ASQ Section 0511 July 2022 Meeting Announcement

Shenandoah Caverns: Ranger Outing Event

Saturday July 16th, 2022 11:00am ET

Event Organized by

Carolyn Miller
ASQ Section 0511 Arrangements Chair and Ranger Outings Lead

Short Narrative/Description:

The July 2022 ASQ Section Meeting is a Ranger Outing Event (as was announced at previous ASQ Section Meetings).

• Participating in it will require driving to the location and spending time there comparable in duration to regular ASQ meetings plus meal time if you stay for the meal and additional activities after the meal if you stay for those.
• There will be no video streaming from this event, so you would have to come in person to participate.
• This is an educational event, so it carries an award of 0.5 RU as any other ASQ Section Meeting.
• You (and your guest if any) must register and pay here: https://events.eply.com/202207_Caverns3367471
  o Note: If you have not successfully paid, your registration is invalid.

The event is based on the tours and facilities offered by the Shenandoah Caverns, which offers guided tours since 1922 and celebrates its 100 years in 2022.

• The Shenandoah Caverns' web site is here: https://shenandoahcaverns.com
• The location is 261 Caverns Road, Quicksburg, VA, 22847, which is 1 mile from Exit 269 on I-81.
• The caverns were discovered in 1884 when local farmer Abraham Neff agreed to let the railway quarry limestone from his property located alongside the Southern Railway line being built at that time.
• Businessman Hunter Chapman purchased the property from the Neff family, including the caverns, and the caverns opened for tours in May 1922, two years after construction on the passageways began.
• In 1930, Chapman installed an elevator, a 60-foot-deep hand-dug shaft, finished in 1931, and to date, it is still the only Virginia cavern with an elevator.
• In 1950s, Chapman sold Shenandoah Caverns to H.B. Long, and in 1966, ownership transferred to Earl C. Hargrove, Jr. who owned a company that designed parade floats for every Presidential inaugural beginning with Truman's in 1949.
• In 1996, Hargrove renovated the second floor of the Caverns Lodge and built Main Street of Yesteryear to showcase various parade float props and antique window displays he had collected.
• In 2000, the American Celebration on Parade museum was added, and in 2007, the Yellow Barn was opened as an events facility and agricultural display.
• Though Mr. Hargrove passed away in 2015, his legacy lives on through the new owner, his daughter Kathy.

Program
The ASQ Section Event will consist of the following:

• Participating in the Shenandoah Caverns Tour
• Optionally, attending the ASQ meal on the Shenandoah Caverns' premises
• Optionally, staying for additional post-meal activities

The Shenandoah Caverns Tour, Meal, and Additional-Activity Schedule:

• 11:00 a.m. — 11:20 a.m. — Arrival, registration, and ticketing in or near the lobby.
  • Meet Carolyn or her delegate or ask for reservation by Carolyn Miller and ASQ.
• 11:30 a.m. — Tour of the Shenandoah Caverns, personally led by knowledgeable Guide who will highlight the features of the Shenandoah Caverns and answer questions.
  • The tour will start on time and will NOT wait for late arrivals.
  • Participation in Guided Tour required for .5 RU.
  • Geology of cave science, cave history, its early use.
  • Viewing the geological formations such as stalactites, stalagmites, columns, and flowstones.
  • 17 rooms and passageways 200 feet below ground, accessible via stairs or elevator.
  • Total tour walk — one (1) mile in a year-round 56-degree temperature.
  • Bring a light jacket and comfortable walking shoes.
• 12:45 p.m. — ASQ Section 0511 Meal.
• 1:30 p.m. — Optional activities after the meal include:
  • Self-guided parade float museum (free for Guided Tour participants)
  • Gemstone mining sluice (at attendee's expense, with bags of rough/dirt priced from $9 to $40)
  • Post Office (possibly the smallest working post office in America)
  • Gift Shop (selling items such as clothing, geodes, jewelry, and other memorabilia)

  Reservations:

  There is no charge to attend. To register, please use our on line reservation form which can be used up to the day of the meeting. If your plans change, please contact dba22@asq0511.org, and let us know.

  Registration Link https://events.eply.com/202207_Caverns3367471 Webinar Link / Meeting Instructions Registration Closes on July 7, 2022 at 4:30 pm!
  
