4.2 - Operations Report

Steve Mickley Last updated 

ARDA Follow-Up

Upon our return from Cleveland, the immediate focus was on following up with the ARDA entrants, particularly those who did not attend the gala.


There were 60+ trophies unclaimed, belonging to 31 different firms and designers, as well as our jury.


So far, we are still waiting to hear from 11 ( Joey , your company is one of them, just saying).


In addition, the staff has handled nine duplicate trophy orders, all of which are completed and in production.


All of this after-ARDA activity has generated approximately $ 2,400 in additional program revenue so far.


In addition, the team designed updated badge artwork for ARDA winners. The new badges feature a sleek, modern look and include both the year and category of each award.


You can view the badges at https://public.3.basecamp.com/p/MC9xgVCAarydPXM2qN3nuCYP


New Storage Unit

This month, an unexpected opportunity arose while I was returning conference materials to our storage unit — a 10x10 air-conditioned unit had become available.


To take advantage of this, approximately 20 hours of staff time were redirected from our daily activities and mission. During this time, the team built new shelves, sorted through items, and consolidated our two existing storage spaces into one.


The result? A projected annual savings of $3,434.26 for AIBD.


Here's a breakdown of the financial impact for the remainder of the fiscal year:

  • July: $598 (the typical monthly rate for both units combined)
  • August: $943.74, which includes:
    • Standard storage costs + $178.04 for the new space
    • $68.77 for casters, $31.90 for an LED light, and $67.03 for wood planks
  • September through June: $220/month x 10 months = $2,200


In total, our annual storage costs have been reduced from $7,176 ($598 x 12 months) to $3,741.74 — a significant saving that reflects the value of our team's hard work and resourcefulness.


AIBD Payment Terminal Outage

As is often the case, the final week of the month brought with it a wave of technical issues. On August 27th, around midday, we began receiving reports from members attempting to renew their memberships, only to find their payments were being declined, accompanied by an error message.

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By midday the following day, our team had developed a temporary workaround. While this solution triggered some error messages within the system's internal processes, payments were successfully being processed. Our staff continued to work diligently towards a permanent resolution, which, to my knowledge, has since been achieved.


Email Outage

On August 31st, Microsoft experienced widespread issues with Outlook that may have affected some of you. Fortunately, AIBD largely escaped the disruption — Garrett was the only A-Team member who reported any difficulty sending or receiving emails.


General Operations

The remainder of July and August reflected normal AIBD operations, with a notable increase in committee participation — a pattern we typically see following a conference, as members and leadership return reinvigorated by the sense of community and exchange of ideas. The A-Team remains committed to being the driving force behind your vision. Let's keep that momentum alive.