Dear Necon Campers,
First and foremost, we hope you and all of yours are healthy and safe.
This morning, I spoke with Deborah Melnick, the Director of Summer Conference & Hospitality Services at Salem State University, about the COVID-19 pandemic. Deborah confirmed that, while the University is following CDC guidelines and have canceled all events for the next two months, its schedule of summer events remains unaffected at this time. As things currently stand, Necon 40 will proceed as planned for July 16h through 19th on SSU’s campus.
Of course, we are living in unprecedented times. July is a long way off, and literally everything in the world is “TBD” at the moment. You have our assurances that the Camp Necon Executive Committee is closely following developments regarding the pandemic, and you have our word that we will be as open, transparent, and timely with our communications as possible should our plans need to change. We will continue working in lock-step with our partners at Salem State, monitoring announcements by all major health agencies and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and move forward with only all of our best interests in mind. Should circumstances require us to cancel or postpone the convention from its announced dates, we will make refund and roll-forward options available to all registered Campers (including walk-ins). Please continue to watch your inbox for announcements like this, and also follow our website, Facebook, and Twitter accounts.
One small step we can take — and granted, we recognize this is a minor step, especially in light of current events, but we’re still going to take it — is to extend the deadline for Campers who have paid a deposit for Necon 40 to pay their balances. Effective immediately, our announced due date of June 15th is hereby extended to July 1st, 2020. We don’t know if those two weeks will make any difference in the big picture, but damn it, if they could, we want our Campers to have them.
On behalf of the entire Camp Necon Executive Committee, thank you in advance for your patience and understanding as we navigate this nearly unthinkable situation. Please feel free to reach out to me at matt@campnecon.com should you have any questions. And again (and we can’t emphasize this enough!), please stay safe and take care of yourselves.
Thank you,
– Matt Bechtel
Chairperson, Camp Necon 40
P.S. — Happy St. Paddy’s Day to one and all; here’s hoping for more than a little luck for all of us over the coming months.