CEDIA presented its annual state of the association presentation for members and like everyone, the association was challenged in 2020. The lack of in-person events hit the association from a membership and financial standpoint, but it focused its energies on aiding its existing membership during the pandemic with increased online education and other programs aimed at guiding integrators through the crisis.

“The amount of effort that staff, board and our members exerted through 2020 is astonishing,” says Rob Sutherland, chairman of the CEDIA Board of Directors. “And despite the difficulties that we faced, I believe we will emerge stronger than ever as an industry, and as an association. As our staff and board kept the association rolling along, our members pitched in to help one another and their communities. It is the very definition of what we call ‘CEDIA Strong.’ Thank you to all.

In a prerecorded presentation that was followed by live Q&A, Sutherland went on to thank co-interim CEOs Giles Sutton and Kory Dickerson for doing the important work of the association as the board conducts its CEO search. Dickerson noted that outgoing CEO Tabatha O’Connor is still with CEDIA but not engaged on a day-to-day basis any longer. Her contract expires in January 2021.

During the hour-long presentation, there were numerous testimonials from members discussed the value of their participation in association activities. The presentation also covered a range of activities, including education, its CEDIA Strong and CEDIA Propel initiatives, workforce development programs and new CIT and IST certifications, membership and its financials (for 2019).

Speaking of CEDIA’s financial status, Dickerson notes, “The association is positioned securely to support the industry and our members into the future with a strong balance sheet.”

2024 Lighting Controls and Fixtures Report

Lightapalooza took place in late February, and the growth of the event has mirrored the rapid ascension lighting fixtures and controls.

Download your copy now!

Sutton says heading into 2021, the association will focus on improving members’ business and technical skills, helping to develop a more diverse workforce for the industry, helping members differentiate themselves in the market, and finding new business opportunities for members.  He noted that for now, CEDIA does not have any specific locations or dates set for its regional Tech Summits in 2021, but Sutton says the association hopes to be able to hold some in the second half of the year, likely in major cities.

In terms of membership, Sutton says the association was hurt on its recruitment efforts by the lack of in-person events, which attributed to a drop of 589 members from the year before. That not only includes the CEDIA Expo, the Tech Summits, but also local distribution events. He noted that one partnership the association has with a large international distributor usually nets 400 new members per year, but the distributor was unable to hold its events in 2020.

CEDIA By the Numbers

 Here are just some of key pieces of data CEDIA cited:

3,364 — Number of CEDIA members in 2020, down from 3,953 in 2019

453 — Number of new members in 2020

77 — Number of countries that contain CEDIA members

$16.5 million — CEDIA 2019 revenues (increase of $7.5 million, or 83% over the previous year)

$7.2 million — Increase in CEDIA investment portfolio in 2019

$34.3 million — Total market value of CEDIA investment portfolio

$7.1 million — Association’s share of revenue from ISE in 2019 (up from $6.75 million in 2018)

$15.7 million — CEDIA 2019 operating expenses (up from $13.1 million in 2018) (Dickerson explained that the increases were attributable to investments in new education programs, the new headquarters in Fishers, Ind., as well as the acquisitions of TCD software and the regional Tech Summits, among other things.)

$40.2 million — Net assets of the association as of December 31, 2019.

75,800 — Number of CEDIA Podcast downloads in 2020

1,750 — Number of CEDIA White Paper downloads in 2020

4 — Number of new CEDIA White Papers on tap for 2021

6 to 9 months — Estimated time the association will take to hire its new President and CEO, according to Giles Sutton, who deadpanned, “In the meantime, you are stuck with us.”

41 — Number of CEDIA sessions presented at Integrated Systems Europe (ISE) last February in Amsterdam

400 — Number of attendees at CEDIA sessions at ISE

16,750 — Number of online course registrations for CEDIA Academy remote learning classes with its new curriculum

6,600 — Number of attendees to CEDIA webinars in 2020

640 — Number of bills affecting integrators tracked by Darren Reaman, CEDIA’s Director of Government Affairs in 2020

80 — Number of regulations affecting integrators tracked by CEDIA Government Affairs

28 — Number of states that had either regulations or proposed legislation that would affect integrators in 2020

250 — Number of courses in the CEDIA Outreach Instructor program

3 — Number of Volunteers of the Year recognized by the association

4 — Number of new board members named in 2020

200+ — Number of entries into the CEDIA Awards program in 2020

170 — Total number of CEDIA volunteers in 2020

30 — Number of volunteer groups in the association

2037 — The year CEDIA’s contract with Emerald Expositions, owners of the CEDIA Expo (and CE Pro), expires

• Page 1