Greetings!
 
One of our most cherished and time-honored traditions is getting together each fall for our Annual Meeting at Madden’s Resort near Brainerd. Today, we are writing to share that the LeadingAge Minnesota Board of Directors voted today to convert our planned in-person meeting to a virtual event.

This painful decision comes against the backdrop of rising COVID 19 cases counts in Minnesota and the spread of the virulent Delta variant of the virus. While the Board weighed proceeding with an in-person event with requirements for vaccination and indoor masking for all attendees, there remained the prospect of outbreaks -- attributed to the conference -- at a time when so much public attention is once again focused on our care settings.

Our Annual Meeting tradition is one filled with fellowship, learning, innovation, and betterment of our field as a whole. Like you, we were so looking forward to being together in person this year. In a month from now, we may find that the fears of another COVID surge in our state will have subsided. However, that is unknowable at this time, and a virtual format gives us another opportunity to put safety at the forefront of all we do.

It is our tradition to hold our Annual Meeting in conjunction with our partners at the Minnesota Hospital Association. MHA has also decided to cancel the in-person elements of their conference.

We will work quickly to shift our focus to bring you a concrete plan for the virtual Annual Meeting. In the meantime, we want to share the following:

  • Hold the dates! We will get you details about what to expect for a virtual format ASAP!
  • If you’re reserved a room in our Madden’s or Cragun's room block, your reservation will be canceled automatically. There will be no penalty to you.
  • If you’ve reserved lodging outside of the room blocks, either at Madden’s, Kavanaugh’s or at another hotel, cancel your reservation as soon as possible.

Be assured that LeadingAge Minnesota will offer you stellar educational opportunities in an online format and will work quickly to firm up the schedule for a virtual Annual Meeting program. The in-person fellowship of Madden’s will be dearly missed. Still, there will be occasions in the coming months, such as our October District Meetings and other planned conferences that, fingers-crossed, can safely occur in person.

In closing, we offer our sincere appreciation for all you do and the unbelievable sacrifices you have made over the last 18 months. We are here for you, always – and we are so proud to be your Association and to support you in your missions of service.

Sincerely,