State Repositioning Results in Lower Dues and Enhanced Advocacy

AIA members in the state of Washington will soon start seeing big changes, a result of more than a year of hard work by volunteer leaders across the state.  These changes will directly benefit members in Seattle, and launch a new era for AIA in Washington State.

AIA Seattle has long advocated for a more efficient and focused state organization, one that effectively advocates on behalf of architects while building stronger relationships among our chapters.  In fact, these changes were part of AIA Seattle’s five-year strategic plan.

• AIA Washington Council will be focused exclusively on effective state advocacy.  The Council has revised its mission to focus exclusively on advocacy at the state level.
• The Council board and operations will be smaller and more efficient.  Reducing the board from 16 positions to 8, aligning the staff and operations with the new mission, and moving offices to the Center for Architecture & Design produce real savings in effort and resources.
• AIA Northwest Washington will merge to become a section of AIA Seattle.  This consolidation reduces bureaucracy and overhead, but still allows members in the Northwest section (Whatcom, Skagit, Island and San Juan) to host their own programs, awards, and member events.

Find full report here: AIA in Washington State Info Sheet

There are significant benefits to AIA Seattle members.

• Dues will go down for all members.  A more efficient state organization allows for a 25% decrease in state dues.  Architect members will see a $45 decrease in their 2017 dues, and Associate dues will go down by $7.
• State advocacy will be more effective.  AIA Washington Council will be organized around a singular focus on state advocacy, with a Government Affairs Council and Political Action Committee poised to make major progress on the state issues that matter most to members.
• Member service will be more consistent across the state, regardless of chapter size.  By combining chapters within the state, members of smaller chapters will benefit from the vast array of member services and support that larger chapters can offer.

We will soon be calling on you to ratify the final change – adding a Northwest Washington Section representative to the AIA Seattle Board of Directors.  Look for a special by-laws election coming to you via email this fall.

Special thanks to the many AIA Seattle members, and in particular our representatives to the AIA Washington task force, Mark Cork AIA and Walter Schacht FAIA, who volunteered many hours to this enormous task.

Please feel free to contact Lisa directly if you have any questions or comments about these advances for members in our state.

Regards,

Lisa Richmond              Mary Johnston FAIA              Mark Cork AIA                   Walter Schacht FAIA
Executive Director        President                                AIA Washington Council   AIA Washington Council