Business View Magazine | March 2019

name was the National Acoustical Association, and to indicate the inclusiveness of the entire industry, it was eventually changed to Ceilings and Interior Systems Construction Association, which is what we are, today.” CISCA is an international association with over 1,000 members. Its purpose is to bring people together and to further their knowledge of the industry. CISCA membership is available to contractors, manufacturers, distributors, inde- pendent manufacturer representatives, archi- tects, and service associates, thereby facilitat- ing exceptional opportunities for networking, sharing of information, and establishing in- dustry guidelines. Thus, CISCA has been the authoritative voice for the industry for over 50 years, providing numerous and widely circu- lated publications and studies on a range of topics. CISCA’s biannual events - a spring con- vention and a fall conference - are the primary drivers for member participation. Wodynski believes that CISCA provides a host of benefits to its members, regardless of which category they’re in. She explains, “The bot- tom line is that we tell them that we can help them in their business. If I’m talking to a con- tractor, I’ll talk about how we have access to the major manufacturers at all of our events, and that you have a network of people who can help you solve problems that you encoun- ter. You can meet people who are not in your direct markets, so they’re not competitors, and you can reach out to them; you will learn from other people about challenges and current 138 THE CEILINGS AND INTERIOR SYSTEMS CONSTRUCTION ASSOCI CISCA Past Presidents – photo taken during the 2018 Convention – Front Row left to right: Philip May, Pete Welly, Brad Sampson, Connie Larson, Doug Ayers, Claude Amerson, Bill Shannon, Jeff Hudepohl Back row left to right: David Nicholas, Eric Mau, Jason Gordon, Brice Neiman, Ron Bishop, Michael Coakley, Kent Vipond