be about the situation, the science all
points to this virus being around for several months. At this point we
cannot hire staff and the longer we wait the more checks we have to write
to refund people. Also, the sooner we can notify the Howell Nature Center
the better. I told Dan I would wait until April 1st to send this email, but
I feel like we need to being thinking about this so that the board has time
to vote on a decision. It would also be good for us to notify families in a
timely manner.

As of right now we have 89 students registered for camp that would need to
be refunded. We have not paid any deposit yet to the Howell Nature Center
or any other entity. We have not made any purchases other than the cost of
the P.O. Box which was approximately $120 and the $440 for the storage
unit. We have received several applications that we have not processed yet
and could just return to the families who sent them.

I'm not sure how the board would like to proceed with this proposal. I will
ask Dan to take things from here. If you have any questions please let me
know. Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,
Caitlin Mihalko, Director, MASTA String Camps
Ted McDonald, Assistant Director, MASTA String Camps
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