President's Letter - June 2020

We are working diligently to minimize the financial impact this decision has on our members as well as the association. If you had registered for the 2020 event, your registration has been automatically rolled over to the 2021 ALA Annual Conference in Lake Tahoe, Calif., Sept. 26-28. If you have questions or do not wish to roll over your registration, please email Wendy Rollins at Wendy@ALALighting.com or call Beth Bentley at 469-371-1163.

If you had already made your hotel reservation at The Breakers, your existing reservation will be cancelled unless you contact the hotel immediately at 561-655-6611 to keep your reservation, which will be honored at the ALA discounted rate of $245. Please email Ines Bodman at Ines.Bodman@thebreakers.com with questions about your hotel reservation.

Our decision to cancel the 2020 conference is entirely focused on ensuring the safety of our members. Thank you to everyone who contacted us and/or participated in the survey with pertinent information to assist the Board of Governors in making this important decision. The member support we have received is a testament to the strength of both the industry and our organization, and we look forward to working together to develop a great 2021 Conference.

More information will follow soon. In the meantime, check ALAConference.com for the latest updates.

Training update

To strengthen ALA members during the global pandemic, ALA offered all online education courses from mid-March through mid-May at no cost to members. The unprecedented offer included the 10-course Lighting Associate (LA) curriculum, ordinarily $350, that resulted in a record 1,389 member participants. See a list of all the new LAs here.

ALA’s live webinars continue to be offered at no charge to members. This Thurs., June 18, members may participate in the next live webinar, Lighting the Home Office –- New Opportunities. Lighting for home office spaces has become increasingly important as many people are now required to work from home due to recent events. With many factors affecting the functionality of home office spaces, this webinar will discuss solutions for rooms with varying light access. Tune in for tips to help you raise the value of lighting for you and your customers.

Other live webinars presented at no charge during the past three months:

• 3D Printing Technology for Residential Lighting
• Reopening Retail & Rebuilding Trust
• Economic and Geopolitical Outlook in a Post COVID-19 World
• Safety Considerations for Use of Ultraviolet Light in Germicidal Devices
• Germicidal Ultraviolet Disinfection in the Days of COVID-19
• The Real Life of LEDs
• When and Where to Use Tunable White Lighting
• How to Retail in the Time of COVID-19
• Brand Management in the COVID-19 Era
• Smart Home as a Service

Recorded versions of past webinars are available here.

For more about ALA training options, go to: ALAMembers.com/Professional-Education.

Lighting magazine campaign

Now that many businesses have reopened and consumers are resuming their in-person shopping experiences, I’m happy to report that the 2020 edition of Lighting magazine is on newsstands and in showrooms to inspire shoppers to purchase lighting manufactured and sold by ALA members.

The magazine is a product of the ALA BiNational Advertising and PR Program, and serves as the lighting industry’s only national consumer magazine, giving our industry a front-and-center presence on newsstands and in showrooms across North America.

The magazine is reaching millions of consumers through the BiNational Program’s promotion package, which includes an extended newsstand schedule into the fall, free copies of the magazine to participating showrooms, and high visibility on the BHG.com and Traditional Home websites and in publications such as Traditional Home; Home Accents Today; Furniture, Lighting and Décor; Home Fashion Forecast; Décor; and Elegant Homes.

Additionally, in conjunction with the Lighting magazine launch and retail resurgence, our BiNational Program is kicking off a new U.S. and Canadian national Google ad campaign to drive homeowners into ALA showrooms for the latest lighting products. We realize the vital importance of stimulating demand for your products. Last year, our initial campaign reached 43 million consumers and delivered more than 279,000 searches for their nearest ALA-member showroom.

The Hearts Award

Your nominations encouraged

We are proud to join with ART and Dallas Market Center, as well as a number of industry associations, to be part of The Hearts Award, a special award program for January 2021. This new program replaces the 2021 ARTS Awards for one year as an opportunity to bring our industry together to celebrate companies and individuals who have demonstrated exceptional leadership and service during the coronavirus crisis.

Each participating organization will look within their own membership to select a company or individual who has shown outstanding leadership, empathy and service during the COVID-19 pandemic by going above and beyond in service to their industry and/or community.

Please assist us by submitting your honoree nominations to me at Eric@ALALighting.com by Aug. 14. Be sure to include a brief synopsis of how your nominee meets the award criteria.

The Hearts Award program will also include a fundraising effort to fight hunger and benefit an organization, such as No Kid Hungry, Feeding America or Second Harvest. Look for more information to come from ALA and ARTS soon.

Generosity of members

ALA members Signify and SATCO recently joined several other lighting manufacturers to donate light bulbs for the American Porphyria Foundation (APF). Coordinated by the National Lighting Bureau (NLB), the effort began with an initial goal of collecting 500 incandescent bulbs. The generosity of the contributing companies resulted in the collection of 1,200 bulbs that will benefit individuals and families impacted by Porphyria.

Affecting approximately 200 people in the United States, Porphyria disorders, including Congenital Erythropoietic Porphyria (CEP), cause extreme sensitivity to light. Individuals with CEP develop acutely painful scars and blisters if exposed to sunlight or artificial light. This horrific disease produces such extreme symptoms that it can even lead to loss of limbs or facial features. The APF is committed to improving the health and quality of life for those suffering from Porphyria disorders, including Congenital Erythropoietic Porphyria (CEP).

American Lighting Association | ALAMembers.com

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