Thunderbirds Square Dance Club of Apple Valley,CA

Please see the important message below from Marvin Fishman, Chairman of the 2021 California State Square Dance Convention. With regret we are letting you know t...hat the 2021 California State Square Dance Convention has been cancelled. With the pandemic surging and expected to surge even higher the County of San Bernardino is at the purple level regarding restrictions on social events. Purple is the most restrictive with Red, Orange and Yellow levels following. Even at the lowest level of Yellow, we would only be allowed to have 50% of capacity and be required to wear masks and social distance with 6 feet between the dancers. That could work for round dancing and line dancing however it does not work for Square dancing. Insurance for the weekend is another issue. I have tried several different companies who have all said they would not give us a Certificate of Insurance. We would have been obligated to pay almost $17,000 for the San Bernardino County Fairgrounds if we did not cancel at least 120 days before the event. I want to thank all of the callers, cuers and vendors who have been so understanding. I have spoken to each of them personally. At this point there will be no rollovers to Yuba City. Everyone will have two options regarding their registrations. 1. Donate your registration to the convention to help cover the expenses we have already incurred such as the ribbons, fliers and postage. 2. Receive a full refund of the amount you paid. Please keep April 2022 on your calendar, when the convention will be in Yuba City. For those of you who attended in 2018, you already know that the Yuba-Sutter Fairgrounds is one of the best facilities we have used for the California State Convention. Visit their website at www.castate2022.org Thank you, Marvin Fishman General Chairman, 2021 CA State Convention

Our 21st Pink Ribbon Benefit Dance is fast approaching. Sadly, we won’t be dancing so I asked COH to help with on-line donations. All money donated will go to t...he women’s cure section at COH which covers ALL cancers. Please donate whatever you can to keep our Pink Ribbon Benefit going during this unpredictable time. Click on the link below and it will take you to our California Pink Ribbon Square Dancers site for your donation. Thank you, Jerry Ferguson Questions: Jerry 951 893 3806

So who really thought it would last six months? This is so hard not being able to see all of our friends, in our own Club, as well as all the other clubs and callers. As we head into Fall with so much happening (voting, 3 big holidays, colder weather), we hope everyone is staying healthy, and yet getting out as much as possible so you feel some part of normal. Much love!

Attention Thunderbirds: To Thunderbirds, dancing friends and class members, The Town of Apple Valley has advised us that the James A. Woody Center, where we dance, will not be available for use during either October or November, as they are continuing to use the facility for COVID-19 testing. ... We are all hoping that we will be able to resume dancing in 2021, but I suspect not before. I hope that everyone is remaining well! Nelson Miller Co-President

From our Club's former President, Ray Montgomery (and current President of the Rollin' Thunderbirds): Hi Rollin' Thunderbirds - Here is the information about the passing of Mickey Bourassa on 7/8/20. Mickey was 97 years old. He and his wife Virginia were members of both the Thunderbird Square Dance Club and the Rollin’ Thunderbird Camp Club for many years, but have not been active due to health reasons for the past 10 or more years. Many of our current members may not rememb...er him, but those that do will remember him for his great smile and eagerness to lend a helping hand for any job that needed to be done. Many of us have a sample in our homes of the wonderful wood work that he so loved to do. Services will be on Wednesday, July 15th at Our Lady of the Desert Catholic Church - 18386 Corwin Rd., Apple Valley - There will be viewing starting at 9:00 am, followed by rosary at 10:30 am and mass at 11:00 am. Burial will follow at Desert View Cemetery - 11500 Amargosa Rd., Victorville at 1:00 pm. Unfortunately all of this is happening at a time when any gatherings are a problem due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and at this point we are not sure about what restrictions are in effect for the church. We will try to get that information on Monday, and pass it on to you then. Some might consider just going to the cemetery where we will be outside and it will be easier to social distance.

A NOTE FROM OUR PRESIDENT, BILL HUNT: While we are all anxious to get back to enjoying Square Dancing, we need to do it legally in accordance with state guideli...nes for reopening. Not only to preserve our insurance coverage but to protect our dancers, many of whom are in the high risk category. Carolyn's comments are noted below and CSSDA has put out some guidelines for use when we start back up. Let's be patient a little longer until we get the green light to start dancing. - Bill Hunt Subject: Considerations for Reopening Square Dancing in California -- from your Insurance Director, Carolyn Ulrich If clubs are going to dance before the state lifts the current stay-at-home order and permits large social gatherings (currently slated for Stage 4), please let me know! There is a query in to our insurance company as to whether, or not, a club would forfeit their insurance coverage by dancing against state orders. So far, our insurance covers sanctioned dances; but, if social gathering is against the [current] law, we’re not sure if a dance can be considered sanctioned. According to the 06-02-20.California COVID-19 website: Are gatherings permitted? Gatheringsmeetings or other events that bring together persons from multiple households at the same time for a shared or group experience in a single room, space, or place such as an auditorium, stadium, arena, large conference room, meeting hall, or other indoor or outdoor spacepose an especially great danger of transmission and spread of COVID-19. As a consequence, State public health directives prohibit professional, social and community mass gatherings. On May 25, 2020, in an effort to balance First Amendment interests with public health, the State Public Health Officer created an exception to the prohibition against mass gatherings for faith-based services and cultural ceremonies as well as protests. Those types of gatherings are permitted so long as they do not exceed 100 attendees or 25% of the capacity of the space in which the gathering is held, whichever is lower. All other mass gatherings are prohibited until further notice. Please see the website notice attached.