April 2016
Eric Jacobson, CAE
 President and CEO
American Lighting Association
Upcoming Webinars
Thursday, April 28
Everything You Ever Needed to Know About Ceiling Fans and How to Achieve Higher Ceiling 
Fan Sales
Time:  11 a.m. CST
Instructor: 
Joe Rey-Barreau
Sponsored by: Fanimation
Thursday, May 26
Marketing and Selling to the Millennial Generation
Time: 11 a.m. CST
Instructor: Mark Okun
Thursday, June 16
Color, Color Rendering and CRI: What's Going on with my Color Metrics?
Time: 11 a.m. CST
Instructor: Dan Blitzer
June RLTM Course
This course provides participants the opportunity to become an ALA Lighting Specialist in just four days.

June 6-9
Residential Lighting Training Course
Where:
Juno Lighting 
Des Plaines, IL
Instructor:
Joe Rey-Barreau
Time:
9-5 M-W, 9-2 TH

ALA Conference
It continues to be a very busy time in the lighting industry. With ALA continuing our work and responding to DOE Ceiling Fan Rulemakings, planning and organizing our ALA Washington, D.C. Fly-in, strengthening our alliance partnerships by working collaboratively with IES on a new residential lighting standard, and developing ALA Sales Training courses to be launched and released later this year, the ALA has had a full plate working on behalf of the industry. Below are some additional highlights of ALA activity and member volunteerism.

Lighting Magazine - 10th Anniversary Issue a Big Hit

The 2016 Lighting magazine has been distributed and is receiving rave reviews by the ALA membership. The new design format was accomplished through the great input of the showroom steering and marketing, advertising and public relations committees. Their goal was to organize content and lighting categories in a meaningful way, while driving the consumer to ALA-member showrooms to utilize their knowledge, resources and expertise. I want to also give a special thanks to the advertisers who make this magazine possible. You may view the digital edition of the magazine here. Shipments of Lighting magazine are going out now to showroom members. If you don't receive your shipment by late next week, or if you want to place an order, please contact Amy Wommack.

ALA Annual Conference 
Sept. 25 - 27, 2016
El Conquistador Resort, Puerto Rico

For this time of the year, a record number of 555 members (337 registered/paid and another 217 completed early sign-up forms) have signed up for the 2016 ALA Conference in Puerto Rico. The conference program has been finalized and brochures are going out now by mail. This year's conference is designed to empower, connect and drive your business to new heights. The agenda is designed to highlight LED and Connected Lighting opportunities to move your business to the next level. Ryan Estis will lead a keynote presentation titled "The Consumer Experience - Accelerating Business Growth Through Remarkable Experiences," and Crystal Vilkaitis will lead a featured presentation titled "What's Up (and Coming) With Social Media." We have also organized educational sessions on the changing retail industry, dealing with cyber threats, enhancing your sales agency, consultative selling, and much more. To register for the conference and to view the full conference program, please visit alaconference.com. For any Zika Virus or travel related questions, ALA is continuing to monitor and consult with our hotel partner, the CDC, and Meet Puerto Rico

Membership Campaign Kick-off

The 2016 ALA Membership Campaign kicked off on April 18. Larry King, ALA membership chairman, and president of Capital Lighting, will lead 30 ALA members participating in this year's campaign. The 30 members will have a goal to recruit two new members each and follow up on their efforts in a retention campaign. We are looking for great membership growth, and we appreciate members' continued involvement and leadership. To volunteer to assist in the campaign, please reach out to me or Jacob Cambron.

Lightfair and Visit to Light Bulbs, Etc.'s New LED Experience Center

This week I look forward to attending and participating in Lightfair in San Diego, Calif. With over 30 ALA manufacturer members having booths at Lightfair, it gives me a great opportunity to view the newest and most advanced LED lighting products hitting the marketplace, as well as meet with prospective companies who may be interested in joining ALA. Following Lightfair, I am excited to visit Light Bulbs, Etc.'s new LED Experience Center in Costa Mesa, Calif. Encouraged by Light Bulbs, Etc.'s willingness to share their concepts and ideas with other ALA showroom owners, I look forward to my conversation about helping the lighting industry move forward and take advantage of the opportunities that LED products are creating. 

Lighting for Tomorrow Intent to Submit Deadline Extended

The Lighting for Tomorrow competition has extended its deadline until May 4, 2016, for companies to complete their Intent to Submit forms. To enter, please click here. Lighting for Tomorrow is organized by the American Lighting Association, the Consortium for Energy Efficiency and UL. The annual Lighting for Tomorrow competition was created in 2002 to recognize the best decorative, energy-efficient lighting fixtures on the market. Since its inception, Lighting for Tomorrow
has encouraged manufacturers to develop well designed, energy-efficient lighting products with a specific goal of increasing the availability and market adoption of ENERGY STAR ® certified residential lighting products. The 2016 competition is seeking LED and OLED fixtures, LED replacement lamps, LED retrofit kits, and lighting control devices.

As always, I appreciate the amount of time and dedication that our members give to our industry. Your membership and participation is the only way that ALA can remain a strong voice for the lighting and ceiling fan industry.

Sincerely, 
Eric Jacobson, CAE
Eric Jacobson, CAE
President and CEO
American Lighting Association