2 The RAPS Sheet September 2020 CO-PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE Zooming right along for our immediate future YOU MIGHT THINK that headline is a reference to time passing quickly. No, it’s not. It’s what the immediate future will look like for RAPS members who attend our monthly general meetings: Zoom. Most of you have heard of Zoom and probably have used it occasionally. I wish I’d bought stock! It has turned out to be quite an effective communications tool when we can’t meet personally. In fact, we will be visiting with President Steve Percy on Friday, September 11, on Zoom. A recent survey conducted by RAPS asked members if they would attend our monthly meetings in person. It had a good response: 62 members took the time to reply. What the majority of you said was that you are not willing to meet in person right now. I hope that means that you will embrace Zoom over the next few months. I just came off a two-week “Summer Camp” with the American Association of University Women of Oregon. We held 10 Zoom sessions over two weeks, most in the evening and some on weekends. As it turned out, our members turned out! Our attendance at sessions ranged from 32 to 85, and we reached over 100 people, well above what we had when we met in person. The meetings ran around one hour, with speakers often staying longer for a Q-and-A period. The sessions were very effective, and most people felt they had a chance to express themselves, ask questions, and participate fully. I was surprised that the attendance level held steady during most meetings—those who started usually finished. I see Zoom meetings as opportunities to engage RAPS members. No parking and transportation hassles! Just tune in and join. You’ll be able to see your friends and colleagues and be at home in your casual attire. (Sweat pants sales seem to be booming!) Some survey respondents said they would like some basic training in Zoom, and the RAPS board will offer several How-to-Zoom sessions, with Eileen Brennan as our expert trainer. There are also numerous You Tube tutorials online, such as this one: https://www.bing.com/ videos/search?q=how+to+use+zoom&view=detail&mid= 49B846A540E4AB88CFB349B846A540E4AB88CFB3&FORM= VIRE In the meantime, many of you had suggestions in the survey about how to keep in touch during this difficult time, and I’m just going to highlight some of those ideas: Are you regularly conversing (checking in) with your friends and colleagues? Have you had a social distancing get togethers in your backyard or at another outdoor space? Are you keeping up with friends on Facebook or with some other social media tool? Heck, emails still work. I am looking forward to seeing you all in person, whenever that may be. But until then, we can Zoom together! See you on September 11. —Pat Squire A RAPS SURVEY conducted this summer revealed that many members prefer online meetings while the coronavirus pandemic rages. Sixty-two RAPS members responded to the survey, which was sent by email in late July. Only 12 (19 percent) indicated they would attend monthly meetings in person, while 53 (83 percent) preferred online meetings. Nine members expressed interest in Zoom training. RAPS’ monthly meetings are typically held on the third Thursday of the month—except in summer—and often feature expert speakers. Zoom is a video conferencing platform that allows dozens, even hundreds, of people to participate in a meeting. The survey also revealed what would trigger members’ in-person attendance at a RAPS meeting: Seven members said they would attend in-person when the University opens for some in-person classes. Twelve said when the county allows meetings for more than 50 people. Twenty said when the three metro counties are in Stage 3. Thirty-three said when there is a vaccine for COVID-19. Survey respondents also offered suggestions to better promote member connection and involvement for the coming year. Two members asked to have a formal moderator for Zoom member meetings. One suggested creating a video recording of the Zoom meetings. And a few indicated they would attend some Zoom member meetings, but not each month. ‘I’ll pass’ say most RAPSters to in-person meetings
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