Saturday, November 14, 2020

Back to Virtual Meetings STARTING NOW


Dear Monica,

Well, as you have probably heard by now that WA State will be going into a modified stay at home order. This is the main reason we will now go back to 100% virtual meetings. Our event calendar should now be updated to reflect this. You will get the link to the Zoom meeting once you RSVP. The Happy Hours will continue as scheduled.

Nov 23rd Virtual Meeting - 4th Monday

Dec 14th Virtual Meeting - 2nd Monday

I was working on moving back to virtual only meetings before the news hit today. I have been discussing this with the Admin Team as several people were not comfortable with the social distancing and mask wearing practices that were happening (or not happening) at our last in person meeting. I am guilty of these complaints as well so don't feel like I am singling out one or two people. We, as a group, need to do better if we are going to go back to in person meetings. I am responsible for everyone in that room and it will come back on me if anyone get sick from COVID-19. Plus, I will feel extremely guilty if that ever happens. 

Personally, my family will be video calling our family during Thanksgiving in lieu of gathering in person. I bought my Thanksgiving dinner from Dream Dinners so check them out as an option. Or, order dinner from Shawn O'Donnell's this year! I feel terrible not being able to support them by hosting our meetings. I will continue to order take out food from them in the meantime.

Let's do our part by staying at home. There is an end in sight. We just have to do our part until we get there. 

~Monica~

Tuesday, November 10, 2020

IMPORTANT RSVP Updates Based on Last Night's Meeting


Dear Monica,

Thank you to everyone who came to our meeting last night! You ladies sure threw me for a loop. :) I had 3 people show up without the correct RSVP. I also had two ladies RSVP late for a total of 5 people extra to juggle. I didn't have my usual helper to check in people so I was all on my own to do everything. Since I was only expecting 7, I didn't think I needed help but boy did I! There will be changes again to how you RSVP to our meetings...

I tried to set up a virtual zoom at the same time as our in person meeting and it didn't go as well as I hoped. It also made it confusing for the people who thought they were rsvp'ing to the in person meeting when they in fact RSVPd for the zoom meeting. So, thank you to those people who helped with this experiment but going forward, the only virtual meetings will be our happy hours.

I apologize for not explaining this better at the meeting but when you pay me $5-10 to attend, it includes a beverage like Coke, lemonade, tea or coffee. You must ask for your beverage at the bar and our server will bring it to you. If you want wine or beer, please pay the venue directly for this option.

I am also going to change the beverage RSVP to needing it 24 hrs in advance as well. If you RSVP late or show up at the door, it will now become $10. Once I give my headcount to the venue, it becomes more work for me to update them later to add more seats.

Usually, the venue sets extra places for us but since the last two meetings had less people than we expected, the venue didn't add extra seats this time. I will be padding our headcount in the future so we have more room.

We have few enough people to maintain 6' away from each other but when we have to add 5 extra seats at the last minute, it means that everyone who is already seated needs to move a little. However, their previous spot has been contaminated and the safety protocols are now compromised. This is just not ideal.

Also, the venue handed out meals without checking with me first. Again, since we only expected 7 people and 6 meals, it was supposed to be an easy distribution. All the things that could go wrong, seemed to go wrong last night. Thank you to those people who helped me!!

We made it work and PLEASE don't feel like you can't come to our meetings or that you will need to eat upstairs if you arrive without an RSVP. I am sharing this information with you so there can be a better understanding about the extra work involved and why I need to charge more if you cannot RSVP more than 24 hrs in advance.

Let me know if you have any questions! 
~Monica~

Friday, November 6, 2020

Nov H2H Newsletter - IMPORTANT UPDATES!


Heart to Heart Meeting Reminders for the month of November


HEART TO HEART MONTHLY NEWSLETTER

For November 2020

Hi Mieko, 

Are you reading my newsletters? It seems that people have missed the fact that we are now meeting IN PERSON at Shawn O'Donnell's again! We started this in Oct and the attendance has been low (less than 10) so there has been plenty of space for social distancing. We can have a max of 26 people so if that ever happens, we will sit a little closer but still safely. 

Another experiment we are doing this month is the option of doing a VIRTUAL meeting along with the IN PERSON meeting. We are still working out the best way to handle this and enable you to participate. Your feedback is hugely helpful. 

In order to do the IN PERSON meetings, we absolutely MUST HAVE YOUR RSVP at least 24 hours in advance. If you RSVP with less notice than that, the only option for you is to order a beverage. Dinners must be prepared ahead of time so if you don't RSVP and PAY in advance, we cannot provide dinner for you. 

If you show up without RSVP'ing in advance, you MUST still purchase a beverage option but instead of $5, it will now cost you $10. 

Right now, there are TWO DIFFERENT EVENTS to RSVP for. The first is the IN PERSON event where you can purchase a Spotlight Table if you are a paid member and they aren't already sold out. The second event is the VIRTUAL event and you must RSVP if you want to get the Zoom link emailed to you. I have had to change how the events are set up as there are challenges with having only a certain number of Spotlight Tables sold and also to make sure we do not go over our maximum capacity at the venue. 

