May 2023
Chapter Officer Update
“ Summer may be here, but there’s no sign that things are slowing down. In fact, we have some new events and programs to share with you…”
Important Dates
May 15 Self-Nominations Opened: Apply Here
June 9 VFTI Speaker Submission Deadline: Apply Here
June 20 Monthly President Call: Register Here
July 11 Design Competition Submission Deadline
July 25 Design + Tech Summit in NYC: Register Here
Chapters
Chapter Logos and 60th Anniversary Digital Tool kit is available under Resources and here . Thank you for your help to portray the most up to date NKBA Brand!
Self-nominations are now open! All active members excluding students are welcome to self-nominate. Please refer to email sent on May 8th to all officers. Here is a link to become a leader.
NEW SPEAKERS ANNOUNCED! Don’t forget to utilize this program which included some dynamic speakers . Please refer to details here.
Please submit your chapters financial report after every meeting Form Here.
Keep web pages current. It’s time to check the chapter webpages! Remember to keep news relevant and up-to-date. Post events and member spotlights.
Action item for 2023: The Communications Chair should update the chapter officers’ email addresses on the “About Us” pages. Many chapters are using generic email addresses and in this area they can be inputted. Last year’s officers need to be manually removed. This area is optional and should be used only if a different email is desired.. Upcoming chapter meeting notices, local news, pictures and local sponsors all contribute to robust web pages. If you need any assistance navigating your web pages, contact us at chapters@nkba.org.
What was due?
Chapter Compliance Form (Required) this form is required for Compliance Funding to be paid). Click here
Chapter Initiative Grant Application (Optional) . Don’t miss the opportunity for your chapter to receive funding for a special event. Click here for more information and review the application.Form 990 will be required by May 15.
The role recordings are available under Resources.
What are other chapters are doing for great meetings..check out their websites! Don’t forget about these ideas:
- At your next council meeting:
- Review the Membership Growth plan outlined in Strategic Plan
Discuss if it is achievable and how the chapter is progressing.
- Some additional ideas:
- Celebrate and appreciate your membership, welcome them back as in-person meetings are a reality again.
- Task your members or council to tell at least 5 professionals about the NKBA, have them document! (Perhaps a reward can be arranged)
- Give your local NKBA events exposure via your web pages and/or social media sites. This can be priceless to members.
- Keep members excited about their membership – we recommend sharing this at a meeting or on a post: NKBA Video
- Share the recap of 2022.
- Survey your members, ask them what kind of experiences they would like to be part of in the chapter.
- More meeting Ideas:
- Recycle Ideas! If it brought engagement in the past, bring it back!
- Think outside the box (or screen) for something more ideal. Mix up the topics and speakers. Turn learning into a game (everyone loves trivia!). Have year-long competitions and track points. At the end of the year, the member with the most points wins a prize.
- Engage your hosts — they’re members, too, and they might have some great ideas!
For all the Program Chairs – check out this article on improving meeting attendance. Click here for some helpful tips.
The Chapter Resources page contains information on all chapter programs and provides links to many of the forms used by each officer position. It can be accessed by using your personal ID# to log in to the NKBA website. Click here (or at Find a Chapter/Chapter Officer Resources).
The Chapters team is also a resource to all chapter officers. If you need assistance with understanding your role or responsibilities, please contact us at chapters@nkba.org.
You asked to collaborate with other officers all year. Please join the 2023 SLACK channel here to join other fellow officers. Although this is optional, we encourage you to join to share ideas with other officers.
Marketing
Here we are – it’s June! Time is flying! We continue NKBA’s 60th Birthday celebration and invite you to follow along as we count back the decades – six in total – from now until KBIS 2024! In June we celebrate NKBA 2000’s – the trends, terms, and accomplishments of the industry, and NKBA. Don’t miss our quizzes, contests and more! Check out the 60th Anniversary page here.
We are also hosting our first Research Reveal: Research Overview: Independent K&B Showroom Study. Taking place on Thursday, June 22, this event will give a first look at what the future looks like for showrooms and designers who frequent them. To learn more and register for this hour-long virtual event, click here.
Also, if you missed or want to watch Designing for the Outdoor Kitchen summit on demand, go here.
Lastly, please encourage your members to tune in to our weekly NKBA’s Lives that take place every Thursday at 2 pm EST, and don’t miss our weekly Business + Design Webinars.
June 1, @ 2pm ET: 30’s Choice and Best of KBIS, replay from KBIS. Tune in for the popular 30’s Choice awards where the 2023 class of Thirty Under 30 presents their best finds from KBIS. Immediately following will be a replay of the also popular Best of KBIS. A great opportunity to see what was…the BEST!
June 8 @ 2pm ET: NKBA Design Competition Webinar. Tune in to learn how we have made our Design Competition easier and more intuitive as we walk you through the entry process. This is a must attend for all designers who wish to enter a chance to win cash prizes totalling $100,000.
