Guns Save Life holds monthly meetings at almost a dozen cities across Illinois now.
We see there’s one heckuva storm system coming into Illinois later this coming week, so we thought it a great time to remind everyone of our meeting cancellation thoughts and procedures.
Updated info on the impending climate emergency due to the Arctic blast across the Pacific Northwest & then into the Central and Midwest USA in the coming 5-10 days.
“Gobsmackingly bananas” temperatures 76°F below climate normal for mid-January are off-the-charts cold pic.twitter.com/JMNBm1bRLF
— Ryan Maue (@RyanMaue) January 6, 2024
Generally speaking, no matter the weather, politics and our cause marches on and so do we. We’ve had meetings during and after ice storms, snow storms, and even during power outages. Those sorts of events tend to make some great memories. Yes, during one power outage, we continued with our meeting in Charleston, holding it by lantern light when the power failed for the duration of the night.
Frankly, if I knew we had a power outage, someone would probably bring either a small 1000W generator or a little inverter set up so we could have amplified sound and the show would go on as good as ever using lanterns for light.
Ultimately, the final decision on whether or not to error on the side of caution and cancel a meeting rests with the Regional Directors.
We endeavor to reach out to meeting regulars via email addresses if we have them (not all sites have this, but we should probably do this for all) and the public at large as early as possible in event of a planned cancellation.
We will also post any cancelations RIGHT HERE at the Guns Save Life website. So if weather is looking *really* nasty, check here before starting your journey towards the meeting venue.
Why would we cancel a meeting?
- When forecasts call for severe ice storms, exceptionally heavy snow storms or blizzard conditions. Even if it’s not happening before the meeting, if we think we might get snowed or iced in by the end of the meeting, we’ll probably opt to cancel. I think we’ve had weather cancellations maybe three or four times over thirty years at up to a ten-plus meetings each month. In other words, almost never.
- When our host facility has closed for whatever reasons. And we can’t find another facility to do an impromptu switch. For instance, our host location in Peoria had frozen pipes burst the night before our meeting during one particularly bitterly cold snap. They didn’t call us to let us know, but we cut them some slack as they had other more pressing issues. Instead of cancelling, we convoyed over to another restaurant and had a fun, albeit cozy meeting.
- When we deem that holding the meeting would endanger the lives of those travelling to attend.
Here are some examples of meeting cancellations.
As a former Regional Director, I can tell you this is a tough decision to make. Think long and hard before you criticize a Director. Somebody has to make the decision and we have the best people to do this. Whatever they decide that is it! NO second guessing, no criticism. Otherwise, they may give you the job! The RD’s know the local weather and road conditions before John leaves home, they know their membership, and they are in the best position to make the call.