I am particularly proud to announce that Portland CSI will again be receiving an Outstanding Chapter Commendation at this year's convention.  Our leadership has been working hard and I am excited to see them recognized at a National level. READ MORE >

In accordance with the bylaws of the Chapter, an annual report of the Chapter's activities for the 2014-2015 fiscal year has been prepared and can be viewed on the website.  Visit the website and click on "Chapter Board Meeting Minutes" on the left-hand side of the page. VIEW HERE >

June marked our annual Board Planning Retreat.  I am excited and honored to be embarking on my second term as Portland CSI President. I am also excited to welcome Marty Houston of Walsh Construction and Leslie Case of Laird Plastics to our Board of Directors. We have a crack team from every area of A/E/C on our board this year (architects, engineers, contractors, product representatives, etc.) which only provides more variety and depth to our planning efforts.

At our planning session, the Board worked on setting goals and objectives for the upcoming year to meet our member's needs. Our top priorities this year center around the following. We have already started actively working on these goals. 

1. Providing value-added education
2. Embracing and accommodating our young professional community 
3. Reaching out to our industry partners 
4. Doing a better job of spreading the message of CSI, still the best kept secret in the industry. (We aim to change that.) 

Introducing our new chair of Emerging Professionals Committee 

One of the first orders of business was to find the perfect fit as Chair of our Portland Emerging Professionals Committee. We are excited to welcome Geoff Jenks of Interface Engineering to the fold. Not only will Geoff bring an engineering perspective to our planning but he is also a young professional (YP) who is active in the A/E/C YP community and passionate about helping CSI improve their programs, so that all of our professionals are equally represented. We will also be combining the meetings of our Education Committee and YP Committee to share resources and be sure our YP Committee has a voice in our education events. I am particularly excited about this and know this group is going to knock it out of the park.

Partnering with others a key to growth

Another goal has been to reach out to our Industry Partners to see how we can share resources and knowledge to improve the programs and education for our members.  In the last couple months, we have reached out and/or met with leadership at AIA, DBIA, ASHRAE, AFO, Estimators and BEC. Planning for some joint events is already in the works and more is on the way. The best way to grow in this business is to share knowledge and we intend to make sure our members get as much of that as they need. Keep your eye out because we have a lot of great things on the way. A special thank you to the lovely and charming Jane Jarrett from the Architecture Foundation of Oregon for joining us at our annual Scavenger Hunt. AFO does a lot of wonderful things but their Architects in Schools program is unparalleled. They will be looking for volunteers soon and I hope to see some of you in those classrooms.

We had a great time in the warm weather last month at our annual Architectural Scavenger Hunt! Three teams raced to identify 12 buildings in the historic Yamhill District, with only a few clues to guide the way. Congratulations to team "Those aren't Artichokes" who came in first with a perfect 12 out of 12 score, and a BIG "Thank you!" to Leslie Case and Laird Plastics for hosting the happy hour afterwards! Make sure to mark your calendars for next July 12th for a fun, free event!

Historically, Portland CSI has reserved the summer months to lighten it up a little and have some fun.  This year is no different with another successful and entertaining Chili Cook-Off in June and the always fun and competitive Architectural Scavenger Hunt in July.  This month, we will round out our 'summer break' with our sold out golf tournament at Lewis River Golf Course on the 27th of August.  It is encouraging to see the activity and rising attendance at Portland CSI events and programs.  This is indicative of the hard work and dedication of our leaders to take it to another level and be the Chapter to emulate.  Please, if you haven't joined us lately, I encourage you to attend a chapter meeting or program and see some of the great changes and fresh ideas happening at Portland CSI.

Now, just because we have been having some fun this summer does not mean that we have not been hard at working planning and getting organized for the upcoming year. All of our committees have been busy gearing up for what will be a banner year at Portland CSI. Look for more exciting opportunities coming this fall.

Contact our Portland Certification Committee if you have any questions: Kathy Hempel at [email protected] or Katie Kniesteadt at [email protected].