End of a long winter

Summer is winding down but it’s felt like a long winter in the construction industry. Not having a crystal ball, and realizing they’re quite unreliable, I vote for moving forward. Let’s focus on what we can do and do it well!

During the summer there is time to consider the successes of the past and develop ideas/ plans for the future. At our annual planning retreat we discussed a variety of issues: the construction expo, dinner meetings programs and golf tournament, to name a few. Someone even mentioned specs. As with probably all professional organizations, we talked about membership. The key to membership in my opinion is simply fulfilling our mission statement. A simple concept but not necessarily an easy task. It’s the “why are we here” question.  (Now don’t get to deep with me – we’re talking about RECSI).  

I joined CSI for a few basic reasons: networking, professional development and connecting with people with a common interest. Where else can you go to mix with such a diverse, knowledgeable, group of construction industry professionals and have such a good time? I know I’ve said this before and I’ll be saying it again. This chapter has a lot of dedicated individuals who are working hard to make it successful and you could be the beneficiary of their efforts. Ironically, as with life in general, the ones that give the most actually end up getting the most. So I encourage you to be selfish this year - get involved! There are many small ways to contribute that aren’t time consuming, but added together make a big difference. The calling committee is a good example.

Our joint AIA/ CSI golf tournament is coming up very soon. Check it out. Much more fun social networking than twittering away!

Our first meeting this year is also collaboration, a joint meeting with the local chapter of ASHRAE in September.  Check out the announcement.

We hope to have more educational seminars this year than in the past, and not just on specs, in the interest of professional development. Rob Cox is hard at work on insightful state of the art while down to earth programs that you are not going to want to miss.

As we come out of this “long winter” we’ve realized we need to be on top of our game. Get plugged in and grow with the rest of us. We’ll all benefit, as will the people we serve.

Looking forward to seeing you!