IIDA brings people together. When I accepted the position to become President of IIDA Mid America we were in the middle of a pandemic. Not only were we unable to come together for an entire calendar year, it was quite literally illegal. The pandemic is nowhere near over, but we have adapted to this “new normal” and are coming back with a force. Myself and the IIDA Mid-America Executive Board are committed to offering new exciting knowledge-based programming to our industry partners, members, and students. 

We kicked the IIDA calendar year off with a bang with our newest event, the Summer Product Fair (SPF); a trade show, of sorts, that was planned with the intention to bring all of the product offerings from the last year into one space for designers to explore and network. This year, we also plan to continue to advocate for the profession of Interior Design at the state and national level. We will continue to provide more opportunities for our members and sponsors to get involved, provide feedback, and give their time + talents to advocate for our profession.

Despite being handed a year full of difficult, dare I say, unprecedented circumstances, IIDA Mid America was awarded a Best Thing Ever Award in 2021 from IIDA Headquarters for our efforts on our Brand U events, a series of events focused on helping students build their brand and prepare for the professional world post-graduation. This year and moving forward, we will continue to strive to bring our members this same level of award winning content.

My personal journey with IIDA began as a student at Kansas State University. Throughout my professional career I have been on multiple committees, served on the Executive Board for a number of years, and now serve as your Board President. I am here, ready to lead the organization that has been so formative to both my professional career and personal life alike . This path has allowed me to learn from, and grow with, the incomparable chain of leaders our Chapter has had over the past few years. The executive board and committees put in countless hours every year to uplift and provide resources to the design community.

In conclusion, I’d like to offer a big “Thank you” to our sponsors, industry partners, volunteers, and every single one of our members; Without your support, none of the programming we provide would be possible. IIDA continues to fill my cup, both personally and professionally, and I look forward to getting each of you connected in a way that fills yours. Please reach out to any of our amazing Board members for more information on how to get involved – we will see you at our next event!

Cheers,

Madeline Rohrer, your IIDA Mid-America Chapter President