As I wrap up my year as President of AIA Columbus, Ohio's largest chapter and head into my last six months on the national board of CSI, I begin to look for additional opportunities to serve my profession and the construction industry.
I've been asked to serve on the Advisory Group for AIA's Public Architect's Knowledge Community. I've also accepted the nomination to serve as one of CSI's Vice Presidents. So it doesn't appear that free time will increase for a few months anyway. Given the outcome of the election, I could be busy for another few years.
I look forward to these challenges. I've never been one to shy away from problems or keep my opinion to myself. I believe this makes me a more effective member of these institutions and their leadership. See you soon.
Friday, December 5, 2008
Friday, March 14, 2008
AIA Ohio Grassroots Planning Session
I spent the day with the AIA Ohio Board and the leadership of each of the local components in our state. Representing AIA Columbus, I was joined by Tim Hawk, our president-elect; Gwen Berlekamp, our executive director of two weeks; Chris Brim, our AIA Ohio delegate; and Steve Shinn, AIA Ohio treasurer. Karen or K.C. Harrison from the national component led the discussion of the national strategic plan and the environmental scan presentation, which examined trends that affect the profession. K.C. agreed to meet with our AIA Columbus Strategic Planning Task Force tomorrow morning.
What was interesting was the way each of the three break-out groups came to very similar conclusions. The common themes that we wanted AIA Ohio to tackle include sposoring seminars on leadership and media training, changing the bylaws to remove the prohibition against endorsing political candidates, taking on public relations on a statewide level, etc. The state component is being asked to take on issues and programs that many of the local components cannot. AIA Columbus has the staff and financial resources to do many things an unstaffed component cannot. Another concept we discussed was pairing a staffed component with an unstaffed component. Paul Hollenbeck, president-elect of AIA Ohio, quoted one of the speakers at national grassroots, Frances Hesselbein, who said; "The best way to manage change is to be the change."
After the planning session, we attended a reception in the statehouse rotunda hosted by our own Carole J. Olshavsky, FAIA, 2008 chancellor of the AIA College of Fellows. She held a meeting of the COF executive committee and we were privileged to network with them and Fellows from around the state. The venue for the event was very appropriate since Carole led the renovation of the statehouse while she was State Architect. Carole made the comment to her executive committee who came from Los Angelos, Chicago, and Minneaplis, that Columbus was also a destination city. This comment was met with a round of applause. See you soon.
What was interesting was the way each of the three break-out groups came to very similar conclusions. The common themes that we wanted AIA Ohio to tackle include sposoring seminars on leadership and media training, changing the bylaws to remove the prohibition against endorsing political candidates, taking on public relations on a statewide level, etc. The state component is being asked to take on issues and programs that many of the local components cannot. AIA Columbus has the staff and financial resources to do many things an unstaffed component cannot. Another concept we discussed was pairing a staffed component with an unstaffed component. Paul Hollenbeck, president-elect of AIA Ohio, quoted one of the speakers at national grassroots, Frances Hesselbein, who said; "The best way to manage change is to be the change."
After the planning session, we attended a reception in the statehouse rotunda hosted by our own Carole J. Olshavsky, FAIA, 2008 chancellor of the AIA College of Fellows. She held a meeting of the COF executive committee and we were privileged to network with them and Fellows from around the state. The venue for the event was very appropriate since Carole led the renovation of the statehouse while she was State Architect. Carole made the comment to her executive committee who came from Los Angelos, Chicago, and Minneaplis, that Columbus was also a destination city. This comment was met with a round of applause. See you soon.
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
CANSTRUCTION 2008
This morning I helped judge the sculptures created from cans of food at the Columbus College of Art & Design. There were a total of nine creations that were incredibly, and edibly, crafted from a total of 22,000 pounds of food. I stayed for the kickoff celebration for Operation Feed, a program of the Mid-Ohio FoodBank. I was asked to help present the awards to the teams that assembled the structures.
The team that received the Juror's Choice Award was made from 6,800 cans of tuna. It looked amazingly like a piggy bank and was very well crafted. All of the creations were great and it's too bad we couldn't give each of the teams a prize. These structures take a great deal of effort to plan, design, and construct. I congratulate all of the teams for a job well done. See you soon.
The team that received the Juror's Choice Award was made from 6,800 cans of tuna. It looked amazingly like a piggy bank and was very well crafted. All of the creations were great and it's too bad we couldn't give each of the teams a prize. These structures take a great deal of effort to plan, design, and construct. I congratulate all of the teams for a job well done. See you soon.
