It is that time of year when we all look back and undergo an introspective process of what we have accomplished.  This past year, we have reaffirmed our commitment to bring the Members of the IIDA Oregon Chapter increased value for your membership. Your 2014-2015 IIDA Oregon Chapter Board has been hard at work implementing programs and initiatives that make this commitment tangible. This year has flown by… and in case you have missed them, we have outlined some of our notable achievements from 2014 below:

•  We added Board positions. In the Spring of 2014, we re-evaluated our Board positions and position descriptions to provide more equity amongst position responsibilities and we have added positions where needed to ensure that we are organized to carry out member focused initiatives.  One of the major results of this, was the creation of a Student Affairs team. This team is focused on creating strong connections with our five academic design programs, providing valuable student-centric programming and assisting students in transitioning into professional careers.
• We filled all Board positions.  Filling board positions allows for the work that we are doing to be equally distributed amongst efforts.  This allows for Board Members to be fully engaged in their role, delivering more value to you.
• The Board now operates out of …‘the cloud’. While this may sound dry, it is very important and exciting!  By switching to a cloud based operation, we have greater access to historical information and tools that aid our function, allowing us to maximize our time and focus on delivering programming and initiatives, which are most important to you. Additionally, this has improved the way in which we share information with one another and with other Chapters, capitalizing on the dense network of international IIDA members.
• We have an improved website interface and social media presence. Through Membership Surveys, we learned that a majority of our members are relying on digital interfaces and social media to receive and respond to information.  The new website interface is geared towards getting you information about the Chapter faster by putting the most sought after information right on the homepage. This interface includes a Member Spotlight (featuring one of our wonderful Members each month) and a blog, which features real-time news about Chapter activities and Advocacy efforts. Since the launch of the new website, the average daily number of page visits has increased by 410%, and the number of New Users to the website has increased by 759%!
  Additionally, we have increased the frequency and regularity in which we post information about our events, news and organization on our social media outlets.  Not only does this provide you with more information about the Chapter and Chapter activities, it creates awareness of our organization and the value of Professional Interior Design services amongst the general public.  These efforts have resulted in a 33% increase in ‘Likes’ and number of people reached by our Facebook page since July 1st.
• We are notifying you about events sooner. Through the Membership Survey, we also learned that a majority of our members start planning to attend events a month ahead of time.  In response, we are now beginning to notify you about events a month before and weekly up until they occur, through weekly email and social media updates. This, in addition to programming efforts, has resulted in a 23% increase in event attendance in 2014!
• We have revamped our sponsorship benefits. In response to the results of our Annual Sponsorship Survey, we have developed new benefits that seek to provide better value to our sponsors.  Some of the new benefits include free memberships, a chance to present an award at the Design Excellence Awards, tickets to events and product display opportunities.  We have also developed a specific set of Annual Sponsorship benefits for firm sponsors that relate more closely to firm interests.  Additionally, firms that host Chapter Presidents will now be receiving a Sterling Level sponsorship for the year in which their term is active, in recognition of their dedication of time and resources to the organization.
• We held an NCIDQ Mock Practicum. In order to further assist Associate members in preparing for and passing the NCIDQ exam, we held the first ever ‘Mock Practicum’.  This session emulated real testing conditions, was held in in the room at the Art Institute of Portland where the test is administered and was moderated by NCIDQ Certificate holders. After each test session, test takers had an opportunity to compare solutions with one another and the moderators.
• We have begun planning for Oregon Chapter participation in a Regional Student Charette. The idea for the charette competitions was discussed at the first annual leaders retreat of the four West Coast IIDA Chapters in the fall of 2010, as a way to showcase the up and coming interior design talent across the Western region. The IIDA Southern California Chapter was the first Chapter to host a local student charette in 2012 and has held one each year since.  The IIDA Oregon Chapter followed with their local event in 2014.  Between November 2014 and February 2015, all four West Coast IIDA Chapters will host a local event and send the winning teams on to Los Angeles for the regional competition. At each level of competition, teams will be comprised of students from different schools and grade levels, and of varying Chapters at the Regional level.  The winning team will be awarded a trip to Chicago to compete in the International IIDA Student Design Charette during NeoCon 2015!

Our Board Members bring a constant level of inspired dedication to the Chapter… and it shows! The efforts of each individual board member serving on the board now and in the past have built a strong Chapter that is well positioned to promote the value of professional, commercial interior design services and support our members through networking and continuing education opportunities. Thank you all for your time and commitment to our Chapter!

As we move into 2015, we are looking forward to serving the Chapter by continuing to build upon the strategies and initiatives of this Board year. Thank you for your support of our Chapter and we look forward to seeing you at our upcoming events!