A Board of Directors Meeting was held on August 14, by conference call. The following is a summary of that meeting:

Membership: Accredited membership is on track to meet membership projections for the year. Affiliate membership is almost at the projected level, with 4 months left in the year. Student memberships are off, and the Ambassador committee has been asked to look at this and come up with a plan to get student memberships back on track.

Treasurer’s Report: Quarterly financials were reviewed for Q2. Accounts Receivable are down, reflecting the ongoing collections efforts by the office. Any member with an outstanding amount is asked to respond promptly to the office when they follow up. With all the numbers in, it has been confirmed that the AGM/Gala made a net profit of $9541.67. Chapters are doing a great job of balancing their local budgets.

Ambassador Committee: As mentioned above under Membership, this committee has been tasked with revitalizing the Ambassador program in order to get our Student membership numbers up. Cathy Granert is the new chair of this committee. Anyone who is interested in helping out can email ambassador@ddacanada.com.

Affiliate Committee: This group, chaired by Janet Crawford, has been working on a ‘passport’ program for the Fall. The program is designed to get Accredited members more engaged with our Affiliate members. More details will be provided very soon.

Legislative Committee: Chair Andria Cowan-Molyneaux, along with Anthony Boyko and Gabriele Pizzale, attended a stakeholders meeting with ARIDO and OAA, to discuss the proposed ‘Direct Regulation Model’ that they are proposing for ARIDO. It was a productive meeting at which our committee members made clear the objections and concerns that DDA has with the proposed ‘Scope of Interior Design’. It was felt that the other stakeholders left with a better understanding of DDA’s concerns. Further consultation and discussion will be ongoing. DDA will continue to advocate for its members in Ontario and beyond, on matters that affect their businesses.

Ongoing: All Committee chairs have been tasked with reviewing and updating the policies and procedures associated with their committees. This is to be completed by September 30, 2019.