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Williams and Tsien Epilogue
Wow!!! I was extremely impressed by the work they showed. Their interest in the irregularities of certain materials creates a unique structure. The use of natural light through slivers of space in thin atria shows a mastery over the concept of space. They also showed us a project in which they cataloged 1,800 trees on a campus site for the Tata company in Mumbai, India, maker of the $2,500 automobile that's been in the news lately. Very respectful use of the natural environment.
Their lecture was very well attended. I did make it from Cincinnati on time to introduce Dennis, although he was getting nervous. Dennis did a nice job of welcoming Tod & Billie, and they were very gracious. Unfortunately, they didn't have any images of the Columbus Museum of Art project they are working on, but I am very interested in seeing what they design for our city, based on past work.
I also announced that our new executive director is Gwen Berlekamp, who rejoins us after working in development at CAPA/CATCO. Gwen's first day will be Monday, March 3rd and we can't wait to work with her again. Gwen's tenure with us as member Services Coordinator was marked with true dedication to the needs of our members. Welcome back Gwen! See you soon.
Their lecture was very well attended. I did make it from Cincinnati on time to introduce Dennis, although he was getting nervous. Dennis did a nice job of welcoming Tod & Billie, and they were very gracious. Unfortunately, they didn't have any images of the Columbus Museum of Art project they are working on, but I am very interested in seeing what they design for our city, based on past work.
I also announced that our new executive director is Gwen Berlekamp, who rejoins us after working in development at CAPA/CATCO. Gwen's first day will be Monday, March 3rd and we can't wait to work with her again. Gwen's tenure with us as member Services Coordinator was marked with true dedication to the needs of our members. Welcome back Gwen! See you soon.
Monday, February 25, 2008
Ohio Construction Conference Prologue
I'm looking forward to tomorrow night's presentation by Tod Williams and Billie Tsien at the Ohio Construction Conference. I have the privilege of introducing the sponsor for the speakers, Dennis Hoffer of Inside Outfitters. Dennis and his company have been sponsoring this event for a number of years and we appreciate his generousity and interest in the architectural profession.
While I have to be in Cincinnati during the day, I'm leaving the networking event in time to hit COSI well before 6:00. If the weather looks nasty, I will start back a little earlier. I'm disappointed I won't be able to enjoy the presentations during the day. The Central Ohio Builder's Exchange has assembled a really phenomenal panel of speakers. I would encourage anyone who can attend to do so.
Tod and Billie are working on a project at the Columbus Museum of Art, and I'm hoping they'll talk about that project. They have a very impressive body of work and I'm really looking forward to their presentation. I will also be making a very special announcement related to our executive director search. See you soon.
While I have to be in Cincinnati during the day, I'm leaving the networking event in time to hit COSI well before 6:00. If the weather looks nasty, I will start back a little earlier. I'm disappointed I won't be able to enjoy the presentations during the day. The Central Ohio Builder's Exchange has assembled a really phenomenal panel of speakers. I would encourage anyone who can attend to do so.
Tod and Billie are working on a project at the Columbus Museum of Art, and I'm hoping they'll talk about that project. They have a very impressive body of work and I'm really looking forward to their presentation. I will also be making a very special announcement related to our executive director search. See you soon.
Sunday, February 24, 2008
On becoming an exceptional board
Another seminar I attended at Grassroots, along with our treasurer Pete Macrae, was entitled "12 principles that empower exceptional boards." Two of the principles that we want to implement right away are the use of a consent agenda, and devoting the remainder of the agenda to action items and decisions.
A consent agenda is used to approve reports, minutes, financial statements, and other items that do not require discussion. These items are distributed to the board members prior to the meeting for review, and if anyone has a question or would like to expand on the report or other item, they request that item be pulled after the secretary reads it. When I was on city council, we used the consent agenda for the first and second readings of legislation. It would then be placed on the regular agenda for the third and final reading for passage. We also use a consent agenda for reports on the national board of directors of CSI (Construction Specifications Institute). It takes a little more planning and preparation, but the idea of a shorter meeting has great appeal.
The second concept that Pete and I discussed at length is using the regular agenda for business that requires board action. For our upcoming meeting, we'll be voting on our annual budget. It was tabled at our last meeting. There will be questions, discussion, perhaps even amendments will be offered, and finally we will vote to approve. Other items that committees submit for board action will be discussed. Remaining business from previous meetings and action items, can also be considered by the board. Any new policies, bylaws amendments to be presented to the members, etc.
At our last board meeting we discussed a timetable for the directors to follow in working with their committees, acting as the liaison between the board and each committee, ensuring reports are submitted timely. We also discussed asking each director to submit their own written report with their itineraries, activities, and a summary of each committee's progress toward their goals. These reports will then appear on the consent agenda, and if there is business for the board to consider, the director will submit the item for inclusion on the agenda. The idea is to get away from the verbal reports we've been doing far too long.
