Our March 2014 board meeting and “Meet and Greet” at Capitol Lighting afterwards was fabulous. We were privileged to welcome our International President, Diane Fairburn, who was visiting from Ashland, VA where she is member of our Virginia Chapter.
Diane shared so much with us about her chapter and the events they hold. It was very inspiring. Learning about what works for other chapters is so valuable and we were fortunate that Diane could spend time with us sharing her experiences and wisdom at our meeting and at dinner afterward as well.
It was interesting to learn that the Richmond VA Chapter is mostly vendors and they are working towards adding more designer members. They hold Reverse Expos where Designers can attend and the Vendors go from Designer to Designer presenting their company ( as opposed to Designers going from Vendor booth to Vendor booth).
Diane read us something she wrote about the how networking within our organization works and how beneficial it can be. As Diane said, it can take time to build relationships. Participation is always a key ingredient. You can read her President’s Message in the next Network Newsletter which will appear on our national website soon. She also gave us great information on how her chapter and others had created their “Take a Seat” or TAS events in the past. As we begin to undertake this most incredible fundraiser, which will occur in October, we so appreciate all her insights.
Did you know that IFDA has grants to help people who have lost their jobs pay for their membership? Thanks for letting us know about that incredible member benefit, Diane.
Capitol Lighting General Manager Andy Perez, IFDA members Elizabeth Zecca, Marti Evans, Marsha Koch, Capitol Lighting CEO Ken Lebersfeld, Myra Schwartz, Diane Fairburn, Caroline Rogow, new member Tom Daugherty, Beverly Stewart, Lynn Sciarrone, Ted Perrella, Vicki Kirsner, Capitol Lighting President Eric Lebersfeld
What a terrific turnout we had for our March meeting. After the board meeting our host, Capitol Lighting, arranged for the sales rep from Arteriors, Danielle McGeough to present the latest from their company. Arteriors is a beautiful line of lighting, furniture and accessories with an artisan edge. Danielle also represents seventeen designer lines. She is a very busy lady and a great resource for our members.
Arteriors rep Danielle McGeough, our Treasurer Vicki Kirsner and President Caroline Rogow chat after an inspiring and informative presentation.
We gathered for a final hooray!
(Also attending but missing from this photo were Susan Heller and our new Student Member, Pauline Lapierre)
We are pleased to welcome returning member Marti Evans of Evans Design in Coconut Creek, who will be our new VP of Hospitality, new Student Member, Pauline Lapierre our Student Liaison, and New Member, Tom Daugherty, of T Square Construction and Services LLC in Boca Raton, who will serve as VP for Special Events. Our new board members were installed on our Board of Directors by our International President, Diane Fairburn. We extend a warm welcome to John Erkhardt of Petal Pushers located in Boca Raton, a most talented floral designer and events planner. Petal Pushers is a trade resource. Also joining this year is Bryna Pinsky Owner of Office Furniture Solutions in Pompano Beach. We are very excited to welcome our new members and look forward to getting to know them all.
Other areas of discussion included our TAS event and need for sponsors. We have selected Habitat for Humanity as our charity. Lynn Sciarrone and Caroline Rogow are participating in national conference calls to get all the details about how to put this event together, so stay tuned!
Many thanks to Diane Fairburn for making this meeting so special, to Capitol Lighting who has volunteered their showroom for our monthly board meetings and events, and to all those who attended for their continuing support.
