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Yesterday (2/20/24), the CODA International Board sent the following message to their members...
The CODA International Board, at its 23 March 2024 meeting, determined with a heavy heart that the 2025 Annual Conference will not be held in person. We understand and share your disappointment as we recognize the value of the in-person conference experience. We carefully evaluated various factors while making this decision and considered all pertinent information before reaching a conclusion: Financial: Cash flow is a concern. The 2024 conference is underperforming in terms of registration and hotel room nights. We are working hard to break even, but it is unwise to commit to an additional hotel contract for 2025 (a new hotel contract will require a deposit amounting to thousands of dollars in 2024) at this time to avoid over-committing our limited finances. Manpower: Conference preparation is very demanding on the board and requires a minimum of 2 years for favorable hotel negotiation, budget planning, training and organizing, which we have not undertaken for 2025. Conference work is done while doing the everyday operational work for CODA International, wrapping up a current year conference, planning a conference for the following year, and trying to fulfill membership expectations of activities during the year doing administrative, fundraising, and outreach activities. The burden has been significant for our volunteer board and limited resources. Restructure: The main focus of the upcoming year will be implementing restructuring efforts to support International and USA CODA entities. Virtual events in the coming year will allow Codas from around the world to participate in new ways as this restructuring effort is implemented. Virtual Alternative: We propose having a virtual conference or series of events to bring members together for social and reorganization purposes. Information about 2025 virtual event plans will be shared with the members as they are put into place. We are excited about the positive aspects of meeting virtually, including offering accessible and affordable experiences that will allow us to experiment with new approaches, and we hope you are too. We urge anyone who wants to enjoy the in-person conference experience to attend the CODALeague conference in San Diego, California, USA this June. Please note that partial refunds are available until 10 May 2024. Registration transfers between individuals will be permitted until 10 June 2024. Please monitor the conference website for more information. In addition, the regular registration rate of US $795 has been extended until 19 June 2024. We hope you will join us in San Diego at the Omni Hotel to convene with new and familiar friends and family! The 2023-2024 CODA International Board For those who were wondering about the progress of the CODA International TEAM USA committee, we've received an update from TEAM USA.
TEAM USA Update: TEAM USA has hosted 5 Zoom sessions from January to March. There was an average of 24 coda’s attending each session with some attending more than once. It was wonderful to see everyone’s faces and the enthusiasm/interest in this endeavor. Team USA received 240 responses to the survey with 71% from members, 20 non-members and 8 that didn’t know if they were a member or not. . The top 5 priorities indicated in the survey responses were:
The responses also included large support for a transition board in order to avoid burnout and mixed views on who should vote for the Executive Board. Strong support is shown for the Regions who received their 501(c)3 status because of the give back to the CODA International organization (stipends for conference, retreats, support for Koda campers, one year memberships, etc.) The team found the overarching themes from the membership were:
This has been a labor of love for everyone involved and the Team thanks everyone for taking the time to complete the survey and/or attending the Zoom meetings. We could not have done it without you! TEAM USA Committee: Diane Hazel Jones, IN, Team Leader; Monique Clark, CA; Laurene Newman Feldhorn, CA; Chuck Reineck, NV; Caroline Preston Bass, NV; Dennis Joyce, NJ; Cathy Covey, IN, Region 3 Rep/Board Liaison; Mandie Frye, WA,Tech Advisor and Trudy Schafer, MA, Member at Large/Board Liaison. CODA Team USA wants your input!
The future of CODA US as an organization is in your hands and we want to hear from you! CODA International is slated to become 2 entities: CODA US and a separate International entity. Our current vision and mission statements are below, do they prepare us for this future? CODA International is an organization that celebrates the unique heritage and multicultural identities of adult individuals who have deaf parents. The organization's vision is to connect Codas from all around the world. CODA achieves its mission through various means, such as conferences, retreats, publications, scholarships, resource development, and fundraising. The ultimate goal is to enrich the experiences of Codas and promote their well-being. We have a survey for your input. The survey below closes on 1 April 2024 at 11:59 PM EST. Click Here for Survey! In addition, TEAM USA will host a Zoom meeting (link below) to continue the discussion regarding this important step in our future as an organization. Please join us! 24 February 2024 at 9:00 AM PST / 12:00 PM EST Zoom link: Click Here For Zoom Link! Meeting ID: 827 3891 8568 Passcode: US Sincerely, your CODA USA Team; Diane Hazel Jones, Caroline Preston Bass, Laureen Newman Feldhorn, Chuck Reineck, Monique Clark, Dennis Joyce, and James Pomare [email protected] This just in from CODA International-
2024 Millie Brother Scholarship Applications Open Are you a Coda pursuing your undergraduate education – or do you know one? The CODA International Millie Brother Scholarship Committee is now accepting applications for our annual award, from 1 January 2024 to 29 February 2024. The scholarship awards up to $3,000 toward academic costs for several students across the world each year. Apply here or help us spread the word! https://codainternational.knack.com/scholarships Want to get more involved? The scholarship committee relies on volunteers to help evaluate applicants for our annual award. The time commitment is a few hours spread over a few weeks, and past reviewers would say the process is extremely rewarding. You’ll get a close look at how Codas across the world are changing their communities. If you are interested in joining our pool of reviewers, please sign up at this link: https://codainternational.knack.com/scholarships... This just in from CODA International, Team U.S.A.-
Join TEAM USA to share your feedback on the future of CODA 9 February 2024 at 5:00 PM PST / 8:00 PM EST Zoom Meeting link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88498208606... Meeting ID: 884 9820 8606 Passcode: US Future date/time: 24 February 2024 at 9:00 AM PST / 12:00 PM EST As your Region 3 Representative I thought I'd take this opportunity to share with you a "small glitch" in the renewal of a couple of our CODA membership renewals.
In one instance a member's recent 2024 renewal was applied to their lapsed 2023 membership, similar to making a payment on a past due cell-phone bill. The other instance was their 2024 renewal was applied to a membership year set to Oct - Sept (Federal fiscal year) instead of Jan-Dec (calendar year). I suspect these issues are because of a setting (or two) in Wild Apricot, CODA International's membership management platform. If you find an error in your membership please send an email to [email protected] and/or let me know and I'll be happy to assist you in any way I can. -Cathy Covey- CODA International wants to hear from you! CODA International is slated to become 2 entities: CODA USA and a separate International entity.
Team USA will host Zoom meetings (dates and times below) to discuss this important step in their future. The Zoom meeting link is: https://www.coda-international.org/EmailTracker/LinkTracker.ashx?linkAndRecipientCode=uTuGaaBTn%2bomq5Nz7zOWj425LqCMt6O2DUIjEcTQjpz%2bX5bLaMw4QJqVbTU%2fJu22irkKPlQpT7wcPQorZOgc5n7%2blCLTreFdt3HvsVA0Tck%3d Future meeting dates and times are:
The CODA USA Team (committee) consists of, Diane Hazel Jones, Caroline Preston Bass, Laureen Newman Feldhorn, Chuck Reineck, Monique Clark, Dennis Joyce, and James Pomare They can be reached at: [email protected] |
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