The Mid-Atlantic Chapter encompasses the District of Columbia, all of Maryland and Northern Virginia including the counties of Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun, Prince William, Stafford and Fauquier. It also includes the independent cities of Alexandria, Falls Church, Fairfax, Leesburg, Middleburg, Warrenton, Manassas, Manassas Park and Fredericksburg. We also encourage members from Harper’s Ferry and Shepardstown West Virginia to participate in our activities. See the attachment at the bottom of the page for the full agreement including Zip Code information.

What a difference a year can make!

Last year, the Mid-Atlantic Chapter (MAC) was setting short, mid, and long-term goals with the focus on growth, growth, and more growth.  With our industry and profession facing some of the greatest challenges in its short history the idea of growth has come into question.  Instead we’re now asking:  How does the Mid-Atlantic Chapter add value?

The Mid-Atlantic Chapter is in a good place, and under the capable leadership of the 2008/2009 MAC Board and leadership of Jim Williamson we have added value to our membership.  We are on firm financial ground.  Membership numbers are steady and we’ve even seen an increase in student membership.  As you can see in The Premiere article in this issue, our signature events are going strong.  Coming from a place of strength allows us to build on our past success and take a hard look at how we can be more strategic in our thinking. 

In an effort to better focus our resources, the MAC Board took a look at our city centers.  As a result of this discussion, the Annapolis City Center will merge with the Baltimore City Center at the end of 2009.  Ann Pierson, current Annapolis City Center Director, will serve out her term on the Baltimore council.  Members who are now affiliated with Annapolis will choose either the Washington Metro City Center or Baltimore City Center when they renew their membership this fall.  The 2009 Annapolis calendar will remain the same and Annapolis will still hold the wildly successful cruise in August.

This year we’ve leveraged technology to improve our member interface.  Our weekly e-blasts and the ability to pay on-line by credit card has improved our efficiency and provided convenience to our members.  During my term 2009/2010 I will encourage the MAC Board to build on these successes and take a hard look at ways to improve.

On June 25th, the Chapter Board transitioned and the new Board took over.  This transition occurred as many notions such as growth are being challenged.  For example, as Interior Design professionals we’re all familiar with the oxymoron “less is more”.  The idea of offering value and not “more stuff” is captured in a quote from Bill McKibben’s book Deep Economy.

“Bill McKibben offers the biggest challenge in a generation to the prevailing view of our economy. For the first time in human history, he observes, "more" is no longer synonymous with "better"—indeed, for many of us, they have become almost opposites.”

IIDA’s Mid-Atlantic Chapter leadership will put this advice into practice as our retreat on July 25th in Baltimore.  We’ll examine our activities to identify those that add value to our members and those that may tax our resources without a commensurate return.  We’ll also look at how our most valuable resource, our volunteers, and how they are facilitated or hindered by our processes.   Our overarching goal is to continue to provide value to our membership and align our efforts with the needs of our membership without compromise.