Last year CEDIA membership netted us over $200,000.00 on website referral jobs... that paid for dues for oh....at least 100 years. This year we have won one small job from the site but enough pfofit to pay for another five years. I'm happy to be a CEDIA member and happy to be certified.

I feel that the certification will be watered down quite a bit with it available at AVAD. It meant more when you had to travel. The tests are not that hard (my State journeyman test was harder) so pretty soon, when every Tom, Dick & Harry is certified... including the COMPUSA delivery/hookup guys... it'll just be a buzzword.

This partnership is, as FRR says, a money grab. It will increase membership, which is of course CEDIA's main goal. I guess I watch all of the ancillary stuff that happens with this business and how many other people are getting creative and trying to find new ways to suck money out of it. Ultimately, our businesses are nothing but a portfolio of projects... our goals are only to acquire new projects and make each one that we manage as profitable and smooth as possible with the end result being a happy client who will refer us to others. What I'm finding is that things like this AVAD deal are simply a way to try and tap into these profits from our individual businesses, leaving us with less. Since we have to market to survive, and any of us who buy there definitely market... why muddy up the whole thing and try to get into the marketing game as well. I don't go into a neighborhood, buy up land and try to give those lots to my "favorite" builders... the ones who pay me and then tell them they have to use me to buy all of the lumber, etc. Maybe thats a bad analogy and boy wouldn't I love to be rich enough to do that... then I'd probably be here as a client instead!