COVID-19 Update from Mark Groves and Liz Terry

To all NCBA Members,

Above all, we want to stress that the well-being of our members, your families, and your businesses are our primary concern.

In less than a week, so much has changed: schools, courts, and many governments have closed. Our borders are closed with our neighboring countries and many of you have had to make really tough decisions.

We are here for you and we are working hard to help you through this adverse time. Below we have outlined some of the different approaches we are taking to help our membership.

Industry trade coordination and the Hill:

Perhaps most importantly, we are working behind the scenes on behalf of our industry. We have taken the lead to pull our sister trades together to help coordinate a strategy and work to protect our industry through advocacy on the Hill.

There are a ton of stimulus packages and bills getting passed around right now. Some parts of these proposals could be harmful, other parts may be very helpful. Everything from halting all collections to tax credits to support payrolls for small businesses have been floated. We are coordinating our efforts to make sure we know what is going on and to make sure our industry’s voice is heard. This is not the time to wait and see, it is a time to be proactive on behalf of the industry.

In the days to come we will be working with our client community on a spectrum of requests to enhance revenue and reduce expenses. Our Past-Presidents, Executive Committee, and Board of Directors will gather specific and immediate requests to make sure that all of our respective operations are relieved of strict and unduly burdensome work standards and that our financial health and wellness are addressed.

Resources:

Yesterday we hosted a live NCBA Briefing Call on some of the decisions and thought processes around Disaster Recovery Plans and Business Continuity. Almost 100 people listened in on the call. I encourage you to listen to the recording if you were not on the call. A link to the recording will be sent to our members when the recording becomes available. Thank you to Scott Morris and our guest speaker Jared D. Correia, Esq. with Red Cave Law Firm Consulting for putting together a great briefing call.

On the home front:

NCBA will continue to monitor developments to determine whether further measures, including conference and event cancellations, are warranted. Right now we want to make sure that we offer you the support and resources you need and that you know we are out on the front lines speaking on behalf of you, our members, and your businesses.

Please do not hesitate to reach out to either of us.

Much obliged,