The Board of Directors made the decision during the Board of Directors Meeting on January 30, 2021 after a lengthy discussion (see more below). We are grateful circumstances allow us to postpone the in-person event instead of cancelling it, which provides countless benefits--of which the most important being the safety of our members. So although we will miss seeing everyone this August in-person-- we hope to see you in July, 2022!
New Plan of Events:
- Grand Chapter Congress elections and legislation will be handled virtually in 2021. Dates and times to be determined, but possibly during the original August 11-15 timeframe. Registration details will be shared once determined.
- An additional special (in-person) meeting of the Grand Chapter has been called in Cleveland in 2022. The event will be held July 13-17, 2022 at the Hilton Cleveland. Any legislation approved after the March deadline for the 2021 GCC may be conducted during that special meeting.
- In 2023, we intend to return to our regular and contracted GCC cycle: August 16-20, 2023 in Houston and August 6-10, 2025 in Palm Springs, Calif.
The following items were considered as part of the final decision:
- Health Risk: The safety and well-being of our members is paramount and the continuation of the COVID-19 Pandemic, and the slow roll out of vaccines, continues to make in-person events risky.
- COVID Mandates and Restrictions: Current Ohio law limits all large group functions and there is no clarity or firm predictability of when or if or how that will change. Also, with the variety of state travel restrictions and laws there is risk of quarantine requirements on people coming and going to Ohio.
- Large Scale Financial Loss: Due to COVID rules, including travel restrictions and physical distancing requirements, the low projected attendance numbers for an event in August subjects the organization to large scale financial loss. The Fraternity also would incur a high cancellation fee for cancelling the event.
- Industry Actions: Our host hotel, the Hilton Cleveland has been actively cancelling, postponing and moving contracted large events due to risks and state mandates. Related, nearly all of our peer groups in the Professional Fraternity Association has moved or are working to move their conventions to next year or beyond.
- Volunteer and Staff Time Savings: Moving forward with convention plans for this August will take massive staff and volunteer efforts around constantly evolving COVID protocol contingencies and money-saving changes that will “hollow” the experience for attendees. Volunteer and staff resources can now be spent on other mission-focused efforts.
- Cost Savings: In a year already negatively impacted by projected reduced dues paying membership and with deficit spending planned, the savings realized from not funding Board, RVP, committee chairs and staff to Cleveland would be significant and could be reallocated to other important needs, or eliminated (postponed).
There are a number of items still needing to be discussed and determined due to this recent decision. We appreciate your patience as more details are shared. Please continue to monitor dsp.org/gcc to get the most up-to-date information regarding:
- What members with hotel reservations for August 2021 should/need to do
- Congress Travel Funds for collegiate chapters
- Million pop tabs collection
The Fraternity, along with our 2021 GCC Host Committee, are excited for the opportunity to do something special in 2022 as we all gather together again.