I had to make the Spotlight Table option only available with a purchase of a dinner. If you don't or can't eat the dinner, please message me and I can refund you the difference. 

The free Virtual Happy Hours continue for now. In Nov, these are happening on a Monday evening when we don't have a regular meeting. In Dec, they will be on Tuesday evening. I presume these will continue on Tuesday evenings after the new year. 

I am sending out text reminders to our paid membership database. You can opt out but make sure your cell phone is entered correctly in your profile on our website. You can edit your profile on the website or through the Wild Apricot Member app. 

Stay in touch by using our Facebook Group. It is the quickest way for me to communicate things to you and for you to stay in touch with each other. 

~Monica~

Monday, September 28, 2020

Sept H2H Newsletter


Heart to Heart Meeting Reminders for the month of September


HEART TO HEART MONTHLY NEWSLETTER

For September 2020

Hi Mieko, 

I have big news to share so are you ready? We are moving to in-person meetings starting in October! There are some requirements we will have to abide by and it will change how we will need to RSVP from now on. First, I will collect payment for dinner/beverages prior to each meeting and there will be no entry unless you RSVP in advance. More details are below. 

We will continue to have our Virtual Happy Hours on Wed evenings on the weeks we do not have our regular meetings. We will only have one in Oct due to my trip to Mexico!

Stay in touch by using our Facebook Group. It is the quickest way for me to communicate things to you and for you to stay in touch with each other. 

~Monica~

Tuesday, July 14, 2020

July H2H Newsletter


Heart to Heart Meeting Reminders for the month of July 

HEART TO HEART MONTHLY NEWSLETTER

For July 2020
Hi Monica, 
Here we are again, a few months after the last newsletter, I finally am doing a new one. So much for every month getting these out!

We are still doing our meetings virtually via Zoom. This will continue until Snohomish Country is in Phase 3. Spotlight Tables continue to be half price and turnout is OK. This also means our bunco games are suspended until this time. Does anyone have another way we can celebrate our anniversary virtually? 

We will not have our Storm Suite at their Everett game on Sept 20th as planned. All games will be held elsewhere so our deposit will be moved to their 2021 season. Let's hope we can use it then!

Our Wed Night Happy Hours are still continuing. We will not have one next week as I will be in Vegas celebrating my friend's birthday. Otherwise, we are still hosting them as a casual way to get together and see what is going on. Some great connections are happening during these meetings!

Finally, I encourage you to stay connected with each other on our Facebook Group. You can share your own virtual event, a sale or promotion you are holding or just something funny you saw. I have received messages from people that say they are not active with comments or likes but check the group regularly for ways they can help support their local women owned businesses. Make sure you are posting so they can help you out!

~Monica~

Tuesday, May 12, 2020

May H2H Newsletter


Heart to Heart Meeting Reminders for the month of May 

HEART TO HEART MONTHLY NEWSLETTER

For May 2020
Hi Monica, 
I wrote a Newsletter for April and then forgot to send it. Whoops! I also wrote a newsletter in March but called it the February Newsletter. Whoops again! I just can never get these things right. :)

Things have certainly changed over these last few months. All our meetings have been converted to virtual meetings via Zoom. It is free to use and you can use your phone or computer to tune in. They have mostly been successful and we are getting a decent turnout. We still have Spotlight Tables and they are half price while the meetings are virtual.

A new thing I have implemented is a Monday Night Happy Hour on the nights that we don't have our regular meetings. This is just a short and casual way for us to stay connected during the pandemic. Starting now, I am moving them to Wed nights and the next one is on May 20th. These will continue until people stop showing up. 
Another change has been our Bunco Anniversary party. It was originally scheduled for April but then I moved it to June but this would be the day after their supposed open date. Our venue cannot open until Phase 3 which, at the earliest, would be June 16th.  So, now we have pushed it out to Aug 19th which was already on the calendar for a regular bunco night. I will open up the RSVPs when we get closer to the date just to make sure the venue is up and running.

Once we go back to in-person meetings, there will be some restrictions based on the health department guidelines. We probably will never have a serve yourself buffet again so I will be curious what our plated options will be. We will most likely need to sanitize our hands upon entering the venue as well. We also may need to still practice some social distancing which will affect how our seating arrangement will be handled. It is a whole different way of interacting with people again! 

Finally, I encourage you to stay connected with each other on our Facebook Group. You can share your own virtual event, a sale or promotion you are holding or just something funny you saw. I have received messages from people that say they are not active with comments or likes but check the group regularly for ways they can help support their local women owned businesses. Make sure you are posting so they can help you out!

~Monica~

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Friday, March 13, 2020

IMPORTANT: Setting up a test Zoom meeting on 3/16!

