The American Lighting Association’s Women in Lighting (WIL) Committee will celebrate its fifth anniversary at a special reception Wednesday, June 21, at 5 p.m. The event will take place in the Kuzco showroom (TM 4010) during the Lightovation show at Dallas Market Center. In honor of WIL’s five-year milestone, ALA will give away five delegate registrations to the 2023 ALA Conference in a special drawing.
Highlighting the WIL event will be the presentation of the 2023 Women in Lighting Leadership Award (WILLA) honoring Gross Electric President Laurie Gross. Guests are invited to join the festivities including cake, champagne, and networking. Attendees may purchase a collectible pin themed for ALA’s 2023 Conference, Sept. 10-12, in Lake Tahoe, Calif. Pin sales will benefit the global not-for-profit organization Dress for Success.
The WIL Committee formed in 2018 following the first Women in the Industry reception at the 2017 ALA Conference in Vancouver. The group identified mentorship, leadership and networking as establishing principles guiding initiatives and accomplishments that followed.
“This is an incredible group of women from our industry who demonstrate the kind of leadership, dedication and compassion that empowers all women,” says WIL Committee Co-Chair Colleen Visage, vice president of product management for Progress Lighting.
Since its inception, WIL has hosted events at every Lightovation show and ALA Conference, most recently bringing in top-notch keynote speaker Betsy Allen-Manning to the 2022 Conference programming. The next WIL event at the 2023 Conference will be Monday, Sept. 11, at 5 p.m.
“The Women in Lighting Committee does an impressive job of bringing in popular speakers for ALA’s conferences,” said Larry Lauck, ALA president and CEO. “I encourage ALA members to join us in Lake Tahoe and attend the Women in Lighting reception and listen to the presentation on how to stay ahead and thrive in the current business climate.”
WIL created the WILLA in 2018 to honor one ALA member annually for her service to the industry, ALA, and her community. Past recipients include Kellee Hollenback Hammond, vice president of sales for Varaluz; Cathy Choi, president of Bulbrite; Jilla Farzan, executive vice president and founder of Nora Lighting; and Norma Cooper, founder of Lighting Etc. Any ALA member may nominate someone for this award, and nominations are accepted year-round at LightingWomen.com.
