On May 1st he Oregon Master Gardener Association Executive Committee met and reviewed the status of Mini-College 2020 GPS. After consideration of the current restrictions imposed by Oregon Governor Brown and leadership at Oregon State University it was decided not to proceed with Mini-College as scheduled for July 23rd and 24th.
Plans for Mini-College 2020 were well advanced and included a full program of speakers, workshops and tours. In addition reservations and commitments had been made for the location, lodging, meals and social activities. These all were considered in the deliberations. Another factor which weighed heavily is the “unknowns” surrounding the current pandemic.
Ultimately the decision revolved around two major factors.
The first being the health risk and the rules surrounding the virus. No one argued that the restrictions are likely to be eased sufficiently to permit a gathering as large as Mini-College and the consensus was that even if this happens, given the demographics of our membership, a large majority of those who would normally attend Mini-College would not feel secure enough to do so.
The second factor was truly a fortunate turn of events. All those with whom reservations and deposits had been made were willing to, based on the current issues, release OMGA from our commitments and/or roll over deposits into 2021. This virtually eliminates the financial risk which we were facing. Immediately after the decision to reschedule Mini-College to 2021 plans got underway to secure the dates of July 16th and 17th. As this is being drafted the positive response from a majority of the speakers and volunteers indicates that had committed to 2020 is that they are excited to participate in 2021.
Thank you for your interest in Mini-College. This beloved event is truly an institution of the Oregon Master Gardener Program and we will be working hard to insure that it will be an outstanding educational event next year. If you have any suggestions or would like to volunteer to assist with some aspect of this program please reach out and let us know.
