Vol. 123, No. 8
INSIDE
Chair of the Boardr reports on February meeting ➤ Pg. 2
Golf tournament will benefit scholarship fund ➤ Pg. 3
Sales Department creates Regional Sales Manager program ➤ Pg. 6
hermannsonslife.org
June 2020
Camp 2020 season cancelled COMFORT – Hermann Sons Life has made the difficult decision to cancel the summer season at Hermann Sons Life Camp. The decision was announced May 19 by Vice President of Member Benefits Cecily Kelly and Executive Camp Director Ian Brassett. Despite Gov. Abbott’s declaration that summer camps can open on June 1, Cecily and Ian feel that the restrictions under which the Camp would have to operate make it impractical to open Camp this year. A letter has been emailed to parents who had already registered their children. They will receive a full refund. “I appreciate that this news
does not come as a welcome relief to our families,” Cecily said. “As a mother of two boys who love Camp, my heart is breaking. As an officer in this organization that I love so dearly, I must do what I feel is best for all involved. I hope everyone will understand that under the circumstances this was the only responsible choice we could make.” The letter from Ian begins, “It is with a heavy heart and much anguish that I must inform our membership that the decision has been made to cancel Hermann Sons Life Camp for the summer of 2020.” Our first priority, Ian said, is the health of our junior members and their families. “During this unprecedented time, while we believe that
Camp is needed more than ever, even with the strictest of protocols perfectly applied there is nothing that can be done to eliminate the risk of exposure to both campers and staff to the COVID-19 virus,” he said. The guidelines that would need to be followed come from the American Camp Association’s field guide to running a camp during the COVID-19 pandemic and those established by the State of Texas. “The camp we would be able to run is not the camp that our campers and their families have come to expect at Hermann Sons Life Camp. This camp would be very different,” Ian explained. He went on to say, “the campers would experience
not a break from the social distancing and regulations, but a continuation and extension of the social distancing that they are experiencing now. Constant reminders of the new normal world we live in would be everywhere. There would be daily health screenings. Counselors and all other staff would be wearing masks and PPE. Campers would not be able to choose their daily activities but would do all of their activities with their bunkmates. There would be no dance and no game night. There would be no counselor-in-training program and so much more.” He emphasized, “Camp would not be camp.” See NO CAMP, Pg. 3
Donations will benefit Texas food banks SAN ANTONIO – Hermann Sons Life has donated a total of $8,000 to food banks statewide and the University Hospital Foundation in San Antonio in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The donations were made in conjunction with Join Hands Day, the national day of service that is annually observed on the first Saturday in May. The seven food banks receiving $1,000 each are the San Antonio Food Bank, the Central Texas Food Bank in Austin, CitySquare Food Pantry in Dallas, the North Texas Food Bank in Plano, the Tarrant Area Food Bank in Fort Worth, the Houston Food Bank and the New Braunfels Food Bank. The University Hospital Foundation is the fundraising arm for the University Health System, which operates a nationally-recognized teaching hospital
and network of outpatient healthcare centers in San Antonio. “Hermann Sons Life members have been supporting food banks for generations so it seemed only natural to make donations to these organizations that have been working tirelessly to feed our fellow Texans during this difficult time,” Vice President of Member Benefits Cecily Kelly said. She added, “University Hospital is one of the hundreds of hospitals in Texas that has been treating coronavirus patients. This donation is our way of supporting the hospital and showing our appreciation for everything the hospital and its staff have done for those most affected by this terrible disease.”
Hermann Sons Life
Salute to Seniors! See Pages 7-16