A Note From the Ed Sunday 2007 Organizers:
For the first time in its history, Educational Sunday was cancelled due to the weather. It was a tough call and we sincerely regret having to make that decision as well as any inconvenience the cancellation may have caused. That's the short version--if you are interested in our decision making process (and it was a process!), read on.
We began watching the weather forecasts about 2 weeks out from the event. Early forecasts showed a strong possibility of rain but there was no mention of any frozen temperatures. As it got closer, reports began to include predictions of sleet or snow; then back to all rain; then ice pellets; then back to all rain. Back and forth the forecasts changed. Every weather site or radio/TV station said something different. What was evident was that 2 major storm systems were coming together and something was going to happen. What wasn't clear was when or what, which made the timing of trying to decide about cancellations a nightmare.
I drove to Blacksburg late Sat. afternoon to set things up with Jeanette as planned and decided as an extra precaution to stay overnight there rather than drive home to Roanoke. No precipitation had begun to fall by the time we left the arena around 8:30 pm, but the forecasts were now for 100% chance of "wintery mix". We decided to talk at 11:00; if any form of frozen precipitation had begun to fall, we would cancel. It had not. We decided to delay until Sunday morning. It began to precipitate during the night and when we spoke at 6:00 am, there was ice, freezing rain, and snow. We consulted with Susan Dallas and concluded that the odds were probably good that it would eventually turn to all rain, and that there was a chance that we could go ahead. But we couldn't wait any longer to decide, and we made the best call we could based on the weather at that point. We had always said that if the conditions were borderline and the choice was essentially a coin toss, we needed to err on the side of caution.
Despite the cancellation, there are still many folks to thank. We appreciate all the speakers who agreed to come and who spent time preparing their remarks. We appreciate VA Tech, its Dept. of Animal and Poultry Sciences and our VA Tech liason Dr. Rebecca Splan for their on-going support and the use of the facility. We appreciate all the volunteers who signed on to help. We appreciate the SWVADA board members whom we awakened before dawn to evaluate what was happening weather-wise around the region. We appreciate Sean Pecor's getting the announcement up on the web site as soon as we called around 6:45 am. We appreciate attendees who didn't get the word and who showed up as we were breaking things down mid morning--they were disappointed but very sympathetic about our dilemma.
A few folks deserve special mention. Meredith McGrath drove in from Floyd for her all-day tack sale assignment. She had checked the web site before leaving, but knew she needed to depart by 6:30 to arrive on time. She cheerfully dismissed our apologies as unnecessary and refused to let us pay her for her gas. And last but not least, Judy Stanley and her lively crew of girls (Ashley Amos, Veronica Crozier, and Mariah Criste) drove all the way from West Virginia to tour the Tech campus and then assist us Sat. evening. They were a TREMENDOUS help. One final regret is that no one got to see the colorful horsey mural they drew on one of the class room white boards. It said "Thanks to all our GREAT volunteers" and included everyone's name, which I have listed below.
We hope to be able to offer some type of make-up event if at all possible. We will post new info on the www.SWVADA.org web site--stay tuned for updates. Again, we regret any inconvenience the cancellation and/or its timing may have caused. It was one of the most frustrating decisions we have ever had to make about this event.
Sincerely,
Ellen Aiken and Jeanette Shires, Co-Chairs for Ed Sunday
THANKS TO ALL OUR WOULD-BE VOLUNTEERS
Monica Weinzapful Tammie Stanley
Tobie Bentz Gail Stanley
Tammy Nichols Pat Bevan
Meredith McGrath Susan Dallas
Chris Young Nanette Palmer
Bob Whitehurst Blanche Mahoney
Gabi Hooten Nancy Stone
Pat Nelson Gary Goodale
Sarah Denham Jean Bost Moore
Judy Stanley Ashley Amos
Veronica Crozier Mariah Criste
