Witam CSINext! No, that's not some strange misspelling or code word, it's just the fact that your new Chapter president lives in Krakow, Poland. I know there are some of you I know out there and some of you who I haven't yet met so just a little bit about myself as we start this new CSI year... I am CSI Proud! Why?... Well, I have been pretty much "raised" by this organization ever since I was told to join as a Freshman at the University of Tennessee by my professor (and good friend) Kathy Proctor. I am now in my 15th year of membership and what has that gotten me?... Contacts galore, leadership skills, jobs, knowledge, and respect as a professional. I simply would not be where I am today without CSI. Now all of that has not come to me by simply paying my membership dues, I had to get involved and the more I would sow the more I would reap.
I remember early in my first job after college the firm I worked for was a "Zweig White Best Firm to Work For" and after they got this award the founding partners were invited to Washington, DC for a round table discussion of what made the firm great to work for. After the discussion, my boss was doing the networking thing and whenever he mentioned his firm's name the people were saying "Isn't that the firm that Rob Huserik works at?" My boss was so surprised, and impressed, to know that people already knew of his firm from his new intern. Needless to say I got a great big "Ada boy!" when he returned, but all the people he was talking to in Washington were CSI Institute Officers and Staff!
This is one example of many of where this organization has helped me professionally but I know this is a president's message and not a novel. What I am getting to is this... I want everyone in this virtual chapter to have a chance to reap some value out of their CSI membership but just paying annual dues is not going to get you much more than the Construction Specifier and a bunch of mass emails. My door is open to YOU! Email me, call me, whatever works but let me know if you want to be involved, if you have some ideas, or if you are having trouble finding value in your membership. I joined this chapter because, after I left the USA to move with my family to Krakow, I missed all my CSI buddies and going to chapter meetings. For me this is the one chapter I can be active with even though I live on the other side of the pond. One issue I want us to explore more and more is how we can bring the networking, friendships, and togetherness of physical chapters into the virtual world because all the benefits in CSI all come down to one thing... our people.