President’s Message

June 2007

We are nearing the end of another fiscal year for the Northeast Region.  To say that a lot has transpired in these last twelve months would be a disservice to all the hard work and individual dedication that has been put forth by the members and leaders of the Northeast Region and the fifteen represented Chapters.  There have been a few firsts, at least for recent NER history, and a lot of work going on behind the scene by ‘volunteers’.  It has also been a busy time for members as the industry has been as dynamic as ever while Institute presented the opportunity to change our governance, introduced CSI Forums to aid communication, Page and Section Formats are in redevelopment, and … you get the picture. 

Can you imagine, it is been one year since the Northeast Region announced the launch of our new website.  There has been a lot of positive response to the redesign, viewer ship is up significantly, and many are using the virtual office to share and store information.  The leadership of the Northeast Region appreciates and understands that we are all volunteers with a constant struggle between family, work, and CSI.  That is why we continually strive to find and provide ways to make at least this part of what we do better.  Our webmaster and driving force behind this effort is former Institute President and Fellow Dick Eustis.

Last year the first ever NER.LT.BAM (Northeast Region Leadership Training, Board, and Annual Meeting) provided Region and Chapter Leadership with a new arsenal of information to help guide them in their CSI duties while providing the additional benefit of enjoying the traditional camaraderie that makes participation in NER events so much fun.  There where a lot of first timers who quickly noted that the networking of the mutual commiseration society (read: life of a volunteer leader) proved to be a welcome release from the normal grind.  This event, which took the place of our regular annual conference program, was so well received that there are plans to repeat this program in the future.  That said we are excited that the Maine Chapter is hosting a full conference program this year –

Zero Energy Buildings - Wishful thinking or real possibility, Portland, August 23 – 25, 2007.

Not a first for the Region by any means, but one that is notable for our recent history is that there were two candidates vying for the position of Institute Director – Professional from the Northeast Region.  Both were deserving of the honor but as these things go only one can hold the post.  This landmarks a bittersweet time for me personally.  The past three years have been a whirlwind of events all with differing degrees of excitement and frustration.  To the positive there remains one more year for me in my current post and I will be joined by Scott Tobias whom I hope I can provide some semblance of guidance and mentoring as he prepares to take on the role as NER President when my term ends next June.  To the negative I have to say a fond ado to a very dedicated and respected leader who answered the call (literally) when I needed him, and without whom the Northeast Region would surely have suffered, Ted “Ol’ Argil” Healy.  The Region and I will always be indebted to him.  

We also need to extend our thanks to Michael Bean our out going Secretary who is completing his term for his service to the Region, and welcome Ruma Som who takes her post at months end.  Roy Olsen continues in his term as Treasurer for one more year.

For some time now governance has been a highly debated topic of discussion within CSI.  There are a fair number of learned minds with and equal number of opinions as to the best course of action for the design and direction of leadership for Institute for now and into the future.  A great deal of effort was put forth by all that participated in this the past year from all sides of the equation, and I want to personally thank each and every member who took the time to offer input and who made the effort to vote.  CSI is a member based organization and without the voice and vote of the members all other efforts are lost.  I urge each and every member to make your concerns or appreciation known so that the leadership can better serve and represent your needs.

One great realization that came from the governance initiative was the benefit of opening the CSI Forums as a means of communication.  Now better than ever before members and leaders can share thoughts, opinions, ideas, and the occasional war story or two regarding our industry and the things that affect or improve our ability to do business, or make the tasks of our business better or easier.  The Forums are for all members to view and post so if you haven’t yet take a few moments to try it out, just don’t blame me when you get addicted and become a “senior member”. http://www.csinet.org/s_csi/sec_forums.asp

And following on the heels of success for Master Format 2004 the effort to revise the Section and Page formats to conform to the new structure is well underway.  The first draft of the proposed change is circulating, so I encourage anyone with an interest in or opinion of what the final product should be to get involved.  Time is of the essence. 

The Northeast Region is comprised of owners, architects, builders, business owners, building officials, educators, engineers, specification writers, trades people, and many more.  The most diverse group of construction related people of any professional association.  All individual members, all volunteers, and all with a focus on making the business of construction better by providing education and information.  We are on the cusp of a new year on the CSI calendar, but in middle of a time of great opportunity to plan the future.

Mike Debiak, CSI, CDT, MAI

Institute Director – Northeast Region - Industry

NER President