Wow! It’s hard to believe our program year is almost over. By the time you read this, our chapter golf outing will already be history, the CSI national convention will be starting (or finished, depending on when you get to this), and kids will be getting out of school for the summer.

For most of the chapter activities, there is a two month break. Our next chapter program meeting will be in September. (The June golf outing was actually at the end of May again this year.) Most, but not all, of the committee take the summer off as well.

But I don’t want you to completely forget about CSI for the summer. Many of the great tools developed by CSI such as MasterFormat, Project Resource Manual, the National CAD Standard, chapter and Institute websites, and our chapter membership roster can help you in your job every day. The seminars and other training options available through CSI are also beneficial to your personal and professional development.

The major event still coming up this summer is the 2008 North Central Region Conference, to be held in Chicago July 31 to August 2. The Chicago Chapter has worked hard during the last several months planning technical and leadership sessions, as well as some fun social activities. They have also secured great rates at the Chicago Crowne Plaza hotel. The leadership sessions at the conference provide board and committee members with valuable information to help plan activities for their respective chapters. I encourage all committee chairs, co-chairs and committee members to attend. But it is also worthwhile if you just want to learn more about CSI. And did I mention that we have a lot of fun? – Especially at night. We have informational brochures available or check online at www.NCR-RegionalConference.com.

Looking back, it’s been a great year for our chapter. But I’m not going to recap it here. You can read about it in my Outgoing President’s Speech (or “year in review” as some might call it) published elsewhere in this newsletter. I will say that if you didn’t make it to the 50th Anniversary and Awards Banquet, you missed a fun time. Joe Edwards and Jerry Putnam did another fine job as Master(s) of Ceremonies. Institute President Gene Valentine and his wife Sharon flew in to join us. Gene gave a nice speech recognizing our accomplishments. Institute Past-President Edd Soenke and his wife Bette also joined us, driving up from Des Moines. The food was excellent and the band was energetic and fun. Thank you for allowing me this great opportunity to serve as your president this year. It has been a terrific experience, full of rich memories.

So enjoy your summer. And please think about getting more involved in a chapter committee come fall. You won’t regret it. You made a decision to join CSI, so you obviously thought there was a value to you. If the chapter isn’t providing you with want you need, challenge us to create the programs and opportunities that will.

I look forward to seeing you again in September.

Jon Rao Papke, CSI, CCS, AIA

President, Minneapolis-St. Paul Chapter CSI