Facebook in 2004, Twitter in 2006. Some of us had cellphones, but we certainly didn’t text each other,” said Horner, “We had mail. We had email and websites and landlines. I had a past president tell me to not let 9/11 define my presidency. That’s hard not to do, because this whole issue of communication has stayed with me all these years.” Fortunately, the IES was able to emerge from 9/11 untouched financially. The majority of IES decision-making regarded staff safety and when to return to the city, but Horner did presume that had events been slated for New York City, it may have been a different story. Jaques, on the other hand, noted that the pandemic impacted the IES financially, as many events were made virtual. “We were still financially obligated to pay some components of those events that didn’t occur, so negotiations with vendors and hotels did see that impact,” said Jaques, “Then there was the financial impact of pivoting to a wholly virtual event. We had a basic platform but not one that was robust enough to suddenly turn on a switch and go fully virtual, plus the training involved for our staff to support that correctly.” In particular, the cancellation of LightFair—50% of the Society’s revenue—saw a large financial effect. Jaques had previously identified lessening reliance on LightFair revenue as a goal for the Society, but when the pandemic hit, it obviously became a much higher priority. In spite of this, for
both Horner and Jaques, the impact on the IES staff seemed to be one of the larger issues at hand. “I think some who live the more typical New York life of small spaces had a bigger adjustment, because they didn’t have the flexibility to go outside as easily anymore. I also know the staff with children were suddenly home with them 24/7 for several weeks. Some of them were literally counting down the days of that,” said Jaques, “There was this big shift of trying to still be effective, but also keeping in mind all of the changes to your use of time or your mental strain or the exhaustion of being a young parent. All of that is compressed into a tiny apartment.” 9/11 also had ramifications for the IES staff’s mental health. Horner recalled one woman in particular whose train terminus was located at the Twin Towers. Her train came in just as the first plane hit, and she ran all the way from the platform to the IES office. Horner had been on the phone with Bill Hanley after the woman arrived at the office, and she was clearly distraught. “Later, she did decide to resign, not just from the IES but also New York City, which was a decision that a lot of people had to make because of this trauma,” said Horner. Both former presidents had their leadership tested during their terms, but neither woman let these events stop them from pursuing their goals for the year. Horner had several that she saw
through, including initiating the planning for the Society’s centennial, prioritizing education, and re-examining the journal and its online presence. On the other hand, Jaques began the year with the primary goals of building the sense of community within the IES and working on global outreach. “Oddly enough, in ways the pandemic has accelerated that. Increased communication and transparency were actually achieved. Maybe not in the positive sense I was hoping—I didn’t want a pandemic to be that driver— but it sort of was,” said Jaques, “When the term started, I knew the strategic plan was going to be a huge part of my efforts. Incorporating transparency and communication, as well as a sense of community, into the strategic plan became another way to execute upon those.” The society’s virtual SALC event illustrated this. “We had almost 100 EPs [emerging professionals] participate when we have never had a strong EP cadre at SALC.” If anything, the IES’ response to the 9/11 attacks of 2001 showcases its resilience and flexibility, something that is being harnessed to handle the pandemic today. “I think it has showed a lot of gaps to improve upon and be aware of, just like 9/11 showed for Pam,” said Jaques, “Given the way the pandemic played out, I think we have to continue to be more aggressive in strengthening our resilience for our members and our volunteers, but also for our systems and our staff.”
Hurricane Sandy Similar to the 9/11 attacks and the pandemic, Hurricane Sandy had a large impact on the IES. The tropical storm landed in New Jersey in 2012, closing bridges and causing buildings to catch fire. In New York City, the basement of the IES headquarters was flooded and, consequently, phone lines were destroyed. For two months, the staff was unable to work from the office. Fortunately, former Executive Director Bill Hanley, former Director of Technology Rita Harrold, and Manager of Standards Development Pat McGillicuddy took care of everything. Chip Israel, the President of the IES at the time, said, “Those three people really kept the Society functioning during that time. Pat would solve one problem, only to see a new problem develop and then she would solve that problem as well.” The impact of Hurricane Sandy even exists today. “One positive thing was that there was an increased interest at the time in the concept of resilience,” said Pam Horner. In fact, in the December following the storm, a special initiative for rebuilding and resiliency was set up by the New York City mayor. IES followed that lead creating the IES Resilience Committee which is still active today.
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designing lighting ISSUE NO. 3
DECEMBER 2020
