Attn: FPC Members & Sponsors
From: Stu Jones, FPC President
Never before have any of us witnessed a global crisis on the scale that we now see with the Coronavirus outbreak. While many of us agree there is far too much media hype associated with this disease, we must still remain on guard and fully aware of the potential for a further-escalated level of crisis.
Government mandates in the form of President Trump’s latest social distancing guidelines, along with the executive order by Florida Governor DeSantis, which closed restaurants and nightclubs, and now some hotels in Florida, have clearly put a road-block on our ability to stage fun, safe poker run events in the coming months. Some may speculate that the 30-day restaurant & nightclub restriction would be terminated in time to conduct the April 16th Tampa Poker Run, but that is far from the reality and magnitude of the situation. The number of coronavirus cases and fatalities continues to escalate in Florida, and we are deep into this crisis.
Poker runs by design, are social events where we enjoy the camaraderie of our fellow members of this great organization we have all supported for so many years. We are all about handshakes and hugs, dining and drinking together, sharing stories and enjoying the fond memories of our powerboating lifestyles. If you take that all away, by following the critical guidelines outlined for social distancing, you take away the magic that makes poker runs enjoyable for all of us.
Furthermore, as much of our nation is under quarantine and lock-down due to government restrictions and health guidelines issued by the CDC and World Health Organization, I can’t imagine (any) social organization carrying on with its event activities, without public scrutiny and tremendous backlash, when the message from our World leaders is loud and clear… STAY HOME, LIMIT CONTACT, AND FOCUS ON THE HEALTH AND WELFARE OF YOUR FAMILY.
Enough said. We at Florida Powerboat Club, including the management, the members and our sponsors, need to be focused on the solution to this global problem, and not CONTRIBUTE to it, because this is one enormous problem that is bigger than all of us combined.
With that in mind, and for the first time our club’s 28 year history, we will be postponing all poker run events that are within the next 60-day period, and possibly through May, until we get a handle on where this global pandemic is headed. When we have a better idea that things are looking up, that cures are working, and the medical community along with our elected officials in the government give us a Green Light, then we will load up the boats, and head for the next Florida Powerboat Club poker run!
Meanwhile, we will keep the FPC headquarters operational, while maintaining social distancing guidelines and working from home computers. With our small staff of creative professionals, we have begun distributing a tremendous amount of exciting video content, with more than 25 episodes of poker run coverage on our YouTube Channel, and a new issue of Powerboating in Paradise, packed with exciting editorial coverage of our recent poker run events.
Click to view FPC Poker Run Calendar
Thank you for your continued support of Florida Powerboat Club.
Please be safe during these challenging times.