A Message from our President
Cheers to 2025 !
2024 was busy! A year full of relationship building and opportunities for connection within the Greater Annapolis Design District. 2025 promises more of the same, welcoming new members and encouraging existing members to show up, get involved, show off their successes and develop new partnerships.
We on the Board will continue striving for value in your membership. Katherine Dashiell has stepped down from the Events Committee after many years and so much hard work, not to mention some great party planning - many thanks from all of us. Rachel Hack of Splash Recruiting has stepped up, filling one of the most crucial roles, pouring new energy into supporting our monthly gatherings, finding fun new spaces to meet and spearheading efforts to show appreciation to our membership. She is designing fabulous events and organizing opportunities for members to host their own events. Please contact her soon to get on the calendar for this year. Joni Zimmerman, Treasurer, is stepping down as well. She likes to spend more time "over the bridge" these days. We thank you, Joni, for your leadership. Please contact us for consideration in filling the Treasurer's role.
Monthly Happy Hour's, Good Morning GADD Coffee, and GADD Book Study are all firmly on the events schedule. Be sure to put them on your calendar and make an effort to come once or every time. We have started announcing our book study selections two months in advance for those who need more reading time. And yes, it happens, I showed up at last night's meeting having only read the first 20 pages. We still had to be kicked out of the library at closing time. These more intimate opportunities for connection have meant so much to me this past year. I've called on service providers, collaborated with architects, contractors, and designers. I invited all members to step out and mingle. Get to know another member, contribute your time in a committee as we always encourage involvement.
Throughout 2025, we will be hosting some educational events with the City of Annapolis and plan to create a business building workshop. If anyone is interested in helping organize these efforts, please shoot an email, we'd love the help. We'll continue organizing the last minute GADD events such as the visit to the Building Museum to hear the discussion of Danish Design. If you have an idea for something you'd like to see as a group, please propose it! Finally don't miss the Annual Membership Appreciation Celebration March 5th - we are taking a more energetic, fun approach to celebrate you! Please send photos of your company, a project, your company mascot dog - we want representation of all members for the continuous slideshow.
In the spirit of connection and relationship building, get involved, throw out ideas, join a committee, propose a project and head it up. Or simple throw on a name tag and show up at the events. We'll be so happy getting to know you even better.
Stay warm!
Andrea Wheeler
Design Solutions, Inc.
Proud Member and serving as President for the Greater Annapolis Design District (GADD)
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