It must be said at the outset that I am writing this column with an overwhelming sense of déjà vu. Once again, I send you greetings from my home to yours, hoping that this issue of our newsletter finds you healthy and secure. And once again it is my obligation to tell you that all our chapter’s outward-facing efforts continue to be on hold. It is our fervent hope that there will be a change for the (far) better in the very near future, but for now, we will continue to play it safe.

Our board of directors met via Zoom again in May, and this and our other such (virtual) meetings seem to go very well indeed. The attendance is excellent, the discussion is free and open, and we transact a lot of business. It seems as though we have stumbled upon something here, and I strongly suspect that even once we are able to meet as a group in-person, we will make provisions for those who cannot be present at the meeting location to attend via Zoom or its equivalent. So that’s a good thing – we are handling administrative matters well. We are fully in compliance with National’s standards, and all is seemingly well in that regard.

But as much as we seem to be handling administrative matters well, we miss holding public gatherings, doing educational work, doing outreach with and for the FBI, providing opportunities for all our members to gather and take part in the work of the chapter…There’s been so much that we planned for 2020 – from a fall gathering at Lake Guntersville to home-and-home baseball nights with the Huntsville Trash Pandas and the Birmingham Barons, Chasing the Dragon events, Bomb-Making Awareness Training sessions, a “takeover” social event at a Huntsville shooting range, regular members meetings at restaurants in both cities, home-and-home Top Golf events in both cities…and on and on and on…

I hope and trust that we will be able to resume our public activities soon. In fact, elected officials on both the state and national levels have urged us – all of us -- to “open up” and “restart.” But as much as we would like to comply and resume our normal activities, it is clearly not yet the time to do so. The Covid-19 infection rate is currently climbing in our state, and more Alabamians are suffering at the hands of this illness every day. And in the absence of proven therapeutics to treat the virus or a vaccine to prevent it, the best way to combat this disease is not to catch it. So with that in mind, our stance is this: we will monitor the situation. And when the FBI and local, state, and national doctors, scientists, and health officials advise that it is reasonable to do so, we will enthusiastically reengage our public activities.

Until that time, we welcome your continued faith and support in our chapter. Please renew your dues to support us. You may note that our board has lowered renewal dues for 2020 out of consideration for the virus and its effects on our group. And if you haven’t yet done so, consider making us your Amazon Smile charitable organization. Thanks so much for you kind attention, and I hope to see you all in person very, very soon. Until then, please stay safe and healthy.

--- Paul H. Franklin, President

     FBI Birmingham CAAA