Let's Build It! 2021 WATVA Annual Meeting & Convention April 16th, 17th & 18th 2021

COVID-19 (Coronavirus) Information & Update

On March 18th, 2020 the WATVA Board of Directors called a special meeting to discuss the latest news regarding the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) and the impact it might have on our upcoming 2021 Let's Build It! workshops and annual meeting in Stevens Point. We are taking this matter very seriously, as we want to ensure the safety of our membership and the general public.

After our discussions and reviewing CDC (https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html) information and the Wisconsin Department of Health Services safety protocols (https://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/disease/coronavirus.htm), we have determined our workshops will fall outside the suggested guidelines, thus our board has decided to postpone with planning our convention on April 3rd, 4th & 5th. 

Hotel reservations are now open for the rescheduled date. Click here to book online.

Update - 9/25/2020 

Hello WATVA members, family & friends:

It goes without saying, we're all pretty tired of events being cancelled or postponed because of the pandemic but reality hits the WATVA planning once again. As you may be aware, our annual Spring workshops, originally scheduled earlier this year for April 3 through the 5th, were postponed once the COVID-19 wrecking ball began to take hold and we began to understand what we were dealing with.

As our board of directors wrestled with what steps to take regarding the April 2020 annual meeting, whether to hold it, cancel it or postpone it, we made our best judgement call back then, given the information we knew at the time. For those who may not be aware, an important detail in our decision making which ultimately was to "postpone it" until December of 2020, was made in part because of the financial contract WATVA was required to sign, which holds the conference center rooms for us so they don't rent that space to others. Within that same contract is wording that clarifies if we (WATVA), cancel the event, we then owe the conference center a significant dollar amount as their ability to rent it to others for those dates are lost.

We've been signing conference contracts similar to that one for years, never giving it a second thought because we've always held the conference once we committed to the dates. Obviously we've never had to deal with or even consider a worldwide pandemic before, this was new to everyone. The conference center was very flexible and accommodating, they also had never dealt with these circumstances either. However, if we had just decided to cancel the event back then, we would have been obligated, by the signed contract, to pay a substantial monetary penalty, based on the information we had going back in time to March of this year.

As you might imagine, the conference center was already booked months in advance through the summer and fall seasons, before the pandemic was ever known or declared. With the information we had available back in March, we selected the December dates based on them being available. This decision to postpone until December satisfied the conference center contractual and monetary obligations. Had we just cancelled, WATVA would have been obligated to pay per the standard conference contract language. Our thinking back then was, depending how things play out as the world was navigating this new COVID-19 situation, we knew we could postpone again if the conditions didn't improve by December. It goes without saying, there is substantial planning and coordinating that has to take place when asking guest presenters to prepare the educational workshops we pride ourselves on providing to our members. Indeed many people end up shuffling schedules around to make the workshop session results a worthwhile experience for all.

At the time of this memo in mid-September, no one knows when, if or how, the vaccine or widely accepted treatments for COVID are going to be achieved or implemented to the population. When that finally takes place, it should then give us some stability for planning things in the near future for events such as ours.

One of our biggest challenges during this time of pandemic is being able to get solid commitments from our presenters for our educational workshops. Many of our presenters are government employees <federal, state and local>, with many still working at a remote site, required by their employer policies. This fact alone, makes it almost impossible for us to plan and coordinate our various workshops in a meaningful way.

For these reasons, we have again postponed the annual workshops, meeting and awards banquet forward to Friday afternoon, April 16th for the reception. All day Saturday, April 17th, 2021 for the workshops with the evening awards banquet. As always, a brainstorming and input session on Sunday morning, April 18th, to conclude the event.

The Holiday Inn and Conference Center in Stevens Point has confirmed with us they will again handle cancelling the overnight room reservations for those that have already called in under the WATVA room block discount rates. That was the process used last time when we postponed back in April of this year.

If you wish to double check yourself to be sure the hotel cancels your room reservations, that number for the Holiday Inn in Stevens Point is (715) 344-0200. If you then wish to rebook your rooms for the April 16 & 17, 2021 dates, hopefully they'll have this updated information in their system soon. Anyone who has already paid for their meals, WATVA will continue holding that credit on file.

We understand there are differing opinions on all the various postponements and cancellations due to the COVID pandemic. However, this decision is considering many different factors that impact the organization's ability to put on quality workshops for our members. Hang in there one and all, we'll get this accomplished as soon as possible.

WATVA Leadership Team

Let's Build It! Sponsors 

The Wisconsin ATV / UTV Association would like to thank this years dealership sponsors! If you're looking for a home dealership, you'll definitely want to check out one of the following dealerships.

Friday, April 16th - Reception 

Let's Network! Our Friday evening reception includes a cash bar and time to network with other club leaders, agency partners and learn about other our friends in the 4-wheel drive community.

Saturday, April 17th - Workshops (All Workshops Subject to Change)

• Let's Plan It! - A workshop for planning your project. From permits to engineering costs, this workshop discusses various tools you'll need to plan a successful project.
• Let's Fund It! - Funding is a major part of building any project. Learn about the current funding status and how to utilize DNR resources for funding your project.
  
• Let's Build It! - Building a trail is more complex than one might think. Check out the factors that go into building a trail.
  
• Let's Sign It! - Keeping your riders on the right path will help keep folks safe as well as promote a positive image for your area. Learn about signing requirements and hear from sign vendors about their products.
  
• Let's Promote It! - Working with the Department of Tourism and local tourism organizations can bring out of area riders to your trail. Learn about the tools and techniques available to clubs and land managers to promote their riding area.
  
• Let's Enforce It! - Enforcement and education will help keep a trail open. Learn about how your club can work with various law enforcement agencies as well as adapt the Trail Ambassador program to assist with community policing and positive education.
  
• Let's Share It! - Joint ATV / Snowmobile clubs are growing around Wisconsin. Learn and hear about clubs that have taken the shared use approach and discuss how your club has or is planning to join together to represent both ATV and Snowmobile recreation.
  

• Trail Communications - Can you hear me now? This workshop looks at various two-way communication tools you can utilize including CB Radio, FMS / GMRS, HAM Radio and other long range tools.
• Road Routes - A town hall style workshop where clubs can collaborate on various road route issues.
• Club Marketing - What tools are available for your club to promote events, membership and the positive things going on in your community? Hear from experienced club leaders about how they utilize various marketing tools to promote their sport.

Sunday, April 18th - Review

It's time to wrap up the weekends activity with a town-hall style review. During this meeting we will discuss what we liked, didn't like and plans for the remainder of the year / next years annual meeting. This session is open to the public as we love to hear feedback on how you enjoyed (or didn't) the annual convention. 

Hotel Information