September 17, 2001 

To the Membership:

As I flew into St. Louis on Monday, September 10, 2001, I was filled with excitement about the upcoming conference, and about seeing all of the friends and colleagues I have met over the many years of association with SHCA. I hoped for a successful conference, and thought how everyone would leave in a week feeling revitalized and renewed.

No one could have ever anticipated the horror the world would face the following morning. Like many of your Board members, I woke, got dressed, and prepared to make a tour of the hotel and the conference facilities before starting the Board meeting. On the elevator I heard someone say that a small plane had flown into the World Trade Center in New York. "That's strange," I thought, "probably just a rumor." It would only be a matter of minutes before I, your Board, and the rest of the world would be shaken to the very core of our being.

I can tell you that I am having an enormous amount of difficulty writing this letter to you because my heart is so heavy for the victims, their families, and all of America. So many times I sat down to type this but could get through only a few words.

You certainly know that your Board, along with the ASDVS Board, made the very difficult decision to cancel the 2001 Conference. There was never any question that this was the right thing to do. We chose not to wait until learning the status of air travel over the next few days--our immediate and only concern was your safety. Your place at this time is at home, safe and among your loved ones.

I am so proud of this Board. After making the decision to cancel, we immediately developed a "disaster plan" and set up a command post. We began making phone calls to registrants who were closest to St. Louis for fear that they would attempt to drive in. We then expanded our calls to state chapter presidents in order to set up telephone trees. This was an enormous task because we had little or no telephone access to major cities for an extended period of time. I would like to thank all the chapter presidents for their assistance in getting word to the attendees about the cancellation. The Adam's Mark Hotel also provided immeasurable assistance throughout this ordeal. I can assure you that they have never mentioned the "business" impact that this tragic situation has presented them -- their only concern was "what can we do to assist you."

Several attendees had arrived early in St. Louis--they wish you well. There was even a new member who came from Saudi Arabia--she also sends her sincere prayers to all Americans during this horrific period. We were able to provide these attendees with an Open Forum networking session on Thursday. We simply came together and asked questions of each other, providing examples and suggestions from our own experiences.

I cannot begin to appropriately thank all of you for your many calls, letters and emails expressing concern for your Board and me. So many of you contacted myself and Mickey Hogan, SHCA's Executive Director, to make sure we were all right, and to express your sorrow for having to cancel a program that we had worked all year to produce. We appreciate it so very much, and have passed every message on to the members of the Board. I know that your thoughts and prayers gave us the strength to get through these last few days. I wish that I could only use this outpouring of love to bring those poor victims back.

Very truly yours,

Jerri M. Scarzella
President, SHCA

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