I seem to fill a lot of my idle time with stuff. But if the time is filled then it is not idle. I seem to be stuck in an infinite loop. But seriously, I have begun to carve out some time to study the next part of my LEED exam.

Each of the following members joined CSI in March. CSINext is please to congratulate the following CSI members on their continued membership.

• 2 Year - David Graham, CSI
• 6 Years - Brian Stephens, CSI, CCCA
• 7 Years - Suzan Jordan, CSI, CCPR, CDT
• 8 Years - Randall Watterson, CSI, CDT
• 20 Years - Daniel Hargreaves, FCSI, CDT, AIA, RAS, LEED Assoc.

Special Shout out to Daniel Hargreaves (me ;) for 20 years of continuous membership in CSI!

Once again, CSINext really appreciate everyone's continued membership in CSI.

Greetings! We will be conducting our March Chapter Meeting and the presentation will be "Code Changes Affecting Classroom Doors" presented by Lori Greene, DAHC/CDC, FDAI, CCPR. Mark your calendars for March 5th at 4:00pm EST. We look forward to having you attend this free webinar, register today as space is limited!

Greetings! We will be conducting our April Chapter Meeting and the presentation will be "Portable Fire Extinguishers: Design for Safety, Accessibility, and Compliance in Commercial Environments" presented by Jeff Soukup with Guardian Equipment. Mark your calendars for April 2nd at 4:00pm EST. We look forward to having you attend this free webinar, register today as space is limited!

The Construction Specifications Institute is an association full of volunteer members who passionately serve each year. CSI has a committee that works each year to refresh and update the Honors and Awards Guide. It’s important for region and chapter leaders to be thinking about those who serve to help make CSI better.

Last year the release date for the publication was March 1, 2019. 

Take a moment at your next chapter or board meeting to look around the room and identify those who deserve some extra recognition. Also remember Region conference & Chapter award deadlines. For those who do the extra heavy lifting, be prepared to act once the new Institute Honors and Awards Guide comes out.

 It’s never too late to walk across the room and tell someone “Well Done!”

“Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.” – William Arthur Ward

We’ve been teasing about something exciting is around the corner with CSINext. A favorite quote from Futurama “Good news everyone!” we have turned the corner. Available from the Apple App store is a native app of CSINext. This was almost a year in the works but was worth the wait (in my opinion). Almost everything you could do on the website is available from the app. The best part of this is the price… FREE! To download the app, simply go to the apple store and search for CSINext. 

Greetings! Our February Chapter Meeting is a little different, we will start the meeting with a live presentation from the Associated Schools of Construction (ASC) Region 6 and 7 Student Competition in Sparks, Nevada hosted by Mike Young, FCSI. Part two of the chapter meeting will be will be "Business Etiquette in the World of Architecture" Presented by Thad Goodman FCSI, CDT, CCPR. Mark your calendars for February 6th at 4:00pm EST. We look forward to having you attend this free webinar, register today as space is limited!

Each of the following members joined CSI in February. CSINext is please to congratulate the following CSI members on their continued membership.

• 3 Years - Sasha King, CSI, CDT, AIA, LEED AP
• 8 Years - Richard Poindexter, CSI
• 8 Years - Joni Zimmerman, CSI, CDT
• 10 Years - Karen Nelson, CSI, CDT
• 32 Years - James Whitfield II, FCSI, CCPR, CTC, LEED AP, USGBC

Special Shout out to Karen Nelson, CSI, CDT for 10 years of continuous membership in CSI!

Well, the year 2020 is off to a slow start for the ‘Artichokes Life’. But that is not the case for me personally. If you have seen past blogs about travel, you know I’m on the road a lot. This year has started the same way, yet with a vengeance.

Happy New Year!

Hopefully Santa brought you everything you wanted for Christmas.

Just remember, He’s not watching you- He’s judging you all year long...

So NOW I know why I get coal every year.

Each of the following members joined CSI in January. CSINext is please to congratulate the following CSI members on their continued membership.

