2023 ANNUAL EDUCATIONAL CONFERENCE STATUS UPDATE

Thank you for your patience on this update as we just confirmed all power outages have been restored in and around downtown and residential Monterey.

We have also confirmed both major routes to the Portola Hotel via highway 101 are open without any flooding or delays.

With all the work put into rescheduling this conference and ensuring the highest standard of safety for all attendee, we are thrilled to announce our 2023 CTS Annual Education Conference is on as scheduled (with some nice weather in store in case we've forgotten what that looks like)!

Since we are behind on email communications while we have been waiting for the 'green light' from Monterey Country (that we just received), we would like to take this time to remind everyone about our first big event tomorrow evening, Thursday from 7-8:30pm.

Please come join us (significant others welcome) at our Thursday Night Meet & Greet Reception in the Portola Hotel's newly renovated 'Club Room' from 7-8:30pm.

This Non-CME event has been very thoughtfully planned with our sponsor Sanofi Regeneron to bring an outstanding speaker and topic to kick off our conference events. In addition to some of the finest local food and beverages available, we are certain you will learn from and enjoy Dr. Jamie Rutland's presentation 'Who's in Your Waiting Room?'.

Let us know if you have any question and we look forward to seeing you very soon.

We are keeping a close eye on the flooding concerns in Monterey. Per our local weather authorities, the City of Monterey, the San Jose and San Francisco airports and the Portola Hotel, we are happy to announce that our CTS Conference is still on as scheduled. Although there is some flooding north of Monterey, no major highways have been affected that allow access to the Portola Hotel. The current forecast indicates no rain after Tuesday with warm, dry conditions through the entire conference.

However, we cannot predict the outcome of tonight’s incoming storm so we will have to patiently wait until this storms passes to know if it will cause any travel issues.

**At this time, if you are able to delay your departure to the Portola Hotel until Thursday, please do so. We will continue to stay in touch with local authorities in Monterey and continue to monitor and send updates every day this week, especially Wednesday morning.**

We are looking forward to an amazing weekend of learning, networking, and enjoying delicious food and drink together at the Portola Hotel & Spa.

If anything changes, we will alert you as soon as possible, so please keep an eye on our website (https://calthoracic.org/2023-annual-educational-conference-status-update/) first and foremost in case our emails don’t reach you.

First and foremost, thank you for your patience and trust in our leadership while we worked through hundreds of details yesterday to ensure we were making the right decision for our attendees, speakers, exhibitors and volunteer staff. We made a very tough call during what felt like a no win situation, other than knowing the decision we made would ensure everyone's safety.

We are pleased to inform you that CTS has rescheduled our Annual Education Conference for March 16-19, 2023 at the Portola Hotel to replace the January 12-15 conference that was cancelled yesterday.

Important news and details:

• If you booked your room via our room block, you should have received an automatically cancelled reservation.
• If you arrived and checked-in early yesterday (Thurs) and decided to leave, you should have received a full refund. Please contact office@calthoracic.org if you had any issues with the Portola Hotel providing a refund.
• We’ve done everything we can to ensure a seamless transition to attend our rescheduled conference on March 16-19. If you plan to attend, there is nothing more you need to do for your conference ticket, unless you need to change your ticket type from 2-day to 1-day or vice versa. And if you plan to stay at the Portola Hotel, please make new room reservations - information to follow.
• If you are available to join us, we will provide an updated reduced rate room block link early next week.
• If you are certain you cannot attend our March 2023 Conference, your ticket will be immediately credited toward March 2024 Annual Conference.
• If you prefer to receive a refund, we will send another email shortly with all instructions on how do so.

After careful consideration and numerous conversations with local authorities, we have decided to postpone and reschedule the annual CTS conference.

Our priority is to keep our attendees, members and faculty safe. We have been in touch with the hotel, Monterey County and the sheriff's office to obtain up-to-the-minute updates.  We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience and last-minute communications. The situation with the weather in Northern California has truly been unprecedented. Our decision to cancel the conference also took into consideration the importance of our attendees being able to return home safely, and to their incredibly important work in healthcare next week in the setting of ongoing rain this coming weekend.

More information will be forthcoming next week regarding the rescheduled conference date (tentatively planned for mid-March).

The Portola Hotel will cancel your reservations if you booked via our room block and have not yet arrived. If you have checked-in already, they will refund your stay if you choose to depart immediately. Call the hotel at (866) 711-1734. We sincerely thank you for your understanding and support.

We are still waiting on the latest update from the County of Monterey and Sheriff's office. Although there are reports that the river is slowing, there is a chance we will not get an official update until close to 2pm PST.

At this time, if you are able to delay your departure to the Portola Hotel please do so. We will continue to stay in touch with local authorities in Monterey and continue to monitor and send updates every hour or two until then.

Per our local weather authorities, the City of Monterey, the San Jose and San Francisco airports and the Portola Hotel, we are happy to announce that our CTS Conference is still on!

Although the SF Bay Area has received significant rainfall the past 10 days and there will be some more rain tomorrow, Monterey has not received nearly as much rainfall as nearby communities such as Santa Cruz and Watsonville. There has not been any flooding or road closures anywhere near the Hotel. There has not been any power outages and there has always been at least two alternate driving routes to the Hotel during the temporary Highway Closure (Highway 101) in Gilroy on Monday evening and this morning.

Most importantly, the weather forecast for Thursday is all clear in the Bay Area so there should be no issue with traveling on this day. We are looking forward to an amazing weekend of learning, networking, and enjoying yummy food and drink together at the Portola Hotel & Spa.

If anything changes, we will alert you as soon as possible, so please keep an eye on all emails from CTS the next few days.