I have seen a few changes in the years I have been involved in Committees and on the Board, and most of the change has occurred because pressures from work, family, and community and, and, and (you fill in the blanks) have mounted to an almost fevered pitch. Asking someone if they will serve on or lead a Committee or commit for two years on the Board of Directors can be interesting sometimes. You notice their eyes glaze over, they take a step back, and you feel them slipping away as thoughts of their work, home life, and all of the other important things in their life appear before them. Quite a picture isn’t it? Many of us have been there!
There are also those that are a great asset to organization, that are doing things for the organization, without being on a Board or leading a Committee. In order to make knowledge transferable in an ever-changing atmosphere for boomers, busters, Generation Xers, and Yers, we need to have more flexibility, diversity, and volunteerism which will be a main challenge over the next few years for our Chapter.
In order to have a say in what shape the future of CSI takes, we encourage all members to take an active role, even if limited, in working on and planning for the future of CSI and our Chapter. The nominating committee is compiling recommendations for upcoming vacancies on the Board and planning for committee chairs and members for the next few years. If you have an interest in participating at this level, please feel free to contact me, any of the Board members, or a Nominating Committee member. We welcome your interest and involvement, and the more people we have involved, the more manageable the tasks become.
Some of the Board members are attending the Dynamic Chapter Program sessions being put on by CSI National regarding how to interest our new/current members in the industry in the uniqueness of our Chapter events and how to get them involved in Chapter activities.
This is the time of the year the awards committee is looking for nominations for Chapter Members for Chapter, Region, Institute, and Construction Industry contributions. Please contact Rick Nichols, Awards Committee Chair, at rnichols@mail.thebluebook.com.
I would like to extend a special thank you to the following for their excellent and information presentations:
John Cook and Joan Soranno from HGA for their presentation on the Walker Art Center at the November 12th Chapter Meeting. Thank you to the instructors and students that attended the event from Dunwoody.
Basem Hammami from RSP Architects and Jeremy Jacob from Mortenson on their presentation on the “One Discovery Square” a healthcare innovative campus in Rochester, Minnesota at the December 10th Chapter Meeting.
Finally, I would like to invite all members, student members, and non-members to attend the January Chapter Meeting “Intersection of Law and the Built Environment” on Monday, January 14, 2019, at Grumpy’s. The speaker will be Mark Kalar of Cunningham Group, Chief Corporate Counsel.
I look forward to seeing all of you at the January Chapter Program.
Sincerely,
Cynthia J. Long || CSI, CDT
President
CSI Minneapolis-St. Paul Chapter