  ASQ has removed its former restrictions on in-person events except for the expectation that participants will follow local guidance.
  • The site's local guidance can be seen here: https://shenandoahcaverns.com/plan-your-visit-faqs/ - notably, neither masks nor vaccinations are required.
  • ASQ does not require signing waivers, either.
  • Thus, by participating, you have agreed that this is acceptable to you.
  Additional Information The ASQ Section 0511 Meal:
  • ASQ Section 0511 will arrange a FREE meal from the Shenandoah Caverns eatery.
  • If you are not interested in the FREE meal, your options are:
    • Purchase your own meal and participate in the networking lunch
    • Participate in the lunch networking without eating, or
    • Leave without attending the lunch (no to-go option).
  • Note: The ASQ lunch is for the purposes of networking.  This is why no to-go option shall be provided.
  Carpooling:
  • The registration form allows you to indicate your interest in carpooling, including your interest in receiving a ride, providing a ride, or both (in which case you will be asked to receive or provide a ride depending on other registrants' preferences).
  • You will also be asked whether you are interested in staying for post-meal activities.
    • This is so that your interest in those activities is matched with the interest of those with whom you carpool.
    • If you answer Undecided, that means that you will follow the post-meal preferences of those with whom you carpool (or, perhaps, you will share the ride with others who are Undecided).
    • After the registration closes, the Section will match you with your ride share and will notify you and your ride share.  After that, it is up to you to coordinate with your ride share.
  • Consider compensating your driver in cash – see suggestions on the Registration Form.
  • Note: Since ASQ has dropped all restrictions on in-person meetings, you cannot expect or demand your ride share to wear or not to wear a mask or perform any other precautions.  If you agree to a ride share at the time of registration, then that means that this is acceptable to you.
  Notes on the Program:
  • Carolyn Miller (Ranger Outings Lead) or her designated volunteers will meet you in or near the lobby at 11:00 a.m. – 11:20 a.m. and will assist you with your registration and ticketing.
  • Please arrive to the registration site in advance, preferably at 11:00 a.m.  We need to complete all registrations and ticketing by 11:20 a.m. and proceed to the tour at 11:30 p.m.  Please be mindful of the fact that you are not the only person arriving.
  • You can roughly count that one leg of a ride from Fairfax County lasts 1 hr 30 min.  However, modify this by the following factors:
    • Your starting location (may shorten or lengthen the time).
    • Whether you share a ride (will lengthen the time).
    • Traffic conditions (probably, very favorable on Saturday morning, but check anyway).
  • Overall, the premises are open 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
  Registration and Reimbursable Payment
  This event requires registration and reimbursable payment for you to participate:
  • You need to register every person who will attend, be it you or your guest.
    • This is because the Section will purchase the tickets and order meals upon closure of the registration period.
    • If you bring a guest (who is expected to be paid and given a ride by you), please register such a guest on the same form as your own registration.
    • If you do not register a guest but later decide that you want to bring a guest after all, then have your guest register separately – just indicate that you are not interested in carpooling (as you will drive).
    • This registration does not impose a count limit, but it will close on Thursday July 7, 2022 @ 4:30 PM.
  • Registration must be accompanied by payment that will be reimbursed if you come to participate:
    • You need to pay $25 online for registering each person, be it you or your guest.
    • Any ASQ Section 0511 Member in PAID status WHO SHOWS UP for this Ranger Outing will be REIMBURSED the $20 after the event to the same card used during the online registration.
    • Any other registered person WHO SHOWS UP but is NOT in PAID ASQ Section 0511 status will be REIMBURSED $10.
    • Anyone who participates in the Networking Lunch (with or without a meal) will be additionally REIMBURSED $5.
  • You (and your guest if any) must register and pay here: https://events.eply.com/202207_Caverns3367471
    • Note: If you have not successfully paid, your registration is invalid.
  Anyone NOT registered WHO SHOWS UP for this ASQ event (for example, as a guest of someone who has registered) will be accommodated only if there are vacancies.
  • No guarantees of such accommodation should be expected; thus, it is important that you register both yourself and your guest.
  • Overall, you can buy such a tour from Shenandoah Caverns for $31 ($28 for seniors) (without meal), but you should not expect that a spot will be available for you at the time of the ASQ tour.
  Event Leader Background:
  Carolyn Miller is a Senior Analyst in charge of Exam Compliance, Internal Audits, and Risk Management at Association of International Certified Professional Accountants (AICPA) and Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA).  She is also an ASQ Certified Quality Auditor (CQA).
  
  Her experience includes the fields of compliance, quality assurance, R&D, regulatory, marketing, and sales.  In her work, she applies operating principles within a lean, six sigma driven organization and uses her knowledge and background of risk management and due diligence.  She is a published author of a revenue-generating QA policy manual for community pharmacies.
  
  Carolyn has been the ASQ Section 0511 Arrangements Chair since 2015.  She has also assumed the responsibilities of the Ranger Outings Lead since our September 2021 Ranger Outing at Mount Vernon.  If you have been to the Section's restaurant events during these years or have come to our Ranger Outings, you have used the results of her generous volunteer service!

  Next Meeting:

  Wednesday, 13 August 2022 — TBD

  Call for Speakers!!!

  Would you or someone you know like to speak at a future ASQ meeting? We're always looking for volunteers. Be creative! Exercise your public presentation skills! Earn recertification credits! Get a free dinner! Please contact programs22@asq0511.org.

  About Us:

  ASQ Section 0511 is a geographic community that lives intertwined with the network of ASQ Divisions — technical communities specializing in specific quality domains and supporting ASQ Certifications in their domains.