Inside the 72nd Annual NALMCO Convention: Building Member Value in Des Moines
At the 72nd NALMCO Annual Convention & Trade Show, held in Des Moines, Iowa, the lighting maintenance community gathered for three days of networking, learning and renewed energy. The event brought together contractors, vendors, professionals and educators under one roof to reaffirm why this association matters.
Membership Growth and Engagement
One of the standout moments came when the association announced that it added 30 new members this year. With such growth, the membership committee is clearly doing something right. The new members span a range of categories—contractors, associate members (vendors) and professional members—underscoring that NALMCO is expanding its appeal across the industry spectrum.
What made this possible? According to the membership chair, Bill Hurd, it started with a passionate team of veteran members committed to outreach. Instead of simply awaiting new sign-ups, the committee actively engaged prospects, communicated clear value propositions and emphasized that NALMCO is not just another professional association—it’s a family of lighting professionals.
Mentorship in Action
New this year is a mentorship program designed to onboard first-time attendees and new members effectively. Each of the 30 new members was paired with a seasoned NALMCO member—someone who knows the events, chairs and committees and can help newcomers navigate the conference, maximize their time and plug into the network.
The mentor-mentee model is powerful because it addresses the hidden barrier many associations face: the “who do I talk to?” question. By assigning a dedicated mentor, NALMCO eliminated that barrier and enabled new members to jump right in rather than feeling lost.
Why It Matters for the Lighting Industry
For lighting manufacturers, distributors and contractors, events like this matter because they create the ecosystems that support project wins, specification wins and long-term relationships. When contractors feel part of a broader professional community, vendors gain access to key decision-makers, and manufacturers build trust beyond the product.
If you’re wondering how to engage—and more importantly, retain—members, NALMCO’s example offers actionable practices:
-
Use a passionate outreach team to represent the organization and articulate value.
-
Implement one-on-one mentorship to shorten the learning curve for new participants.
-
Design fast-paced, structured networking sessions (like speed dating) to maximize efficient meeting counts and meaningful connections.
-
Emphasize that membership is long-term: a community, not just a transactional relationship.
Go Deeper: NALMCO Convention: Speed Dating, Networking, and AI Insights