IES 25 The Lighting Conference will Feature A Different Kind of Progress Report
In preparing for this article, I spoke with IES management, IES Board members, and members of the IES Industry Progress Committee.
The Progress Report this year will be a little different, and that may not be a bad thing.
For the first time in decades, the committee will not create a skit around the products “to help break up the excitement,” as they have for at least the past 30 years I’ve been attending.
The Progress Report Committee still received the submissions. They held their in-person meeting (at no cost to the Society) and selected the products to be included in the report—just as they’ve always done. But this year, their work stops there.
A Time of Surpluses and Caution
When I was in a leadership role at the Society, which now feels like a distant memory, we were flush with funds. Not because we were so smart, but primarily because of the success of LightFair. Even then, we always aimed to have a surplus on every event, including the conference.
We were careful about using words like “surplus” and “deficit.” As a nonprofit, we never wanted the words “profit” or “loss” to appear in our minutes.
Bill Hanley, the former Executive Director, was a stickler for making sure our meetings followed rules I never fully understood—or fully appreciated. But the Board meetings were always public, and members were welcome to attend. Maybe once a year we would meet in executive session at the end of a day-long public meeting, usually to discuss employee matters.
According to the online agenda, the Board of Directors meeting this year is by invitation only. Back in the early 2000s, past presidents like Howard Brandston would attend and give the Board fits. But most people sat quietly, listened, and learned how the Society operated. Sometimes there would be 15 people in the peanut gallery—some of whom later served on the Board themselves.
Additionally, the Executive Committee scheduled approximately 20 minutes at the conference for a public Q&A session. Any member could ask leadership a question about anything. I still remember in 2002, just before the event, Bill Hanley leaned over and whispered, “Randy, don’t say anything stupid. Let Rita and me handle the tough questions.”
Reining In Deficits
I recall attending a Board meeting during COVID at the Society’s former office in New York. In that meeting, IES CFO Olga Loukina said we should no longer hold events we knew would result in a deficit. I applauded that thinking.
To be clear, the Annual Conference has always struggled somewhat to break even, even in the good old days. One line item that always caught my attention was the cost of the communications crew from St. Louis. While they did an outstanding job on video production and much more, their services were expensive. With today’s technology and the Society’s financial constraints, it doesn’t make sense to hire a world-class company for production support. Make no mistake—they did much more than video—but we can no longer afford them.
The Skit and the Hook
Unfortunately, the Progress Committee and the Board couldn’t find a compromise to keep the skit. For me, the highlight of the conference has always been the humor of the Progress Report.
Back in what now feels like ancient history, we used the Progress Report as a hook. We scheduled it at the end of the conference to keep people from leaving early on the last day. And because the committee needed time to prepare, the timing worked beautifully.
It was always amusing to see people appear in the skits you hadn’t realized were even at the conference. They were hidden away all week, working tirelessly—sometimes putting in 18-hour days. Many committee members have served for 20, 30, or even 35 years. I am not aware of any group more dedicated to the IES than the Progress Committee.
Committee Work Then and Now
Another factor that helped drive attendance was committee work. Nearly every active committee held in-person meetings at the conference, and if you served on a committee, you were expected to attend and pay the registration fee. When attendees had free time during the day, they were encouraged to attend committee meetings. That often led to increased participation.
Times have certainly changed. Today, most committee work happens online through Zoom or Teams. In many ways, that’s an improvement, since it allows more people to participate regardless of location. However, over the years, this shift has likely had some negative impact on conference attendance.
Strong Content and Good Humor
A third factor we focused on was using strong content to drive registration. I have to say, the programming at the last several conferences—along with the 2025 agenda—has been outstanding. In fact, it’s even stronger than what we offered 20 years ago.
Announcing Chip Israel as the Marks Award honoree and Kevin Houser as the Medal Award honoree in advance is a brilliant move.
Some people don’t always enjoy the humor that comes with the Progress Report, but I’ve learned to appreciate it—especially since I’ve been the target more than once. The funniest moment by far was when they shared the story of my wife, Lori, hanging her formal gown on the sprinkler head in our hotel room. The sprinkler went off and ended up flooding three floors. That story resurfaced in the Progress Report for years afterward. But it was all in good fun, and we still laugh about it today.
Working Through Challenges
I’ve had my own run-in with the Progress Committee. In the early 2000s, Progress Report submissions were free, and we subsequently introduced a $50 submission fee. It was a tough decision that sparked considerable consternation. To this day, there are committee members who will say the $50 fee was a terrible mistake and that submissions dropped off that year. I remember it differently. However, what mattered most was that the Board and the Progress Committee remained engaged, worked through the issue, and found a path forward together.
Good Enough
I am reminded of the 2025 LightFair Innovation Awards. Mark Roush served as the Program Facilitator, and given the few resources he had, he did an outstanding job. The Awards were a shadow of their former glory, but they were good enough.
This year, the Progress Report may not bring the same laughs as in the past, but perhaps it will be good enough. If IES manages to break even or post a small surplus, that will be good. And that will be enough. The days of conference deficits need to be behind us. Until LightFair is improved, the Society can no longer afford them.
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View the IES 2025 Lighting Conference Agenda