Sun City Grand COVID-19 Reopening Plan
SCG Board of Directors is in the midst of finalizing the first stage of a roll-out plan addressing select activities.  The Board is emphasizing RESIDENT SAFETY as its top priority.  To underscore this goal, the statement has been made:  Any charter club or campus activity which falls outside of the SCG Board of Directors' reopening guidelines will be shut down immediately by CAM/HOA.  This commitment reinforces the SCG Board's goal to protect RESIDENT SAFETY.

Here are a few guidelines the Board has established for resident participation in community activities.  A complete list is available under the Sun City Grand website Association tab, Committees, third column, under COVID-19 updates.  The entry is COVID-19 Master Plan and Operating Guidelines.  These new guidelines have been voted by the SCG Board as community standards.  Please note the following examples:

Outdoor

Today's topic is getting "in and out" of the club in a safe and healthy manner.

As we work through the logistics of allowing our club to open in a safe and healthy environment, these are some of the ideas being considered.  Most important is that anything we propose has to be approved by the SCG Board and CAM.

Everyone must sign in.  That is how CAM and the club will know who and how many are coming into the club.  We will use the standard card reader process.  We are planning to move the slide card station closer to the entry door and away from the monitor.

We are planning to accommodate twelve members at a time for working on projects in the studio.  We will open four 3-hour shifts (9 AM-12 Noon, Noon - 3 PM, 3 - 6 PM and 6 - 9 PM).  This schedule provides opportunity for 48 members to work in the club each day.  We plan to be open 7 days a week but we will continually monitor our process to most efficiently service our members. 

We are preparing our current club computer system to sign up for time slots using an application "Google Sheets."  You can sign up via the home page of our website or stop by the club to use the laptop there.  We are adding an additional laptop so that members can use it to sign up for a work time.  You will not be required to remember your user name and password for this function.  It is a simple spreadsheet that reflects the hours of operations and time slots available.  You can see a sample of what the Google Sheets looks like but it will not be active until we are approved for opening.  If you are using an iPad or iPhone, you need to download an App called "Sheets" to enable access.

It is our intention to install a plastic screen in front of the monitor station.  The idea is to protect the monitors so they feel safe monitoring.  We need to have monitors at least on the first shift so that members can come in to purchase supplies.

There will be a number of low table spaces and high tops for hand building plus standing and sitting wheels.  Exact numbers will be determined as we get further into our planning.  Each station will have three hours which includes cleanup and disinfecting your station.  In addition, each station will be assigned a common area to clean.  We are trying to share the cleaning process with all.

There are many more aspects to opening our studio and more information will follow.  Please stay tuned as we prepare to open.

Stay safe and healthy!

Once the studio reopens, we will resume an ordered firing schedule.  Kiln members will begin signing up for kiln duty via the computer as soon as the club opening is announced. Please be aware that we will have only one person from the kiln committee firing during the assigned week and no one else is to be in the kiln room.  No exceptions.  If you have pieces to fire, either bisque or glaze, please place them on the firing shelves, preferably when the kilns are not being loaded or unloaded.  Generally work in the kiln room will be done early or late in the day.

Note:  Grand Clay Arts Club member Cathy Rick is putting retirement on the back burner to help out with the COVID-19 effort in support of our veterans. Cathy's story follows.

I contacted colleagues in DC headquarters to send my good wishes and to offer support in any way they may need.  I received response from Chief Nursing Officer-Veterans Health Administration, Department of Veterans Affairs (position that I held for 14 years prior to retirement in January of 2014).  She asked if I'd be interested in and willing to come back to work during this pandemic crisis as a rehired annuitant.  I said yes.  I was asked what I'd like to be assigned to and said I'll do whatever you want.  It took a little over a week to get through the onboarding process.

I started my virtual assignment to assist with national nurse staffing strategies on April 9th.  I am assigned to an Office of Nursing Services workgroup.  It has been a daily whirlwind, working eight to eleven hours a day, seven days per week (including Easter Sunday); quite an adjustment from retirement.  I have my first 2-day weekend off; Ken (hubby) and I plan to golf.  During my 22 plus years working for the VA, I had the privilege of working with the most talented, dedicated clinicians in my 40 plus year nursing career.  I am honored to be supporting the impressive VA healthcare programs and our nation's healthcare system.  I'm a bit tired, but feeling good about being able to contribute.

Our thanks to everyone involved in the Thankful Hearts project!  Jan Nolan has lead this outreach effort to produce 300 hearts for a select hospital staff in the area involved in the COVID-19 response.  The hearts were produced in our members' homes, garages and studios during this period away from the GCA facility.  A special thanks to both Lynne Shanrock and Fred Hagen for sharing their home studio kilns for this project.  Three hundred pieces (2 firings each) will be completed this week.  At that point, the Thankful Hearts will be presented by Jan.
 
                                     

On May 1, 2020, Debbie Meyer joined Grand Clay Arts as Treasurer.  Debbie has spent a career in the accounting field and brings a high skill level in both QuickBooks and PayPal programs to the position.  Gabriele Dawson resigned as Treasurer in mid-April.  We thank Gabriele for her months of service in the position.

Now that it seems face masks, bandanas, etc., will become part of our SCG campus gear as required by new CAM/HOA resident guidelines, the question becomes where to purchase?  If you are having difficulty locating the items, try these sources:

• Disposable Masks  - True Value hardware, Surprise and Sun City West locations ($3.00 per mask)
• Cloth Masks - etsy.com, love your mellon.com (from $10 to $35 per mask)

It seems face mask production has become an up and coming cottage industry, now readily available online and in select retail fabric and big box store locations in the area.

Curt Furness has been keeping busy
                                                  

Fred Hagen in his home studio                                                                                           

Lee Root with many hearts