Dear SSAR Members,
The JMIH 2020 has been cancelled. All registrations will be refunded at 100%. Refunds can be requested using the refund request form posted on the meeting website. Alternatively, you may donate your registration funds to offset the costs of cancellation.
This has been a difficult decision, involving both public health and financial considerations. Ultimately, the four Presidents of the JMIH societies (Susan Walls, HL; Dave Ebert, AES; Chris Beachy ASIH; and myself, SSAR), in consultation with our respective Boards/Executive Committees, unanimously decided that the right thing to do for the sake of public health was to cancel at the present time.
Some may wonder why we did not cancel several weeks ago. Cancellation of the 2020 JMIH was going to cost approximately $240,000 to $300,000, due to contracts with the hotels and vendors. We believed that if we could lower this extraordinary expense, negotiation between our meeting planning group Burk and Associates and our conference partners in Norfolk was worthwhile. We have ultimately agreed to a “cancellation with postponement” and will hold the JMIH 2023 in Norfolk. As a consequence, our financial penalty has been greatly reduced.
I know it is a great disappointment to all who intended to present their research and interact with colleagues during the 2020 JMIH in Norfolk this summer, but we feel that cancellation was the responsible decision–both to our members and to public health overall. The 2021 JMIH will be in Phoenix in July, but SSAR will have its stand-alone meeting in Ann Arbor, 5-9 August 2021. I hope to see you all in Ann Arbor. I wish you all safety and good health.
Best wishes,
Marty Crump
President, SSAR