LETTER FROM CHAPTER PRESIDENT

Hope you all are well and safely dealing with the situation with COVID-19. I am still working at my office downtown where we have gone to no public admittance without an appointment, a round of health questions and than you can come in. Needless to say we are not see seeing many people with the stay at home directive. I would say 99% of my work is computer driven and with most working at home I am the only one in my work area. I have even been given a letter from my employer to show to the local police & authorities that I am essential to the continued functionality of America and am allowed to be out loose on the streets if the need arises.

It is truly one of the most unique situations I have seen in my lifetime and I would venture to say the closest comparison for those over 30 years old would be September 9-11. These are both watershed moments in American history and will shape the way we live and work around the world for years. However amidst the negatives of the present there will be positive lessons learned and utilized in the future.

The way we do daily business may be changed and new methods accelerated. Companies are now finding that much of how we work does not need to be done after a commute to and from office buildings for many workers. Two weeks ago the word Zoom was a verb and now it has become part of the new normal for connecting workers and friends around the world. The plus of this over time could be less use of oil to transport people every morning as we do with one person per car as is common today. Less cars... less pollution and maybe more resources saved along with cleaner air and water. The future while challenging is unlimited for discovery for the next generations that follow. I envy what they will see and do but mostly I pray that they never forget the value of the outdoors whether they become anglers or not.

We as a chapter will continue to forge ahead and adapt to the continual shift of life which has been the way of the world since the beginning of time. Our chapter officers and board members have been communicating and making short term plans as we look forward. Trout Camp is still being scheduled for June even as the Park remains closed. We hope it will be reopened and safe in time with the caveat that like everything else in today's world all is subject to change.

You cannot stop living and planning a future as the issues and complications seem to rise daily. It is part of our human DNA to see a better time in the future and return to a daily life we knew. The biggest takeaway we may gain from this is the appreciation of the small things that make life worth living. A day with friends and family outdoors in the woods or on the water, not a bigger house or a new car but a better relationship with the world and those around us.

As always thanks to everyone who attends our Great Smoky Mountain TU meetings and events. We will resume activities just as soon as possible and we invite you to get involved and be a part of Tennessee's oldest continuously running Trout Unlimited chapter. Please bring family and friends and remember you never have to be a Trout Unlimited member to attend a GSM TU chapter activity. Just a love of the outdoors and fellowship of those who feel the same.

In closing please follow us on the GSM TU Facebook page and chapter website. the Great Smoky Mountain TU Facebook pages is the best way to stay up to date with current chapter information or changes.

GSM TU Facebook Link:

http://m.facebook.com/GreatSmokyMountainTU/

John Reinhardt

President

Email: john711111@yahoo.com