Why have sections?

Light pollution issues are local, regional, national, and international. However, to solve the problem, much can and must be done at the local level. Planning and Zoning Boards & Commissions, City Councils, developers, business owners, local lighting engineers, and architects; all must be educated as to the value of quality lighting and dark skies. Having active local and regional IDA sections is a most effective route to progress.

IDA will be the catalyst, and a major information source for these local and regional sections.

Section Goals

1. Be an information source for locals:

Develop local materials (please share with IDA!)
• slides of good and bad lighting
• fact sheets, local costs & usage
• list of lighting policy makers
• list of lighting suppliers
• list of organizations, corporations
• list of interested & sympathetic persons
• local mailings
Media
• IDA slide sets + local ones
• speaker's bureau
• get on the local talk circuit
• local talk shows, radio & TV
• newspaper articles, letters to the editor
Mall and other displays
• IDA will help supply ideas & handouts
2. IDA membership growth is essential!
• increase awareness & education efforts
• increase cash flow, for program growth
• increase effectiveness, worldwide visibility
• increase helpers to do the work
3. Linking together, we will become a more effective force: the whole is more than the sum of the parts.
4. Networking, building awareness
5. Helping to find donations, grants.
6. Spreading the base of support Section Development Criteria
• Article X of the IDA Bylaws contains the formal criteria for an IDA Section.
• Any Sections must be formally approved by the IDA Board of Directors.
• Any use of the IDA name or logos requires that the Section be formally approved.
• Each Section must file an Annual Report to the IDA Secretary.
• We are a volunteer organization.
• It is essential to have a uniform philosophy, with goals as stated in the IDA Bylaws.
• Radical approaches are not needed. Get helpers, not enemies.
• "Section Bylaws" must follow IDA Bylaws. See Article X, Article II, and Article XIII.
• Local fees are OK, but formal Section members must be IDA members.
• Local officers are OK. A local office and local meetings are OK.
• Sections must stay in close contact with the IDA office in Tucson.
• Sections should send copies of all materials produced to IDA in Tucson.

The core of the Section should be a group of dedicated individuals; astronomers, lighting professionals, environmentalists, whomever. The best would be some combination of these. A Section needs at least one very interested and committed person as the organizer and catalyst. Several volunteers are needed, and they should be IDA members in most cases. There is a lot of time required to make progress, especially when one is starting a campaign for good lighting and for dark skies from scratch. IDA can supply lots of ideas and information, and new sections can gain a lot from the experience of others who have been at it for a while. But it will still take lots of time. It's easier when this time commitment can be shared. There has been quite a lot accomplished in some locales already, though much more remains to be done everywhere. We believe that Sections can and will be a vital part of this process.

Any group or individual interested in developing an IDA Section should contact IDA to obtain a copy of the IDA Bylaws and concerning the details necessary to become a formal Section. They can then seek formal approval and work closely with IDA to establish the new Section and begin operations. The IDA Board of Directors actively wants to encourage the development of Sections and will support their operation as much as possible.

IDA is incorporated in Arizona as a tax-exempt, non-profit organization.