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I will begin with an obligatory greeting for the New Year. As the 2021 President of AIA Michigan, I consider it an honor to carry the mantle forward with the Board for the next 11 months. As I say the words “New Year” that we all said with hope in 2020, I still repeat them with hope. Since we first stepped into the COVID-19 pandemic, we felt that we were mired in quicksand, and it only slowed down from there. There is hope in our future, but a great deal of unknown still remains.
I know we all look to the upcoming year with hope. I choose to ask, as members of AIA Michigan, what have we learned? We did learn to be resilient and have greater flexibility in many ways. We had little choice, really. We did learn that we can and should look to each other to share questions and answers. I recall the Town Hall meetings last spring where we as the architectural and construction community shared our stories and successes together to help our firms successfully cope as well as survive within the situation we were dealing with. We shared stories and methods to communicate with each other and our fellow architects. Those stories were not shared just in Grand Rapids, or Lansing, or Detroit but were readily shared across the state and perhaps further. We quickly figured out how easy that was to do with electronic media and did so with a new fervor. I believe that there is a lesson there, that as we find clues, provide education opportunities, or even provide fellowship opportunities that we reach to a broader community with whom we share our profession and our interests. I hope that successes breed more success. AIA membership to me was of more practical benefit to me personally than any other time I can recall.
Late in 2019, AIA Michigan assembled a task force to set a new Strategic Plan for AIA Michigan, to set a direction for the next half decade. You can find that Strategic Plan on the website if you are interested. I’d like to highlight one aspect of that Strategic Plan and joint out the initiative behind it. Early last year, a new committee was formed, the Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion committee, the J.E.D.I. committee in short form. The committee currently has fourteen members. The committee is open to all members, and would welcome additional members’ voices. Contact the committee at AIAMI@AIAMI.com is you wish to know more. Read More
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EMERGING PROFESSIONAL CORNER |
Hi folks,
2021 brings a new year with new resolutions, new aspirations, and hopefully a post-covid era. 2020 was rough in many ways but we made it through it and it’s time to bounce back in stride with swagger. With the first month out of the way, we already have a lot to look forward to in the months ahead so let’s go over a quick preview.
First, the Young Architect’s Forum just held their first virtual NAC YAF Annual Meeting ever. Holding a 3 day long virtual meeting for 80 people is no small feat but we pulled it off. The important outcome of the meeting was that our focus groups are now all aligned to put forth the latest efforts in addressing JEDI, Climate Action, mentorship opportunities, and much more. We had the pleasure of talking to the 2021 AIA President Peter Exley and he stressed the importance of our role as designers to push for sustainable design. In his words, “Good design and bad design cost the same, but in the end good design pays more dividends.” Read More
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New Members - December 2020 |
Ron Boezwinkle, AIA
Matthew Schmalzel, AIA
Riham Alsarout, Assoc. AIA
Thea Donahue, Assoc. AIA
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Newly Licensed Members December 2020 Congratulations! |
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- February 16-19 - AIA National Grassroots - Virtual
- March 19 - Legislative Day - Virtual
- April 22-23 - Health Facilities - Virtual
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Please consider giving to APAC this year. Giving is simple, just follow the link to the APAC donation page and click on the amount you wish to give. You can also mail a personal check. All donations must be from personal funds, no corporate donations are allowed by law. Donating by credit card is easy and fast. Only personal contributions allowed Affiliations able to contribute: AIA/AIAE, FAIA, Associate AIA
Thank you and with great appreciation,
APAC
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AIA Michigan is Leasing out their space! Click HERE for more information!
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