BECOME A COMMITTEE MEMBER
Interested in meeting more CSI-MSP Chapter Members and expanding your network?
Want to learn more about the CSI-MSP Chapter and get more involved in it?
Do you enjoy working with others to make a difference, where many hands make light work?
The CSI-MSP Chapter Committees can really use your help and talents this CSI calendar year!
Below is a brief description of this year’s CSI-MSP Chapter Committees and how to contact each Committee Chair. Feel free to reach out to them to learn more and even attend one of their meetings! Whether you have a few available hours a month or have some hours available at certain times of the year, a Committee can use the valuable volunteer time that you have to offer!
- Awards Committee
The Awards Committee recognizes excellence among our membership and offers a great opportunity to network and learn the inner workings of CSI. We coordinate award nominations from the Chapter’s Genuinely Enthusiastic Member to the Institute’s Fellowship Award and then organize and host the Annual Chapter Awards Banquet in May to celebrate the recipients. The Awards Banquet is the Oscars of the local construction specifications community!
Whether you’ve just joined the chapter or you’re a seasoned member, the Awards Committee needs your contributions. Stop by one of our meetings and check us out! We meet virtually at 8:00-9:30 am the first Friday of the month, September – May. For more information, including meeting link, contact committee chair Rebecca Hrobak at rhrobak@combsassociates.com or 763-746-3666 x2 (office).
- Certification Committee
What inspires you to make your career goals and aspirations soar beyond the typical resumes currently on LinkedIn or other web-based sites? Our Certification committee may be your place to make that happen as we develop tools and programs to encourage training and study sessions for our members as well as those beyond our membership, for individuals seeking to reach a higher understanding of the construction industry, and the documents and organizations which work within that realm. We focus mainly on CDT certification, however, have also reached out to organizations looking for one-on-one mentors in pursuit of their specification writing needs. Even during the height of COVID in 2020 we didn’t miss a beat. We’re a fun group, and would love to have you consider participating, whether you’re new to the certifications process, or have the alphabet soup already behind you name!
The committee meets during the noon hour every 2nd Friday of the month, typically at a location near the Minneapolis downtown area; for those who are not able to attend in person, we offer Zoom invites as an alternative way of joining the meeting. For more information, contact committee chair Gerhard Guth at gguth@hga.com or 612-758-4558 (office).
- Communications Committee
CSI-MSP’s Communications Committee handles the responsibility of publishing the Chapter’s “Specifics” electronic newsletter, as well as managing our social media presence on LinkedIn. We strive to spread information as it pertains to all things design and construction with a focus on the Minneapolis-St. Paul market. From upcoming industry events to CSI member spotlights and analyzing recently completed projects, our focus is to communicate what is happening in the industry in an easily digestible format. If you’ve ever wanted to work on the production side of a newsletter or try your hand at managing an organization’s social media account, we’d love to have you on the committee!
Our committee meets on the first Monday of each month at 4:00 pm from September-May. Recently our meetings have been virtual via Microsoft Teams, however we are hoping to start meeting in person again soon (usually at Psycho Suzi’s or Elsie’s in NE Minneapolis.) Meetings are typically around 60-90 minutes. For more information, contact committee chair Dylan Johnson at djohnson@edwardssales.com or 952-929-6794 (office)
- Golf Committee:
The Golf Committee plans the annual Minneapolis/St. Paul CSI Chapter Golf Outing, typically held in the spring at Bunker Hills Golf Club in Coon Rapids, MN. The annual golf outing is the Chapter’s largest fundraising event and donates some of the proceeds to the Rebecca Foss Scholarship Fund for Dunwoody students. The Golf Committee could use some extra hands hosting this fun event! On the day of the event, volunteers are needed to help with several stations. Two people are needed to help with registration. Two other people sell yardsticks & raffle tickets.
The committee meets at Elsie’s in NE Minneapolis typically in the mornings, bi-weekly, beginning in March to assign tasks. For more information, contact Ryan Hallesy at rhallesy@babcockdavis.com or 763-488-9232.
- Membership Committee
Looking to get more out of being a member by helping existing and new Chapter members? Working on the Membership Committee is a fun, important, and rewarding way to participate in our Chapter! We review and update member benefits, find new ways to connect and support current members, mentor new members, and focus on growing our Chapter membership. If you have time to help us with just a few miscellaneous tasks, lead a small project, or generate a new one, please join us and share your ideas!
We meet on the second Thursday of each month from 11:30 am – 1:00 pm, virtually if unable to meet in person, and when possible at various restaurants in the Metro Area. For more information, contact committee chair Susan Lee at susanlee@stationad.org or 952-929-9241 (direct).
- Product Events Committee:
The Product Events Committee plans the annual face-to-face event held in April. In the past, this committee has planned the Expo event which had been a very successful event that was well-liked by Chapter members. To continue to provide interesting and relevant programming and support the Chapter, the committee decided to host a face-to-face event where architects and building product manufacturers are scheduled to meet for 6 - 15-minute meetings. The idea is to connect members of the CSI community in a more deliberate way by making it easy for both BPM and architects to participate. Feedback from the participants was positive and there is a waiting list of manufacturers for the 2022 event.
The committee meets from September through April with a short half-hour conference call every Tuesday AM (TBD for 21/22) and meets in person for lunch 2 to 3 times per year. The tasks and time commitment required for this committee are light. We would love to add 1 or 2 more individuals to the committee. For more information, contact committee chair Kathrine Barrett at khbarrett@activar.com or 952-838-1912 (office).
- Programs Committee
Have you ever wondered why a CSI monthly chapter meeting was held at a specific time and day? Have you ever wondered why a particular subject was selected as the meeting topic? What about the meeting location? How did that get selected? Well, we have an opportunity for you. Please join the CSI-MSP Programs Committee. We are looking for the next generation of CSI leaders to join us. We plan monthly chapter meetings. We pick the topics. We meet with the speakers and help form the learning objectives. We help to find and set up the venue. On the day of the meeting, we do a lot of the behind the curtain work to make the day go smoothly. We help to register the meeting with AIA.
Our committee meetings are on the first Monday of every month at 12:00 pm. We host our meetings via GoToMeeting, so you don’t have to drive across town. Please visit with us at one of our meetings. We would love to tell you more about how you can have more influence on future chapter events. For more information, contact committee chair Chris Anderson at chris@kline-johnson.com or 952-854-8723 (office).