Hi Fellow CSI Members,

Last month, I had the pleasure of attending a seminar at the BP Energy Center on the topic of darkness in design. It may sound weird, but it is a new way of looking at lighting design that is in its infancy. The presenter, Mr. Edward Bartholomew, is a professor at the University of Washington in the Department of Architecture. Mr. Bartholomew spoke quite eloquently about his topic using actual case studies, works of art and scientific studies to illustrate his viewpoint on the importance of darkness in design. It was quite illuminating (excuse the pun).

Our chapter is already working hard to bring more speakers like Mr. Bartholomew to Anchorage, except that speakers like him don’t come for free. We would like to hear from our membership about how you feel about paying a little bit more to attend meetings with programs given by such distinguished speakers as Mr. Bartholomew. Based on your response, we can pursue (or not) bringing such speakers to our chapter meetings. Personally I think it’s worth the extra expense, but our chapter simply cannot afford it on our own. In February, our annual program on the topic of upcoming work in Alaska was well attended and informative, as usual. Special thanks are due to Member Emeritus Leo McGlothlin, who worked hard to bring representatives of the Anchorage School District, the Army Corps of Engineers and the University of Anchorage, Alaska to our meeting. At the start of the program, Leo read off and distributed a list of upcoming work planned by the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities, who could not be in attendance.

I am happy to announce our newest Member Emeritus, Ms. Dora Gropp, formerly of the Chugach Electric Association. Her application for Member Emeritus status has been approved and her change in her status is now official. Congratulations, Dora! Congratulations are also due to Mark McAbee of Spenard Building Supplies, who has agreed to assume the position of Chairman of our Membership Committee. Mark also proudly informed me that he is now a certified CDT, Construction Document Technologist, having passed the exam recently. Mark attended our review sessions in March and clearly reaped the benefit of preparing for the exam. Thanks to all our presenters and congratulations, Mark! You can contact Mark with any questions you might have about membership. He is now listed as a leader in our chapter on our website and in this newsletter.

I hope all of you casted your vote in the recent National election for our next wave of leadership, and on the suggested amendment to membership status from the traditional three categories to the single category of “Professional.” Hopefully this will put to rest the ongoing discussion about who of our members are “professional” and who are not. Personally, you have all always been considered professionals in my eyes, and assuming the amendment is approved that will no longer be an issue. I hope we can move on from this discussion to the bigger and better issues that require our attention, one of which is increasing our membership rosters. We are still somewhat wanting in the category of “Emerging Professionals.” This new category of membership (formerly “Intermediate,” assuming the amendment is approved), is designed to subsidize newer, younger members who might not have the resources to join CSI under the “Professional” category. I encourage any new members in this category to come forward as a volunteer and make a presentation to our chapter at our next meeting. You would only have to talk for about fifteen minutes, and it is a golden opportunity to meet seasoned practitioners in your chosen profession.

Well that’s it for this month’s news. I apologize for not being more circumspect in reporting more frequently to our membership. I will try to do better in upcoming months.

Thanks again, to the Board and everyone who has been attending meetings regularly for their support. We would not be able to continue without your cooperation and efforts to bring programs to our membership. Please continue to stay involved and I know it’ll be a rewarding experience for you. It continues to be for me.