Dear DARCA, I know you haven't heard much from me/us in the past few weeks. Part of this is intentional and some is unintentional. We had an exceptionally good time at the DARCA Annual Conference at the beginning of March- right before the dreaded virus truly swept over Colorado. We were lucky to be able to gather and to learn from each other. Gather...that is something we have not had the opportunity to do much of. If you missed our conference and want to feel like you were there, we will have a video version uploaded on our website in the coming weeks!
Once the virus hit our state and took over the nation, I received emails and phone calls from every company I had ever clicked on, done business with, or merely thought of and I didn't want DARCA to be a part of that email flood. I wanted to be sure that when we spoke, we spoke with intentionality and substance. On a personal note, I have little girls that we have had the opportunity to enjoy even more as they have been home. I'm not sure how many of you are parents, but working with kiddos brings its challenges. I am happy that I can work for such a great organization that values family and has allowed me the time to be with my family.
While I and the Board have navigated the new terrain that is our new way of life, we have kept you, our members, at the forefront of our conversations. We know that you have been affected in a variety of ways. For many of you, you have found yourself in a similar situation as myself working from home with distractions running around. For others, you have been virtually untouched. I have appreciated how resilient our water community is and how many have banded together to support small businesses and each other through all of this. DARCA is in the business of supporting you and would appreciate your feedback on how to best do so. I have received many questions about insurance, ditch crossings, and other things and I am so grateful for you reaching out to DARCA.
In an effort to keep you posted on new things, we have decided to hold webinars that you may join to learn about the specific topic, ask questions, talk to myself and the board, etc. These will be held in the evenings- though running water typically doesn't follow a meeting schedule so these will be recorded and placed on the website for viewing later. You can listen while changing water, running a tractor, feeding kids, etc. That is the beauty of technology these days. If you'd like to see other topics or have feedback regarding these, please don't hesitate to let me know. Here is a general schedule with topics. If you'd like to see something different, please let me know by the end of May so that we can accommodate changes. Ideally, we'd start these the first week of June and have a webinar every two to three weeks, lasting roughly an hour each beginning at about 7:30 MST.
Webinar 1- Amber and a few board members give updates, do an update with our water situation with snow pack and drought, mos of the time we will take questions and concerns.
Webinar 2-legislative update from Chane Polo and specific bills as necessary.
Webinar 3- focus on economics and markets and how this will impact ag and other sectors moving forward.
Webinar 4- feature a variety of organizations for an update from some of our funding organizations and those who are “boots on the ground”
Webinar 5- organizational accounting (how will COVID affect dues and assessments) and insurance concerns
DARCA is here to support you. Please contact me with how we can do that.
We hope you are well and know you are resilient,
Amber Weber
DARCA Executive Director