June 15 @2 pm ET: Replay of Getting Creative with Sustainable Design from our recent Sustainability Summit. To celebrate National Wind Day, we are replaying the highly informative and entertaining session from our Sustainability Summit, moderated by Avinash Rajagopal, Editor in Chief of Metropolis Magazine.
June 21 @ 2pm ET: Independent Kitchen & Bath Showroom Study Reveal
NKBA Takes a first look at the independent kitchen and baths showroom industry and where industry experts believe the industry is headed. Tune in to learn about the research from NKBA’s head of Research, Tricia Zach and a panel discussion with showroom owners from around the country. click here.
June 29th @ 2pm ET: Project Management: Communication Techniques that Keep Projects on Track with Rebecca West. Great project managers are not born, they are made. Tune in to learn the communication techniques you need to set your next project up for success.
Events
The VFTI Call for Speakers opened on April 3rd and is accepting proposals for the conference up until June 9th. If you or someone you know is a subject matter expert in the industry, or a kitchen and bath professional, we highly encourage you to apply. Speakers and attendees can earn valuable CEU credits. Speakers who are selected will present at KBIS 2024 during show dates: 2/27/24-2/29/24. And don’t forget, most of the 2023 VFTI sessions are available on-demand now through the end of the year.
NKBA’s Design Competition opened on May 3rd. Kitchen and bath designers can compete for cash prizes totaling $100,000 with a streamlined application process, so please encourage your members to participate.
We encourage you to to share this news, summits and more with you chapter members. And of course reach out if you have any questions.
Professional
Development
NKBA’s Fourth Edition K&B Planning Guidelines (spiral-bound) is now available for purchase in BULK on the NKBA store.NKBA’s Kitchen & Bath Planning Guidelines web page provides a general overview about the revisions found within this publication, as well as two webinar recordings highlighting the history of NKBA’s Planning Guidelines and specific topics and practical applications related to the new publication.
The Learning Department presented during the NKBA Chapter Presidents meeting on May 16, 2023. We discussed the restructured Certification Program, revisions to the CMKBD Program, status of the new Committee Member position and Certification Study Groups. If you would like a copy of the PPT Presentation please reach out to chapters@nkba.org.
NKBA’s CKBD Certification Program
The NKBA is now accepting applications to our newly reformed Certified Kitchen & Bath Designer (CKBD) Program. Eligibility requirements, changes to the program, overall process, and application is available on the NKBA’s Certification webpage.If you have additional questions, please reach out to certification@nkba.org.
Congratulations to our newest NKBA Specialty Badge earners!
Alicia Scarpone, Color, AEI Interiors, LLC, Pittsburgh Tri State
Kate Freed, Cabinetry, Cabinets by Design, Iowa
Corri Melling, Cabinetry, Melling Granite, Southwest Desert
Jacob Wesemann, Universal Design, Kohler Company, Wisconsin/Upper Michigan
Lynn Colyer, Cabinetry, Lowe’s of Petoskey, MI #2585, Northern Michigan
Gina Compora, Cabinetry and Floor Plans and Specifications, Nicholson Builders, Central Ohio
Lynnese Graves, Universal Design, Boerne Samuel V. Champion High School, Texas South Plains
Peggy Straley, Remodeling, Peggy Straley Design, Northern California
Craig Ethier, Lighting, ClearMirror, Minnesota State
Natalie Ivashkina, Universal Design, Eco German Kitchens, Puget Sound
Complete Your NKBA Specialty Badge! Have you started the process to earn an NKBA Specialty Badge but have yet to take the test? We’d like to encourage those of you to take the online exam and earn your badge today! If you’re ready to proceed to the exam, please fill out the NKBA Badge Exam Form. The Specialty Badge flier and informational webinar is available to all Chapters. If you have any questions or need assistance, please email badge@nkba.org or call our Member Relations team at (800) 843-6522.
The NKBA Design Webinar Program in June includes five webinars with topics focused on Color Concepts in the K+B industry! In addition, NKBA will offer two new Business Webinars on Partnering with Contractors throughout the design process. Click here to register.
You must attend 80% of the “live” webinar session to earn .1 CEU per webinar. Our Design webinars this month are generously sponsored by Wilsonart. Click here to learn more about our sponsor.
NKBA
Initiatives
Earlier this month, NKBA released the results of two research studies – the Q1 2023 Kitchen & Bath Market Index (KBMI) and NKBA’s Luxury Outdoor Kitchens.
KBMI
Despite considerable economic uncertainty, the KBMI showed minor improvement in Q1 compared to the previous quarter, 62.4 and 61 respectively on a 100-point scale.
Some key takeaways from this KBMI report include:
- Even though Q1 sales of K&B products and design services posted a slight decline from last quarter, kitchen and bath professionals were pleasantly surprised that Q1 2023 demand was stronger than expected.
- Kitchen and bath professionals are cautiously optimistic about Q2 2023 sales.
- The outlook for full-year 2023 K&B spending is brightening, at least for now.
- Fear of recession remains K&B professionals’ top concern as they witness some consumers pausing their remodeling projects.
Click here to read Q1 2023 NKBA/ John Burns KBMI report in its entirety.
