Important Update on ANCOR’s Annual Conference in Miami

We are re-sharing this announcement by ANCOR CEO Barbara Merrill for the convenience of our members.

Dear ANCOR members and friends,

I write to share an important announcement that I had hoped not to have to share. Elevate: The 2020 ANCOR Annual Conference, will not proceed in Miami at the end of April as planned.

As you know, we have been monitoring the situation surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic for several weeks, and all along, we worried that the time to make this decision might come. Late last night, the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) recommended discontinuing all mass gatherings of 50 or more people. And yesterday, the City of Miami issued an order placing limitations on gatherings of 250 or more people.

As the events of the past few days have transpired, it has become increasingly clear that we cannot proceed as planned. Doing so would put members of the ANCOR community at risk of exposure to the coronavirus, and would counteract guidance from public health experts across the country who are advising pronounced measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

 Although this news is disappointing for many — ANCOR staff included — we are already mobilizing our team to identify ways to minimize the impact of this change, including exploring options for offering some of our Annual Conference programming in a virtual format. We remain committed to delivering access to best practices and cutting-edge thinking that strengthen community providers.

In the very near future, I will reach back out to communicate next steps, as well as to share answers to the many questions you inevitably have. In the meantime, I hope you will consider holding off on sending us those questions until after we have had the opportunity to issue more information — it was critically important to give you as much advanced notice about the conference, but we don’t yet have all the information we know you’ll need.

Finally, please accept my deep gratitude for your understanding. Your patience is very much appreciated.

Barbara Merrill

Chief Executive Officer

ANCOR