With the plethora of opinions about how COVID-related safety protocols should be handled, it is best practice for your club Board of Directors to set a policy, and that is why the CMAA National Board of Directors established an in-person event safety policy, effective January 1, 2022. After a robust discussion, the Board set a policy for consistency and to maximize the safety of all attendees at National programs and events including members, international attendees, students, significant others/guests, partners, exhibitors, vendors, speakers, and the HQ staff. This policy requires attendees to be fully vaccinated or to request a qualifying religious or medical accommodation to attend in-person meetings.
Here is how the requirement will impact your World Conference attendance and entry process:
- CMAA will use a third-party system (42*Chat/Health Shield) to support vaccine proof, accommodation requests, and any testing verifications you may need.
- After your registration has been confirmed, keep an eye out for a text message from 42*Chat/Health Shield with more instructions for verifying your vaccination status. These text messages are sent weekly on Mondays. Ultimately, 42*Chat/Health Shield will give you a “green” or “go” confirmation message that you will show at the designated entry points to gain access inside the San Diego Convention Center for education sessions, the Club Business Expo, and other activities.
- Due to these requirements, ALL attendees will need to be registered, confirmed, and issued a name badge. For example, in the past you may have purchased extra tickets for social events for unregistered guests; due to the vaccination policy, any individual participating in any part of the World Conference will need a name badge (provided at a modest cost to cover 42*Chat/Health Shield’s services).
Our goal is a streamlined process which meets your event expectations as well as government mandates and local facility requirements. We have implemented these in an efficient manner and utilizing a third-party to maintain the confidentiality and privacy of your information. Please note that the same vaccine verification process will be used for all Business Management Institutes (BMI) and other National programs beginning January 1.
Finally, if you can’t attend or are not yet comfortable traveling to San Diego, please consider the virtual registration category, which includes a live stream of six general education and business sessions featuring six stellar keynote speakers. The virtual registration category will fulfill your Conference certification requirement.
While I am optimistic the pandemic will be classified as an “endemic” in early 2022, I hope that everyone will be understanding of these set protocols as CMAA must make every effort to maximize your safety. We are still in a pandemic and everyone has different levels of risk tolerance and individual beliefs. We care about you, and we care about creating the best on-site experience possible for you. Thanks for reading and understanding.