As I try to start this month’s column, I keep reflecting back on the early part of January and how Brian Schroder’s unexpected death on January 6 affected me and others. Brian was a member of CSI for 19 years. In that time he was a vice president on the Board twice, served on committees, volunteered time in the Chapter membership booth at some of the AIA Minnesota conventions and was a speaker for some of our seminars. When I attended his memorial service later that week, I was awed by the number of people standing in line to pay their respects; and by how many different connections they had with him, from the expected friends and families, to youth sporting organizations of his kids that he volunteered in, to their church and other groups. From this good humored and gentle soul, hundreds, if not thousands of people’s lives were affected. I had the additional burden of trying to work through the business part of how to replace Brian in his current positions in the Chapter, when I really just wanted to mourn the passing of a friend. The little piece of wisdom I gained from the last two weeks is that we need to recognize the people that affect our lives, and to take the time to let them know we appreciate them.

This past month, the Chapter sent out a link to a member survey to help the Board and the committees plan for future programs and events. I won’t go into all the details of the results, but I did want to share a few points. 97 of you responded, which is a good response for a group of over 500 people. Choices for monthly programs were about evenly split between lunch meetings vs. dinner meetings. My informal observation is that we seem to have gotten a slightly larger attendance at lunch meetings this year than dinner meetings. But that could be due to a number of factors, such as the specific topics. 28 of the 97 respondents indicated an interest in serving on a committee or the Board, which is very encouraging. All of the Chapter committees need additional volunteers in order to bring you quality programs and services. In the spirit of confidentiality (although we didn’t mention it on the survey form itself), we are not going to data mine the results to determine which of you specified an interest. But I will list the contact information here and leave the next step up to you to contact those people to let them know you are interested.

The last thing I want to mention this month is the upcoming Product Showcase. This is the Chapter’s annual product fair and mini convention. It will be held this year in the architectural building of the U of M’s College of Design the afternoon of February 26. The College is a co-sponsor this year. This is one of our biggest events of the year and needs everyone’s support to make it successful. Bruce Saline and his Showcase committee are working hard to provide good seminars and other value driven features, as well as providing a schedule that will minimize the impact to your work day. Look for the email notices and flyers that will be coming out shortly. Professional members - hang this notice up on the office bulletin board and talk it up with your co-workers. Industry members - when calling on firms remember to promote the Showcase to the architects and engineers (especially those who are not CSI members and have not received direct notices). This is a great opportunity to learn a few things that will help you in your job and network with others in the design/construction industry.

I look forward to seeing you at the next Chapter meeting.

Jon Rao Papke, CSI, CCS, AIA

President, Minneapolis-St. Paul Chapter CSI