As we wrap up the highly successful IES2024: The Lighting Conference in New York City and approach 2025 and the 119th year of the Society, I cannot help but look back on the past few years, which have been quite challenging. One of my favorite quotes summarizes how I believe the Board, Executive Director Colleen Harper and the staff have handled the challenges; “Change is never easy, but always possible.”
Some of the challenges that we successfully navigated include the termination of our costly office space lease, the transfer of LD+A to Sage Publications, a new LightFair partnership and bi-annual cadence as well as cutting expenses overall.
“I am glad to report that the Society is heading in the right direction on all fronts”
Additionally, I am glad to report that the Society is heading in the right direction on all fronts—attendance numbers are trending up for all IES events, our finances have stabilized and the variety of important changes we have made are showing positive results. Also, the membership recently approved the following changes to our Bylaws:
Revised Election Timeline: With the change to our fiscal year, we have updated the timeline related to the nomination and election processes.
Membership Classifications: Added “Emerging Professional” as an official membership category. (More changes to classifications are possible as we continue to make updates to this important issue.)
Business Review: The requirement to conduct a business review was removed from the Bylaws and added to the Society’s Policies and Procedures, as is typical for a nonprofit organization.
Board Composition: The number of Directors constituting the Board shall be not less than 14, with the adjustment of no fewer than three At-Large Directors. (This will allow us more flexibility to grow the Board as we grow globally.)
As an IES Member that came up through Section, District and Region leadership, I must give applause and credit where it is due. Without these leaders we would not be where we are today—thank you sincerely for all the hard work and time you put into our Society by adhering to our mission statement and our vision statement that says “the IES will build upon a century of excellence to create the premier lighting community dedicated to promoting the art and science of quality lighting to its members, allied professional organizations and the public.”
These beliefs were very apparent to me when I recently attended the annual IES Mexico City Seminario, the annual IES Detroit Product Show and the annual IES Maritime Conference. I highly recommend attending all these events, each of them is extremely valuable in their own way. These are only a fraction of the amazing events held by IES Sections across the globe. We should all express our gratitude to the hundreds of volunteers that put on these events for our benefit.
I also personally wish to thank the current Board Members whose terms will be ending at the end of 2024: Frank Agraz; Michael Myer; Ira Rothman, Jr.; and Kelly Seeger. Their service to the Society has been exemplary, and as I have been witnessing their individual passion for the IES, I have no doubt that they will continue to serve in other ways in the future.
Lastly, I want to welcome the following individuals to the Board of Directors for a 2025-2026 term, which will start on January 1, 2025: Vice President/President-Elect Jared Smith; Treasurer Jeremy Maxie; At-Large Directors Carla Bukalski, Amardeep Dugar (Second Term) and Cristian Suvagau; South Regional Director Becky Stuart (Second Term) and West Regional Director Jim Levy.
In closing, it has been an honor to serve as the President of the Society.