• 6 Year - Christopher Bennett, CSI, CDT, AIA
• 6 Years - Lenora Hamilton, CSI, CDT, AIA, LEED AP, NCARB, RCI
• 9 Years - Taylor Coley, CSI
• 15 Years - Keith Robinson, FCSI, CSC, FCSC, LEED AP, RSW
• 29 Years - William Rains Jr., CSI, CDT
• 35 Years - Lee Orosco, FCSI, CCS
• 41 Years - Terrence Lunn, PE, FCSI, CCS

Greetings! We will be conducting our January Chapter Meeting and the presentation will be "MORE THAN VOLUME SOLIDS" Presented by Kent Kile FCSI, CDT, CCPR. Mark your calendars for January 9th at 4:00pm EST. We look forward to having you attend this free webinar, register today as space is limited!

What started out on the CSI Leader Discussion about the last of the DCP for this decade has turned into a fun little debate. The discussion was on when a decade ends and begins. Almost 2 years ago I did a blog on Frīgedæg, which is old English for Friday. It is  a fun read and you can enter the “way-back-machine” by clicking the link https://www.csinext.org/the-artichoke-s-life/frigedaeg But back to the present. The discussion got me thinking about the end of decade, then December.

The Slider… No, I’m not talking about Baseball. Even though it is a topic near and dear to me. But I’m not the die-hard fan like Dennis DeLisse. I’m talking about the slide show on the home page. This is kind of a follow up to the 10 Years of CSINext. With that, let's jump into a little history of the Home Page and the Slide Show.

Greetings! We will be conducting our November Chapter Meeting and the presentation will be "Welcome to the Vendor Jungle" Presented by Casey F. Robb, FCSI, CCPR, CDT, LEED AP. Mark your calendars for December 5th at 4:00pm EST. We look forward to having you attend this free webinar, register today as space is limited!

Each of the following members joined CSI in December. CSINext is please to congratulate the following CSI members on their continued membership.

• 1 Year - Brent Williams, CSI, CDT
• 3 Years - Todd Hansen, CSI, CDT
• 3 Years - Richard de Campo, PE, CSI, CCS, CDT, AIA
• 11 Years - Ryan Harrington, CSI, CDT
• 12 Years - Kazim Kanani, CSI, CDT, Assoc. AIA, CSC
• 15 Years - William Desrosiers, CSI, CCPR, CDT
• 24 Years - Daryl Robinson, RA, FCSI, CCS, CDT, AIA, LEED GA
• 25 Years - Edgardo Cruz, CSI, CDT, M. Arch
• 30 Years - Kent Kile, FCSI, CCPR

Special Shout out to Kent Kile, FCSI, CDT, CCPR for 30 years of continuous membership in CSI!

“At the November 17, 2009 CSI Board Meeting, the first virtual chapter was chartered, its name is CSINext. This is the brainchild of CSI Member Brent Williams. With social media storming through the internet like wildfire, CSINext is the next evolution of the CSI chapter.” This was a quote from the initial press release distributed to different sources.

Each of the following members joined CSI in November. CSINext is please to congratulate the following CSI members on their continued membership.

• 2 Year - Kevin Tish, CSI, CDT, AHC, EHC
• 4 Years - Richard Linsky, CSI, CDT, AIA, NCARB
• 18 Years - Jack Morgan, RA, FCSI, CCS, CCCA, CDT, AIA, LEED GA, NCARB, SCIP, USGBC

The Architectural Woodwork Institute (AWI) has announced that the Stairbuilders and Manufacturers Association (SMA) will be collaborative partners in the development of a new AWI/SMA 0643 – Wood-Stair, Handrail, and Guard Systems draft standard through AWI's ANSI-approved process. 

We all have either said it or heard it. “Hold the Door, Please.” I work in one of the few mid-rise buildings in Tucson. It is just short of high-rise depending on the definition. I’ve always played by the rules of up to 3 stories is low-rise, up to 12 stories is mid-rise, up to 40 stories is high-rise and finally anything over 40 stories is a skyscraper. The point isn’t to start a debate about what defines a multi-story building. This is just how I wrap my mind around it. Back to being in a mid-rise, my office building is 9 stories and I’m on the 6th floor.