Ozark Living

Where did the inspiration for the Design Association come from? I think we tend to look around at what already exists and then build something based on that model. We looked at the Northwest Arkansas Homebuilder's as an example. We had built a relationship with one of the founding members of the Springfield Design Association, from my time spent as an Ambassador with the Springdale Chamber of Commerce. Why work with charities? Well, if everything was all business all the time, the world would be a bit boring wouldn't it? Gary Strigler and Al Glover were probably the biggest inspiration for that. About three years ago, the Women's Shelter was going to be forced to close their doors without some serious financial help. Gary and Al organized a silent auction at one of Gary's parade homes. We were involved because we had worked with Al to stage a few of the rooms. ey brought the need for financial help into the public eye, and were a real part of saving the shelter. Who wouldn't want to do something awesome like that? What does a typical Happy Hour look like? We do heavy hors d'oeuvres, beer and wine, roll out the red carpet and have fun. We start at 6 and go to 7:30, but really go until about 8:30 or so, mostly because we are having fun. e first hour or so is the real networking event. We check people in, get a drink, and get busy meeting people. e last twenty minutes or so is reserved for our sponsors and door prizes. e last thing we do is a 50/50 raffle where we raise money for our charity with half of the money going to one lucky winner. You have a red carpet? (Laughs) Yeah we do. It's for our door prize sponsors. Everyone who donates a door prize along with the winner gets their picture taken in front of an 8x8 banner with the sponsor logos and red carpet to tag and share on social media. It's eye-catching and great exposure for everyone. Not a typical networking event for sure. It's so much fun. What other opportunities are available to be involved? We do monthly happy hours right now but do have plans to expand our opportunities to connect. Everything is basically volunteer driven to keep our costs low and run lean since we are still new and scrappy. We did a Summer Soiree at Sassafras Springs Winery in Springdale with a Murder Mystery which was a lot of fun. And this will be our second year for the Winter Gala at Crystal Bridges Museum. How did the Winter Gala go last year, and what should we expect for this year? We had about 120 people attend and raised a little over $4,000 from the silent auction for Grace Haven Ministries, a group that is heavily involved with what I call the "ever aer" of adoption. Most people place so much time and attention on the placement of a child in a home, they oen forget that it is a life- long endeavor and so they help fill that need. When we selected Grace Haven as our charity, they were still very much grass roots and had a few very specific needs that we felt we could help and with. e money was only a small piece of that puzzle. is year, we are scaling up our event. Our selected charity is Restoration Village, a long-term women's shelter in Little Flock that provides a place for families to stay together, plus trainings and counseling. What are some things you look for in charities to become involved with? Also, what does the application process look like? We have our board vote on the charity every year. Charities are nominated, fill out an application, and send us a 2-3 minute video. We will discuss each one until we narrow it down to what we feel will be a good fit. Personally, I look for specific needs that I think we can help achieve, what are they currently doing to work their mission, and where their current funding comes from. I think having a healthy foundation of funding is key for a relationship like this. Charities are welcome to reapply for the next year, but if we decide to go in another direction, I feel it is important to know that we won't be damaging a charity by not supporting them financially the next year. Do you know what the 2019 charity is yet? No. We are currently in the selection process and won't release that information until aer the Winter Gala. For those that are reading this, what opportunities are there to become involved with your organization? Come to one of our events, visit our website or Facebook page to see what is going on. We are a non- profit trade association, but we still have expenses so sponsorships are a great way to help ensure we can continue working with small business owners, connecting the design community, and helping our neighbors through charitable work. For specific questions you can reach us at info@nwadesignassociation.com. OZARK LIVING • NOVEMBER 2018 • 25

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