We need to work toward becoming that exceptional board discussed in the seminar. If we're able to implement these two concepts in the next month, we'll be well on our way. See you soon.
A consent agenda is used to approve reports, minutes, financial statements, and other items that do not require discussion. These items are distributed to the board members prior to the meeting for review, and if anyone has a question or would like to expand on the report or other item, they request that item be pulled after the secretary reads it. When I was on city council, we used the consent agenda for the first and second readings of legislation. It would then be placed on the regular agenda for the third and final reading for passage. We also use a consent agenda for reports on the national board of directors of CSI (Construction Specifications Institute). It takes a little more planning and preparation, but the idea of a shorter meeting has great appeal.
The second concept that Pete and I discussed at length is using the regular agenda for business that requires board action. For our upcoming meeting, we'll be voting on our annual budget. It was tabled at our last meeting. There will be questions, discussion, perhaps even amendments will be offered, and finally we will vote to approve. Other items that committees submit for board action will be discussed. Remaining business from previous meetings and action items, can also be considered by the board. Any new policies, bylaws amendments to be presented to the members, etc.
At our last board meeting we discussed a timetable for the directors to follow in working with their committees, acting as the liaison between the board and each committee, ensuring reports are submitted timely. We also discussed asking each director to submit their own written report with their itineraries, activities, and a summary of each committee's progress toward their goals. These reports will then appear on the consent agenda, and if there is business for the board to consider, the director will submit the item for inclusion on the agenda. The idea is to get away from the verbal reports we've been doing far too long.
We need to work toward becoming that exceptional board discussed in the seminar. If we're able to implement these two concepts in the next month, we'll be well on our way. See you soon.
Saturday, February 23, 2008
It's good to be home
After four days in our nation's capital, it's good to be back in Central Ohio. AIA's Grassroots Leadership Conference for this year had a different angle in that we didn't visit Capital Hill to speak with our representatives and senators. Instead, we've been asked to visit them back in their districts in March. It's part of an effort to get us in the "habit" of advocacy.
It's one thing to go to DC and feel like you're in the unique environment of Washington. It tends to make you think you have to be there to contact your congressman. While the truth is, it is probably better to visit them back home. You're much more likely to get to see them, rather than their staff. The unfortunate issue is that on the hill, you can make more than one visit in the span of a few hours, while back home, we may have to travel a bit further between offices.
Since this is my third trip to Grassroots in four years, it was almost a relief to not have the stress of scheduling appointments, boning up on issues we received a few hours before the meeting, and conducting an intelligent conversation with some of the most powerful people we're likely to encounter. AIA's government affairs staff is going to post the issues on a Web site, where we can download and review them well in advance of our visit. More on this to follow...
One of the seminars I attended (this morning) was on Using the Web to Maximize Component Communications. A strategy discussed during the session conducted by AIA East Bay's executive director, Sidney Sweeney, was the use of Web logs or Blogs to communicate to members (and others). The result is immediate, and much less formal than posting to the chapter Web site.
So, I've decided that instead of the usual President's Message you see in organization newsletters, I'm going to attempt communication via a President's Blog. I'm hoping I can maintain the discipline to keep up regular posts. Stay tuned and we'll see how this experiement in the next generation of communication tools works out. See you soon.
It's one thing to go to DC and feel like you're in the unique environment of Washington. It tends to make you think you have to be there to contact your congressman. While the truth is, it is probably better to visit them back home. You're much more likely to get to see them, rather than their staff. The unfortunate issue is that on the hill, you can make more than one visit in the span of a few hours, while back home, we may have to travel a bit further between offices.
Since this is my third trip to Grassroots in four years, it was almost a relief to not have the stress of scheduling appointments, boning up on issues we received a few hours before the meeting, and conducting an intelligent conversation with some of the most powerful people we're likely to encounter. AIA's government affairs staff is going to post the issues on a Web site, where we can download and review them well in advance of our visit. More on this to follow...
One of the seminars I attended (this morning) was on Using the Web to Maximize Component Communications. A strategy discussed during the session conducted by AIA East Bay's executive director, Sidney Sweeney, was the use of Web logs or Blogs to communicate to members (and others). The result is immediate, and much less formal than posting to the chapter Web site.
So, I've decided that instead of the usual President's Message you see in organization newsletters, I'm going to attempt communication via a President's Blog. I'm hoping I can maintain the discipline to keep up regular posts. Stay tuned and we'll see how this experiement in the next generation of communication tools works out. See you soon.
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