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From the President, June 2001
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I am always amazed at how the written word can impact people. For those of you who missed reading my President’s article last month, I discussed the changes that CSI members will see by the alteration of the season, locations, and format of our national convention and business meetings starting in 2003. I received a variety of emails from our members concerning the new face the CSI national convention will soon have. It reassured me that our membership was alive, well, and ready to let me know their thoughts. As expected, those members responding were ones with recent and past history attending the national convention. Especially if a member had enjoyed both the social and educational activities over the years, the opinions were ripe and ready to blossom. Some were negative and some were positive. In my positions as President of both a CSI Chapter and my own company, I know difficult decisions have to be made – and this was one of them. Looking at statistics and considering the future, sometimes we have to leave behind nostalgic memories and “the good old days” and think about how we will approach business in the future. The decisions that were made about the new format were tough, but good. And, at this time of my life, I’m in the prime of my business career. Even though I’d like to say I attend Institute Conventions for the educational experiences or to have a great vacation experience in a new or familiar city, those really aren’t the primary reasons anymore for attending. My business time is just too precious. As a sub-contractor, I go for the networking and product exposure opportunities. The more I can find on new products and techniques, the better prepared I will be for my company to meet our corporate goals. While June was a fun time to vacation, in the construction business, June is also the kick-off for a very busy building season – especially for those of use who work with school and commercial construction and remodeling. So, from a selfish standpoint, I’m looking forward to checking out this new format – along with a time frame that works much better for our business. Speaking of CSI changes, we are about to see the changing of the guard for the Minneapolis – St. Paul Chapter. Effective July 1, President Sheldon Wolfe and his new Board will take over the reins and begin his leadership of the chapter for FY 2001-2002. Although I enjoyed this year and will have a difficult time letting go, I have full confidence in the new leadership, and so should all Minneapolis – St. Paul CSI Chapter members. The new Board has great plans and will do an excellent job. I want to thank the FY2000-2001 Board for all their work to make this a successful and productive year for us. Just a few of the highlights from this past year were:
In closing, I would like to congratulate all the award recipients from our May Awards ceremony held at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. The event was unparalleled in our Chapter’s history. If you were unable to attend this special event, please take a moment to personally acknowledge these deserving individuals and companies. I also would like to thank the Awards Committee for the outstanding job they did to arrange and produce the reception, awards ceremony and dinner. It was an exceptional evening and one I will not soon forget. Thank you for allowing me the chance to serve as your President this year. It’s been a great honor to represent such a prestigious group of professional members. I know that with your support and participation as we move into this next year, we will continue to be a successful chapter and leaders of the construction industry in Minnesota. As always, I am eager to hear from you. Please email, write or call me. If you have ideas to share, please let me know. John “Grif” Griffith, CSI |
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