Dear Monica,

Due to the new guidelines that Snohomish County has instituted to restrict gatherings of 250 and fewer people, we are considering moving our meetings to virtual meetings instead. Please read the information regarding the new guidelines from Snohomish County:

https://lynnwoodtoday.com/snohomish-health-district-issues-its-own-orders-related-to-covid-19-and-smaller-gatherings/

I am happy to work with Shawn O'Donnell's on the social distancing issue as that is really the only problem I see with our room set up that we normally do. However, we might be forced to cancel anyway since we currently only have 12 people registered for our March 23rd meeting. Tracey has been kind enough to let me borrow her Zoom account to test out using it for our virtual meetings. Please join us for our test meeting on Monday March 16th at 6:45pm (see info below) and if we can make it work, I will set up a Zoom for our March 23rd meeting. I will be monitoring the situation on a weekly basis to see which meetings will be in person and which ones will be virtual.

Before I upgrade my Zoom account, I would like to come up with a plan on how we can use Zoom on a more regular basis even after this crisis passes. I would love your ideas on how we could incorporate virtual meetings to our schedule. We had talked about creating some sort of mastermind meeting but that never materialized. Or maybe we expand our "Discussion Topic" time to a separate virtual meeting? Let me know your thoughts!

Tracey Warren is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
  • Topic: H2H Test Zoom Meeting
  • Time: Mar 16, 2020 06:45 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada)
  • Join Zoom Meeting
  • One tap mobile
    • +16699006833,,4839371729# US (San Jose)
    • +19294362866,,4839371729# US (New York)
  • Dial by your location
    • +1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose)
    • +1 929 436 2866 US (New York)
  • Meeting ID: 483 937 1729
  • Find your local number: https://zoom.us/u/afqhGJquf
~Monica~

Sunday, March 8, 2020

Yes, we are meeting on Monday!

Dear Monica,

We have 20 RSVPS for Monday's meeting!! I am so grateful for all of you in this group. I have discussed the situation with Nicole (our speaker) about the current outbreak status. We both agree to move forward with this meeting. We are a small gathering of ladies and many of us are not in the demographic that COVID-19 seems to affect.

Of course, if you are over 60, pregnant or have pre-existing health conditions that
 concern you, please stay home. Also, if you have a fever and a dry cough, seek medical attention right away. We will have free sanitizing hand wipes for all who attend.

Life is not stopping. Take the necessary precautions. Wash your hands and cover your cough with your elbow. Jazz hand greetings instead of handshakes. Boost your immune system with vitamin c, elderberry and whatever supplements you prefer.

Much love to you all and see you on Monday night!


RSVP or Update Your RSVP

~Monica~

Wednesday, March 4, 2020

February H2H Newsletter (I know it is March!)


Heart to Heart Meeting Reminders for the month of February

HEART TO HEART MONTHLY NEWSLETTER

For February 2020
Hi Monica, 

Well, well, well. Another late newsletter. I was supposed to send this out last month! One of these days I will be more regular. ;)

We have had several things decided at our meetings over the last few months. It is important to show up to our meetings because we are making decisions on items and the people who show up get to help decide! 

I am still experimenting with our extra 8 mins for our meetings. I am trying to keep a rotating schedule for the DISCUSSION TOPICS. On the 2nd Monday we will alternate between a MEMBER LEAD TOPIC and LEADER LEAD TOPIC. Then on the 4th Monday we will have a 3rd Spotlight Table available. 

Our next meeting we have a Speaker coming to help us Detangle Your Digital Office. It will now cost our paid members $5 to attend and guests $10 to attend. We need 3 more RSVPs to move forward and I will decide by Wed if that will happen or not. 
I have planned a great event coming up on Sept 20th! I have booked a suite at the Storm game in Everett. It is a great way to network and get to know each other. Watching the game is optional. Let me know if there is another networking group we can partner with to maximize the event!
Finally, I have made some updates to our Facebook Group where we have split out the monthly dedicated posts. One will be for sharing events and a separate one for posting your latest sale or promotion. If you have more than 3 sales/promos posts, we encourage you to invite people to join your mailing list or FB group.
~Monica~

Thursday, January 16, 2020

January H2H Newsletter


Heart to Heart Meeting Reminders for the month of January

HEART TO HEART MONTHLY NEWSLETTER

For January 2020
Hi Monica, 

Happy New Year! I didn't send out a newsletter last month and I am late sending this month's out too. Typical! So anyway, last month I experimented with a few different formats for our meetings now that we have trimmed our introduction time. Which format did you like best?
  1. Open Topic Discussion
  2. Guided Topic Discussion
  3. Extra Spotlight Table
Unfortunately, we had to cancel our Jan 13th meeting which was our Holiday Party but I have moved the party to replace our Jan 27th meeting. Your RSVP on our website has been moved to the new date so please update your RSVP if you cannot make it on the 27th. I will refund anyone who needs to be. 
On our Facebook Group, please check out the poll to see when we should plan our next Storm outing to watch the women's basketball game. I purchase a 20-person suite and the cost is less than a regular ticket to the game. It is a great way to network and get to know each other. Watching the game is optional. 
Finally, I am moving forward with our Bunco Night on Feb 6th. Thank you for your interest and hopefully we can get enough people to play! I will need a minimum of 16-20 people to make it worthwhile. Please RSVP and pay for your spot!
~Monica~