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From the Desk of Marty Schaffel: The Light Looks Brighter

All of us are looking for signs of hope and relief from this very restrictive lifestyle imposed on our country and industry. And the glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel is flickering slightly brighter this week.  We are finally seeing some signs that this terrible virus can be reduced through social distancing and other mitigation efforts. Now comes the big question. When do we get back to normal? 

I believe we will get back to a “new” normal. Life as we knew it will be different. We will be washing our hands more frequently. More reticent to shake hands or hug everyone we see. More careful about what we touch and where we gather.  

Until we have an effective vaccine or strong drugs that can cure, we will have this threat hanging over our way of life and society. So we will need a process to bring our economy back without spiking cases of this virus again. That is the huge challenge before us. 

I think we all want to get back to having shows, giving lessons, and breeding horses quickly. I sure do. We can and will in the near future.  What I suggest to those who read this column is to start dreaming about those days ahead. But in those dreams, we need to let our imaginations start creating processes and procedures that will help minimize the return of this terrible pandemic. That will define our new normal.  We need to start compiling these ideas. We will eventually have to sell these new processes and procedures to our members and to the venues we want to show in.  

So I come to you with a request.  Please use [email protected] to send in your ideas and suggestions. How should we conduct our shows and lessons more safely? How should we run our shows in ways that can reduce the spread of this virus if it still lingers amongst us? We need your ideas.

The JLC will be forming a task force to pull all of this together and use this to help us create a safer environment going forward and avoid a return of this scourge. Please share your ideas and suggestions so we can forward them to this task force.  We need your input. We must get this right. We need to return to a normal that is safe for all of us.  Thank you in advance for your input. We will be back. We must come back properly and safely. We need to define that now.

Marty Schaffel, ASHA President