Luxury Outdoor Kitchens
Based on the insights and advice from 11 talented designers, this research report contains insightful information on the key practices, design principles, and material and product trends driving the popularity of outdoor kitchens. Here are just a few highlights from this report:
- Seamless transitions expand the home. Seamless design transitions between indoor and outdoor are accomplished through fixtures, finishes and coordinated materials, surfaces and colors — all of which ease the flow between spaces.
- Creative solutions can expand the outdoor space. By using strategies such as having outdoor ‘rooms’ spill out into unusable yard space or creating upper levels, designers can increase the functionality and size of the outdoor space.
- Outdoor kitchens require different design principles. Designers must consider how to anticipate and mitigate the impact of seasonal changes on the outdoor kitchen. The weather, humidity, temperature, wind direction and sunlight can all have a negative effect on outdoor kitchen products/materials if not treated properly.
To learn more about these and other insights from the designers interviewed in the Luxury Outdoor Kitchen study, download the full report here. To watch the NKBA Summit on Designing the Outdoor Kitchen, go here to view the sessions on demand.
As NKBA continues with its NextUp initiatives, we wanted to provide the chapters with some resources. The below article was on the NKBA blog and newsletter and lets members know what is being worked on regarding skilled labor. There is also a template at the end of the article that members can use to send to their legislators.
NKBA + You = Addressing the Skilled Labor Shortage in the Kitchen & Bath Industry
A new one-sheeter is also available for chapters to send to their local schools, use at home shows or other events promoting jobs in the skilled trades as well as the NKBA NextUp program. Click here.
Member
Relations
New Membership Is Vital to the NKBA
Please send all prospective member inquiries to noelle@nkba.org and our team will send detailed information on member benefits, membership cost, certification, badges and more. Click here for our Member Benefits Brochure.
The 2023 NKBA membership application has been updated and is available for distribution. If anyone needs a copy of the application, please contact the Member Relations Team at info@nkba.org.
The NKBA recently updated our membership applications so that we can streamline the application process as well as gather valuable information. Please make sure you are providing potential NKBA members with the correct version of our member applications. If you need a copy, please send a request to info@nkba.org.
Exciting addition to your member profile! Login to NKBA.org to retrieve your individual member number. We recommend that all NKBA chapter officers take some time to update their member profiles.
If you are a company owner, your company member number will be under your Organization’s Profile. While you are in your member profile, it’s a great time to add photos, your bio, social media links and more. The Member Relations team has a one-page instruction document available for distribution. Please reach out to us at info@nkba.org, and we will send you a copy of the instructions. You can also schedule some time with one of our member relations’ professionals to walk through the process.
Please encourage your members to send any roster, employment, company name changes, etc. to info@nkba.org and the Member Relations Team will be happy to help!
Additionally, we receive inquiries from members asking for chapter officer contact information. In response to these inquiries, we refer members to the About Us link on the chapter’s webpage. Please ensure that this information is complete and up to date.
The Member Relations team is here to assist you with updating your Chapter websites. If you need assistance adding or modifying an event, picture, sponsor etc… Please do not hesitate to email us at info@nkba.org or call us at 800-843-6522. We are always glad to lend a hand.
The NKBA has a revised version of the new membership applications that include updated pricing and additional segments to better identify the services our members provide. Please reach out to the member services department if you need a copy of the new applications and please discard any old versions.
Member Companies should take advantage of another wonderful NKBA member benefit, posting job openings on NKBA.org job portal! This benefit is available to all active members and is included with your membership. Reach out to us for details, (800) 843-6522 or info@nkba.org.
NKBA offers free membership for all higher education students studying in the design and construction fields as well as discounted membership to all recent graduates. For more information, please email info@nkba.org or call our team at (800) 843-6522.
We are currently reaching peak season for NKBA membership and certification renewals for a majority of our members. Please remind them that we recently moved our offices to Pennsylvania and to mail their membership or certification dues to our new address: 1 West Broad Street, Ste 300, Bethlehem PA 18018. If any members need assistance with their renewals, please refer them to the Member Relations team. They can call us at 800 843-8522 (the-nkba) or they can send an e-mail to info@nkba.org.
Students
NKBA offers free membership for all higher education students studying in the design and construction fields as well as discounted membership to all recent graduates. For more information, please email info@nkba.org or call our team at (800) 843-6522.
NKBA Chapter Relations Department Contact List
1-800-843-6522
Chapters@nkba.org
(Chapter Officer Inquiries on Responsibilities)
info@nkba.org
(Membership Inquiries)
Julie Figiel, 610-871-8181 x121
Mgr, Chapter Relations, Chapter Growth Advocate
Gerri Klein, 610-871-8181 x104
Sr. Mgr Member Relations and Chapters
Alan Dove,
Senior Director Member Relations
Chapter Leadership Committee – Click Here. Also located on the Resources page of the website.
Did you miss the previous issue of the Chapter Officer Update, or do you have suggestions for future issues? If so, email chapters@nkba.org .
