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From the President, December 2000
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As we were putting up lights and ornaments, preparing our home for the holidays, we were watching a video movie. A line from one of the characters stuck in my mind. An upset and disappointed young man was saying to his dad, “All I wanted to hear you say was thank you.” Sometimes in both our family and work lives, we forget to say thank you to all the people who help us daily to do our jobs and tasks better. We tend to take many things for granted. Criticism is always easy to share; but a simple thank you (one that really means how much you appreciate another person’s effort), sometimes is left unsaid. So what better time than December, as we enter the holidays and close the year 2000, to say to all the members of this chapter “Thank you for making this the largest CSI Chapter in the country.” Because of your commitment to join, or renew your membership, and to be involved with this great construction organization, we continue to be in first place in members. THANK YOU, THANK YOU for your support of CSI and the great construction industry here in Minnesota. Yes, we are the biggest! Considering there are 142 chapters in this country, that is quite a feat. I’d like to say “Thank You” to the Membership Committee for their great work recruiting and retaining members. But, with all these members, how can we share the great information we have both about CSI and the construction industry? Years ago, there was a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup commercial showing two people colliding at a corner, one with a chocolate bar in hand, the other with a peanut butter jar. The two came together saying, “You got peanut butter on my chocolate” and “No, you got chocolate on my peanut butter.” The rest is history.. so says the commercial. I think it’s time the CSI “rookies” and the “veterans” collide and join the two great forces … of “youth and eagerness” and “maturity and experience”. Our young members need mentors to help them better understand this industry and gain a bit of its history, while the veterans may need some insight on all the changes that are occurring in this business and how differently we will be working in the future. We have many new members that have joined our ranks in the past couple of years. Many of them are young “rookies” and may not fully understand the construction industry, or be aware of all the value CSI membership can offer to them. At the same time, we have active “veteran” members with years of experience; sharing of their talents and providing mentor leadership to our less experienced members could prove valuable. At the October meeting at Dunwoody Institute, the Education Committee asked for names of persons needing mentors and names of persons willing to be mentors. Those wanting help and guidance sorely overshadowed the ratio of those offering mentor services. The time has come … it is PAYBACK TIME. CSI has given many of us boosts in our careers, educated us, and provided us opportunities to network with our peers. Now it’s time to provide that same experience to help others. Please offer your help. We need you to give back to the chapter. Even if you have served on committees or on the Board in the past, it is time to “come out of retirement” and get back into service. “GIVE THE GIFT THAT KEEPS ON GIVING”. Give the gift of your talent and help us teach, train, and advise all the new folks in this industry, so they will be able to be the “veterans” of CSI in the future. To stay Number One, we will need everyone’s talents and experience. I hope to hear from each and everyone of you. Call, write or email me. I want to hear your thoughts on how we can continue to make the Minneapolis – St. Paul Chapter stay on top! John “Grif” Griffith, CSI |
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