President's Message

Dear Fellow Members:

It is my honor to serve you as President this 2008-2009 Leadership Year. I realize that I have some very big shoes to fill, and I will do my best to make them fit snugly. Since there are so many important and exciting things to discuss with you, let’s just dig in.

Helping Members
Though it has been announced via various channels since last summer, it has come to my attention that many members are not aware that ASID now offers a payment plan that allows Practitioner members to pay their dues via a monthly credit card debit. It’s a helpful financial option during these challenging economic times. Furthermore, all new members (Allied, Professional, Student and Industry Partners) now have their membership run 12 months from the date that they join. In other words, if someone becomes a member on May 18, 2009, his/her membership will not expire until May 18, 2010. Previously ASID prorated the dues of some of the member segments depending on the time of year, while other member segments were at a distinct disadvantage because their dues were not prorated – all very confusing! Plus, it means that there is never a bad time of year for new people to join. Go here for answers to frequently asked membership questions.

Meet Up
Did you know that Texas Chapter Board meetings are open to all members? Just check the online calendar for quarterly meeting dates, but please do be sure to notify Chapter Administrator, Pat Gallagher, that you will be in attendance. If you have an issue that you would like to bring up, Pat can add you to the agenda under “New Business”, which typically takes place near the end of the meeting. If you just want to sit in to find out what is going on in this vital Society of ours, that’s OK too.

Coming Together
In past years many of you have attended INTERIORS, the ASID National Conference held in a different city every year in the month of March. New for this year, ASID is smartly integrating this annual tradition into NeoCon, North America's largest conference and exhibition for interior design head at Chicago’s Merchandise Mart. NeoCon features the latest trends, products and concepts in corporate, residential, hospitality, health care, institutional and government environments. Tens of thousands of trade professionals from all over the world attend NeoCon every June. As current ASID President, Bruce Brigham, FASID, noted: "This is the place to be because it offers value to the entire community of interior design professionals, regardless of what market you are in.”

Give Thanks
Other Chapters from around the Society look to the Texas Chapter for our collaborative efforts, our programming ideas, and our highly organized Design Community system. We should be thankful for all of the wonderful opportunities that our hardworking Chapter leaders and volunteers make happen throughout the year. To name only a few: affordable education and exposure to new products and services via METROCON; student/practitioner interaction at Chapter & Design Community gatherings, Student Career Days and RealWorld DesignWeek; ASID brand awareness and individual member marketing opportunities via the Texas Chapter’s Legacy of Design competition, the Austin Design Community’s Design Excellence competition, and the Dallas Design Community’s DesignOvation competition.

We should also be thankful for the fact that not only does the Texas Chapter have an office where records can be stored and members can meet or stop by when they are in town on business, but we also have a very capable and efficient Administrator to help keep the Chapter fiscally sound and our Chapter and Design Community leaders on track with guidance on procedures and paperwork. Several Chapters in the Society are not nearly so fortunate in either area and, consequently, more of the operational burden is put on their volunteer leaders, which makes it that much more difficult to operate efficiently and successfully. We are very lucky.

Here’s to a challenging, yet wonderful, year for ASID and the ASID Texas Chapter!

Laura McDonald Stewart, RID | ASID | IIDA | LEED AP
ASID Texas Chapter President 2008-2009
PLiNTH & CHiNTZ, The Online Interior Design Magazine