Page 23 - June 2020 Courier.pub

By: Debbie Ferris
Have you Zoomed Yet? Community Connections Committee

Unfortunately we seem to be in the age group that is most susceptible to this Covid-19 virus. So things may relax a bit, but it is likely
that we will be isolating and maintaining social distancing for quite awhile. Many of us are finding that we can connect with friends and
family through Zoom, a free app that is available on most computers and mobile devices.

Please be aware that we still have almost 100 residents that do not have email or a co-resident with email. Since we can not meet at the
Club for an indefinite period of time, email and Zoom will be our main ways of getting community information. The Club does not
abuse the use of your email. They do not sell it and they do protect your privacy. Shannon ensures we do not send out too many emails
by having the Special Interest Groups get their information to her for the Community Blast. So please, if you are in this group of almost
100 consider giving the office your email. Otherwise, contact a friend or neighbor resident about keeping you in the loop about signifi-
cant developments and announcements.

Shannon has purchased some Zoom subscriptions that allow us to have meetings longer than 40 minutes. The free version is very func-
tional, but only allows meetings of 40 minutes or less. Shannon has set up several fitness classes using these subscriptions and they have
more attendees than we had in the Wellness Room. If you would like to participate, contact Shannon for the link. We have also used the
subscriptions for classes to teach how to use Zoom and how to setup meetings using Zoom. We have had several Special Interest Groups
using Zoom including Book Club, Shutterbugs, Apple iClub, and the Digital World Club. And Shannon has more in store. So if you are
tired of sitting home with nothing to do, please get on Zoom and join us.

Zoom is also going to play a significant part in helping the Board keep in touch with us so we can be informed residents. This is
very important because we have an election coming up.

We are looking for additional ways to use Zoom to get our community reengaged with social and learning activities during this time. If
you have some ideas for using Zoom let Shannon know. We will try to help you make it work.

A couple of tips about using Zoom.
1. Zoom can shift its focus based on sounds. It is trying to give focus to the speaker. It really helps cut down on distractions, if you learn
where the mute icon is on your zoom app so you can quickly mute yourself and just as quickly unmute yourself so you can participate in
the meeting but don’t allow other noises in your room to distract others from the meeting.

2. With the free Zoom App, you can quickly schedule a meeting with yourself or someone in your household. It can take place at that
time, so you don’t need to schedule it in advance. Why would you want to do that? It is a great way to explore the icons and settings to
get familiar with the App without a real meeting going on. We are also scheduling a number of Zoom Practice Sessions over the next
few weeks. These are just to help you become familiar with the app and get answers to questions you may have.

Need assistance? Please feel free to contact any of these individuals and they will guide you to getting
on Zoom.

Dan Ketchum / DJketchum@gmail.com
Rick Koehler / Rickkoehler.45@gmail.com
Jim Lindauer / jcal767@gmail.com
Debbie Ferris / Debble.Ferris49@icloud.com

June 2020 Page 23