Update – June/July 2021
MAWT July In-Person Meeting and COVID Precautions
Fellow woodturners,
As you know, we will be restarting in-person meetings in July (July 12, 6:30pm). We will try to follow CDC guidelines. Right now, we don’t know if we will be limiting capacity.
As of June 7th, the Woodcraft Store will no longer require masks to be worn in the store and they have removed the signs requesting masks. You are welcome to wear a mask if you desire. However, if you are not vaccinated you should wear a mask to protect not only yourself, but also your fellow club members from this disease that impacts, unfortunately, those in our age group more severely than those younger than us. Also, please note that the meeting area has little to no ventilation.
The July meeting, as well as those that follow, will be streamed on ZOOM for those of you who choose to watch from the protection of your home. If you are not feeling well, please attend the meeting remotely via ZOOM.
These policies may change based on the future progression of COVID within our community.
The Board members would like to thank all MAWT members for their patience and also their participation in the streamed video meetings.
The MAWT Board of Directors
The following information are guidelines copied from CDC COVID website (see https://www.cdc.gov/ for details).
COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective.
You may have side effects after vaccination. These are normal and should go away in a few days.
It typically takes two weeks after vaccination for the body to build protection (immunity) against the virus that causes COVID-19. You are not fully vaccinated until 2 weeks after the 2nd dose of a two-dose vaccine or two weeks after a one-dose vaccine.
What We Are Still Learning
We are still learning how well vaccines prevent you from spreading the virus that causes COVID-19 to others, even if you do not have symptoms. Early data show that vaccines help keep people with no symptoms from spreading COVID-19.
We are also still learning how long COVID-19 vaccines protect people.
We are still learning how many people have to be vaccinated against COVID-19 before the population can be considered protected (population immunity).
We are still learning how effective the vaccines are against new variants of the virus that causes COVID-19.
In general, people are considered fully vaccinated: ±2 weeks after their second dose in a 2-dose series, such as the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, or 2 weeks after a single-dose vaccine, such as Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen vaccine
Fully vaccinated people can resume activities without wearing a mask or physically distancing, except where required by federal, state, local, tribal, or territorial laws, rules, and regulations, including local business and workplace guidance.
Guiding Principles for Fully Vaccinated People
Indoor and outdoor activities pose minimal risk to fully vaccinated people.
Fully vaccinated people have a reduced risk of transmitting SARS-CoV-2 to unvaccinated people.
Fully vaccinated people should still get tested if experiencing COVID-19 symptoms.
Fully vaccinated people should not visit private or public settings if they have tested positive for COVID-19 in the prior 10 days or are experiencing COVID-19 symptoms.
Fully vaccinated people should continue to follow any applicable federal, state, local, tribal, or territorial laws, rules, and regulations.
———————-
Update – April 2021
April 12, 2021
MAWT COVID POLICY STATEMENT
Dear fellow members,
This past year has been a difficult one, or as the Grateful Dead sang – “What a Long Strange Trip It’s Been”.
Well, the difficulty and strangeness factors are finally improving and the Milwaukee Area Woodturners Board of Directors is pleased to announce that we will be starting in-person meetings in July.
We already have remote meetings scheduled for May and June and plan for a member demonstrator to inaugurate our return to the Woodcraft meeting area. Please note that we will continue to broadcast our meetings via Zoom, so you have the option of attending in person or viewing from the comfort of your home.
There will still be limitations based on the latest CDC guidelines for social distancing, mask use and limited audiences. As conditions improve between now and July, these limitation will be changed as needed.
We are all looking forward to getting back together soon. We will be able to meet fellow turners, present our Show and Tell items, check out the library, buy tickets for the wood raffle and even help sweep up the shavings after a demonstration. This camaraderie and our shared avocation of woodturning is what makes MAWT a great club. That commitment has helped keep our club strong and active throughout this pandemic and we thank members for their steadfastness this past year. In the end, we are a better club.
Cordially,
The Milwaukee Area Woodturners Board of Directors
Ron Zdroik
Tony Rozendaal
Eric Miegs
Mike Figueira
Mark Trenier
Suzy Hoffman
George Wawrzyniak
—————————-
Update – December 2020
To all MAWT members,
When the COVID pandemic started back in March, the Board made the decision not to hold In-Person Meetings at Woodcraft until the end of the year.
As 2021 approaches, the Board will re-evaluate that decision and consider having limited In-Person meetings starting in March of 2021 since we already have remote Zoom demonstrations scheduled for January and February. March may be the first meeting the club will be holding at the Woodcraft. More information will be sent as that time approaches.
Of course, we will have to follow any limitations required by Woodcraft and governmental guidelines.
Even when In-Person meetings begin, MAWT will continue to broadcast all of the meetings by Zoom. With the updated video equipment, we will be able to host meetings at Woodcraft and also live-stream them.
It will be great to get back to some normalcy and this will allow members to once again meet each other and also provide the option to watch the demos safely from your home.
Sincerely,
Milwaukee Area Woodturners Board of Directors
Ron Zdroik
Tony Rozendaal
Mark Trenier
Curt VanWeelden
Steve Fosticz
Mike Figueira
Eric Meigs
——————————————————-
Milwaukee Area Woodturners Health and Safety Policy on Covid19:
Approved by the MAWT Board – June 2020
Although Stay-at-Home orders have now ceased and businesses are opening, the possibility of holding a regular meeting in Woodcraft at this time is still not acceptable. As noted in May, the Board is reviewing this situation on a monthly “wait and see” basis but the health and safety of club members is our primary concern.
When the situation improves, the Board will then decide to restore regular meetings and we will comply with the current guidelines. But even with these protections, many members will still be reluctant to come to a meeting in person and we completely understand that.
Fortunately we are able to produce live streaming demos from Woodcraft with club members providing demonstrations. This allows members to enjoy an interactive remote demonstration within the safety of their homes. We will continue this into the future as needed. We will also provide additional demonstrations from national presenters, as we did with the Mike Mahoney demo earlier in May.
We are in uncharted waters here and willing or not, we are all along for the ride. We sincerely hope that this health crisis will be behind us and we can all get back together soon. Thank you for your understanding. The MAWT Board wishes good health to all members, their families and friends.
Respectfully,
Milwaukee Area Woodturners Board of Directors