After much consideration, the MCPWA Executive Board has decided to cancel the Trade Show originally planned for October. While we have been looking forward to the Trade Show for some time, we believe this decision is best for all involved. As COVID related restrictions are again ramping up, our primary concern is the health and safety of all participants and feel that hosting a large indoor gathering would not be a wise decision at this time. We are also concerned about a potential decrease in attendance should masking guidelines be implemented. We were planning to have students from the four Montgomery County Tech Schools attend the event to expose them to the vast opportunities the Public Works field presents. With the current state of things, their attendance would be unlikely.
Lastly, we all know how much time, effort and expense goes into any trade show and we firmly believe that having an event when maximum participation and attendance cannot be guaranteed would be a disservice to you, our valued vendor partners.
We truly hope you understand our position and our concerns.
As an aside, MCPWA is committed to continue providing training opportunities to our members during this period of COVID uncertainty. We are always looking for ways our Associate Members can be involved as well. We recently held a “virtual roundtable” training on utility coordination and a Zoom meeting on public works mutual aid. Both were very successful and could be models for future trainings. We are willing to explore any reasonable option like webinars or even small group outdoor training events. These trainings don’t have to be lengthy events but could be short (45 minutes to an hour) sessions that would make it easier to attend. If you have any ideas that would be beneficial to the group, please reach out to any Board member or use the email addresses below.
Thank you for your continued support and I think I speak for everyone when I say that I can’t wait for COVID-19 to be a distant memory.
Douglas R. Jones
President
Montgomery County Public Works Association
