The CEDIA Board presented a review of its activities during the past year at the AGM held last month, writes David Davies. More than 100 CEDIA members attended the combined CEDIA AGM/Business & Technology Forum event, which took place at the Leeds City Hilton Hotel.
CEDIA chair Robert Hallam admitted that it has been “a tough 12 months, to put it mildly”, but said that there was now cause for “cautious optimism”. He also praised the resilience of the custom installation sector and highlighted the important role of the CEDIA Awards and CEDIA Expo events as industry showcases.
“As CEDIA chair, I am determined that we continue to build on these strengths and deliver value for our members across Region 1,” he said.
Highlights of the review included the news that 85 individuals achieved Certified status in the past year, bringing the total to 590 across the Region, and the fact that more than 3,500 design professionals have now attended CEDIA’s Designing Integrated Future-Ready Homes CPD courses. This year’s CEDIA Awards was the most heavily subscribed yet, garnering 90 entries from 11 countries, while turnover for the Association in the year ending 31 December 2008 was revealed to have stood at £1.6 million – a figure that included a “significant return” from CEDIA Region 1’s 16% stake in ISE.
The organisation also disclosed that 38 new members had joined during the past 12 months from 16 different countries.
Speaking to IE Residential, Hallam noted: “Looking ahead to 2010 we are committed, as always, to increasing both CEDIA’s presence and the associated benefits of membership, throughout Region 1. A greater international representation on the Board [see separate story this week] will not only give us a better understanding of the needs of the whole marketplace, but will also help us to establish CEDIA as an internationally recognised benchmark of quality. In addition, we will continue to build on the reach and relevance of the CEDIA Home Technology Event, reinforcing the CEDIA brand to other UK-based professional bodies and associations. Finally, we aim to further integrate the efforts of all CEDIA regions to help harmonise member benefits, co-ordinate education activities and increase global PR and marketing coverage.”
