By RHEA-FRANCES TETLEY
Staff Writer
“Connect” is a local, community-based networking group that invites all community members to participate. The group, which began over 20 years ago, has been meeting and improving the community through their networking since then.
During COVID, after March 11, 2020, they were forced to meet through Zoom. The Oct. 16 meeting was the first time they have met both face-to-face and in a hybrid Zoom model with their members since then. Prior to COVID, they had met every Wednesday for breakfast and have been meeting by Zoom, exclusively, for the past few years.
This first hybrid meeting was put together by Crest Forest Municipal Advisory Council member and Connect coordinator Rick Dinon, who had almost a dozen people attending by Zoom and over a dozen attending in person in the Fireside Room at Leisure Shores, where Chef Fred made a delicious breakfast for those who attended for $10 each. Dinon had two microphones so they could be passed around the room, enabling everyone to hear all the discussions and issues both on Zoom and in the room. His camera was on a tripod so those on Zoom could see who was talking, and he had a computer screen to see those talking on Zoom. It worked rather seamlessly.
As usual, during every Connect meeting, each person was able to introduce themselves and share community issues or events that interest or concern them. Two members of the Rim of the World Unified School District school board were in attendance, talking about the need for Measure E, which is on the November ballot to repair the aging buildings and install back-up electricity generators and other basic necessities in the school buildings for student safety. It was mentioned that, if this measure doesn’t pass and Prop 2 does pass, Rim will not get any of that state money; if both Measure E and Prop 2 pass, Rim will qualify to receive approximately $17 million in state money for repairs on top of the bond, as explained in last week’s Alpine Mountaineer.
Many events were promoted during the Connect meeting including Lobsters at the Lake on Oct. 26 at the San Moritz Lodge, the community Trick or Treat on Oct. 26, the Fall Festival in November, Veterans Day events on Nov. 11 at 11 a.m. at the flag poles at Arrowhead Ridge, the community Thanksgiving dinner at the San Moritz Lodge on Nov. 28. The Mountain History Museum will be open the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of Thanksgiving weekend, after closing for the summer season on Oct. 27.
The Patriots Pen and Voice of Democracy essay contests sponsored by the VFW with an Oct. 31 deadline were announced and explained. The Goodwin’s family Christmas tree lighting ceremony and bonfire will be on Monday, Dec. 2 in Lake Gregory’s North Shore parking lot. The Lions Club will again be sponsoring a bingo night the first Friday of December at Leisure Shores.
Connect has no membership lists, no dues and no attendance requirements. It is not a club; it’s just approximately 20 to 25 involved and concerned mountain residents who choose to meet and share the events and activities each person is involved with in the community. Everyone is welcome to attend; many businessowners over the years have attended and found their business improved with more customers after sharing about it at Connect. Each person who attends gets a couple of minutes to introduce themselves or talk about their business and share any upcoming activities they may be involved with, or share an opinion on an issue that concerns them.
Connect began when newspaperman Mike Neufeld and involved community member Penny Shubnell started getting together with local businessmen and tried to brainstorm solutions to problems they saw in the community, while thinking of ways to promote business and the community events. As more joined with them at Connect, it became a centralized time and viable place to get the news shared of what is occurring on the mountain with other involved persons.
In the past, when an important issue was facing the community, a guest speaker was invited to speak at Connect for 10 minutes to explain it. Many of the movers and shakers of the community attend the Connect meetings and all residents, employees or business owners are invited to attend.
The hybrid Connect meetings, which last an hour, will be on the third Wednesday of each month, with the regular Zoom meetings continuing every Wednesday morning at 7:30 a.m. Dinon invites anyone interested to attend the Connect meetings by joining the Zoom meeting at https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81712575895?pwd=u2q8TDP3ZrcnM5ysbOVd94lpZkdFVK.1. The meeting ID is 817 1257 5895 with the passcode 903527.
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