January 2011
A letter to the members of the Wisconsin chapter of ASID
Bill Beaudreau, ASID
by Bill Beaudreau, ASID
2010/2011 ASID-Wisconsin Chapter President
It is with great delight and humbleness that I say welcome. Welcome to our rich foundation of knowledge, creative energy, relationships, and passion for interior design. Welcome to new opportunities that are derived from a recognized and very visible set of economic challenges. Most of all, I personally want to simply welcome you to a new ASID year.
Our new year has given us a great gift. In preparing for this new start, we (myself and chapter strategists) were able to look back at our established and respected traditions and say with confidence, we will continue. Yet, at the same time, we simply could not ignore that changes have to be made and alternatives have to be explored. We need to look forward to best serve our members and their well-being. Our members hail from all over the state, whether they are students, educators, allied members, industry partners, NCIDQ certified professionals, or retired and lifetime members. These members are involved in many specialties within the interior design industry. Even more, we stay in touch in so many ways whether it is through email, telephone, LinkedIn, Connex (an online collaborative community) (www.asidconnex.org ), the ASID WI website (www.asidwi.org), the Society’s website (www.asid.org) or the old standby, the Post Office. Through this combination of collective wisdom, willingness to discover, people, and a big set of communication tools, we are able to connect and help you enrich your membership experience. I encourage you to join others at one of our program meetings or design café’s, celebrate our accomplishments at the annual Design Gala and the Annual Meeting, recognize the value Industry Partner members provide to us through their products and services, and support educators and students for the future of our profession. Since your membership requires 0.6 CEUs every two years, we offer learning opportunities through meetings and electronically list them in the sidebar listing in the weekly email blast. Our chapter provides these benefits to you and so much more.
A strategic plan is required to start each fiscal year (Oct 1 – Sept 30) and this time around we developed a plan that is reflective of our time and ripe with possibility. I’ve included a condensed version of the final strategic plan on the reverse for your review. Please take a look.
We will also be rolling out two new offerings to support our membership: ‘Emerging Professionals’ status (those who join and are in their first 5 years of membership) and a Sustainability Advocate (a new position to recognize and promote sustainability). Look for further announcements as these positions develop.
On behalf of the board of directors and myself, I look forward to your membership experience being positive and one that contributes to your well-being.
With warm regards,
Bill Beaudreau, ASID
The Wisconsin Chapter of ASID President
Wisconsin Chapter of ASID – Strategic Plan (condensed)
Non-Hierarchal Goals/Outcomes
- Support members who are unemployed or have greater need of chapter support.
- Creating awareness among target audiences about the value of interior design.
- Foster and promote Green and Sustainability Awareness.
- Nurture Future Chapter Leaders
Measureables
- Increase student rollover progressively to a 30% increase of graduating students over the next 3 year period.
- Increase the total number of volunteer chapter members by 50% in Year 1 of 3.
Strategic Objectives
- “Event Greeting Training Guide” – Create an “Event Greeting Training Guide” for member volunteers.
- ”Member Benefit of the Week” Communication – Include a “Member Benefit of the Week” informational article in the Chapter Email Blast.
- Outreach to Unemployed Members – Create an announcement that unemployed members are welcome to volunteer and engage with the ASID community without being required to pay fees.
- Chapter Sustainability Advocate – Create a “job description” for a Chapter Sustainability Advocate position that reflects the National model, and recruit a member to fill it.
- “Member Type-Specific” Chapter Communication – Formulate “member type-specific” communication methods to communicate the Chapter goals for the year.
- Student Chapter Outreach – Create and distribute “Graduation Packages” to graduating Student Chapter members and Emerging Professionals that includes a welcome letter and promotional invitation/item outlining the benefits of rollover membership to Allied/Professional member status.
- Student Chapter Resource – Implement “Networking Workshops” focused on Student Chapter members and schools wherein each student is introduced to at least two professional members by two other professional members.
- Member Employer Outreach – Create an ASID WI “marketing/awareness” program to communicate to employers of Chapter members as to ASID activities/events, etc., how their employees participate in the Chapter, and the tangible benefits of ASID membership/participation.
- “Green Best Practices Standard” – Create a “Green Best Practices Standard” for ASID WI Chapter Management that addresses organization methods and practices with input from Students, the Chapter Board, and Green Mentors.
- Cross-Generational Mentoring Opportunities – Foster inter-generational “buddy”/mentor systems between Students and long-standing Professional Members (beyond 15 – 20 years of membership) to exchange technology mentoring for experienced interior design mentoring.
- Emerging Professional Member Recognition – Identify and celebrate the “Top 5 Under 5″: Emerging Professionals with 1 – 5 years of professional experience who have demonstrated excellence in the chapter.
- Member Volunteer Incentives – Create a “Chapter Event Participation Pool”. Members that routinely volunteer and participate in Chapter events will have their participation recorded and entered into a lottery.
- Green Public Outreach/Fund Raiser/PR Opportunity – Hold a large scale public event (TBD) geared towards the residential design market that highlights ASID and the Green/Sustainable Design chapter platform.
- Long-Tenured Member Recognition – Create an ASID WI Chapter “Hall of Fame” on the Chapter website to honor the Chapter’s long-standing members who have contributed to the Chapter.
