Growing up, I enjoyed art. My mom was an artist and I’m blessed that she passed on the skill to me. I’ve been drafting, painting and sketching for as long as I can remember. Around the age of 13 I knew I wanted to be an Architect. I wasn’t sure what that meant, but I knew it was about taking a vision and putting it to paper. I really enjoyed doing the technical drawings in 7th grade and for Christmas, I got my first drafting set. It included a small drafting board, Tee-square, 2 triangles, French curve and few pencils. I still have the French curve and probably should frame it. A few years ago, I put together my first presentation on Digital Art. 

Greetings! We will be conducting our February Chapter Meeting and the presentation will be "Gamificiation & Construction: Transcending the Way the Industry Motivates, Operates, and Trains its Workers" Presented by Mark Ogg. Mark your calendars for February 4th at 4:00pm EST. We look forward to having you attend this free webinar, register today as space is limited!

A few weeks ago, I wrote about the accessible route. I included one of my favorite internet photos of the stair with a ramp added to it. Most of the time when we think about accessibility, a wheelchair is typically envisioned. While this an easy to grasp concept, the ADA is more than just the wheelchair. It accounts for all aspects of accessibility. This includes the blind, those on crutches and other limited mobility challenges.

I was taking this past week off from work, projects and almost everything that used my time. However, I did set time aside for my family and video games. This has been a very relaxing week, I even stayed off the computer for the most part. My daughter and I have been tackling some classic games and discovering new ones. I wanted to reflect on a few different levels as to what has transpired over the past 365 days. There was a lot that happened besides the COVID-19 pandemic. 

As I was thinking about Sheet Numbering, I starting strolling back through memory lane. I have some vague memories about sheet numbering from the 80’s. With CAD bringing a level of organization and limits to a file name in DOS, consistent numbering became more important at retrieval of the file. I wrote my own standards back in 1991. I adapted these as times and projects changed. Finally, in 2003, I drank the Kool-Aid and adopted to the National CAD Standards (NCS).

Greetings! We will be conducting our January Chapter Meeting and the presentation will be "Thermal Breaks in Cladding Support Attachment Assemblies" Presented by Luana Buratynski & Joe Baz. Mark your calendars for January 7th at 4:00pm EST. We look forward to having you attend this free webinar, register today as space is limited!

Last week I outlined several ideas for up-and-coming blog post. This is the first one on Accessibility and getting myself back on track to writing the blog. Texas at the turn of the millennium opened up their Registered Accessibility program to non-government employees of TDLR. At this point the ADA and Texas Accessibly Standards were 8 & 6 years old respectively. It took me a couple of years, but in 2004, I decided to go to the Texas Accessibility Academy and get registered. 

Last year I wrote about the Trusted Advisor and the continuing affect it has had on my carrier. Take a look at the blog post from May 2019. https://www.csinext.org/the-artichoke-s-life/trusted-advisor This is a blog post to spark some interest and start the next 30 days of rolling out the CSINext Trusted Advisor Network. Or also in our inner circle, the TAN Line. Continue to watch this space for for details and hopefully we can start 2021 with a bang. Until next week, cheers!

…and now for something completely different.
In his lifetime an average person would walk as much as circumferencing the world five times.

The year 2021 is just around the corner. I know there are a bunch of us that just want to wish the year 2020 away. The reality is it here and it will always be a part of history that we have survived. The sad news is there are a lot of us who did not get to see the new year. I wish to take a silent moment to remember those. 

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

• 2 Year2 - Brent Williams, CSI, CDT
• 4 Years - Todd Hansen, CSI, CDT
• 4 Years - Richard de Campo, PE, CSI, CCS, CDT, AIA
• 12 Years - Ryan Harrington, CSI, CDT
• 13 Years - Kazim Kanani, CSI, CDT, Assoc. AIA, CSC
• 16 Years - William Desrosiers, CSI, CCPR, CDT
• 25 Years - Daryl Robinson, RA, FCSI, CCS, CDT, AIA, LEED GA
• 26 Years - Edgardo Cruz, CSI, CDT, M. Arch
• 31 Years - Kent Kile, FCSI, CCPR

Special Shout out to Daryl Robinson, RA, FCSI, CCS, CDT, AIA, LEED GA for 25 years of continuous membership in CSI!

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

The CSINext Chapter has awarded Ingrid Antoine, a student at the Community College of Denver, the Built Environment Preparatory (BEPREP) Scholarship sponsored by PPG Paints..

Even during all things COVID, CSINext continues to grow! CSINext is please to welcome the following CSI members to CSINext.

• May 2020 - Dallas McCoy, CSI-EP
• July 2020 - Kristin Bare, CSI, CDT

All things COVID has change how we do things. I left off last April that our office had started a stay at home. I like to think of it as leveraging the 21st century and taking productivity to the next level. I plan to expand on the past 7 months, but for now some mini bullet point updates.

Greetings! We will be conducting our December Chapter Meeting and the presentation will be "Job-site Climate Control: The Key to Project Schedules, Safety, Savings, and Success" Presented by Heath Warner. Mark your calendars for December 3rd 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 November. CSINext is please to congratulate the following CSI members on their continued membership.

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

Special shout out to...
Richard Linsky, CSI, CDT, AIA, NCARB for celebrating 5 years

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

Greetings! We will be conducting our November Chapter Meeting and the presentation will be "FUNDAMENTALS OF CONSTRUCTION ESTIMATING" Presented by Daniel Frondorf, CPE, CDT. Mark your calendars for November 12th 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 October. CSINext is please to congratulate the following CSI members on their continued membership.

• 2 Years - John Koessler, CSI
• 5 Years - Jeffrey Mosley, CSI
• 25 Years - Lynn Javoroski, FCSI, Member Emeritus, CCS, LEED AP, SCIP
• 28 Years - Michael Young, FCSI, CCCA
• 30 Years - Robert Dye, FCSI, CCS, CCCA, LEED AP, RRC
• 34 Years - Helaine Robinson, CSI, CCS, CCCA, SCIP

Special shout out to...
 Jeffrey Mosley, CSI for celebrating 5 years and 
Robert Dye, FCSI, CCS, CCCA, LEED AP, RRC for celebrating  30 years with CSI!

Greetings! We will be conducting our January Chapter Meeting and the presentation will be "Understanding the UL Directories 101" Presented by Thad Goodman, FCSI, CDT, CCPR, LEED Green Associate, EIEIO. Mark your calendars for October 1st at 4:00pm EDT. We look forward to having you attend this free webinar, register today as space is limited!

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

• 3 Years - Craig Stanton, CSI, CDT
• 3 Years - Nicole Milton, CSI-S
• 16 Years - Georgia Spencer, CSI, CDT
• 21 Years - Nina Giglio, FCSI, CCS, SCIP
• 35 Years - Lane Beougher, FCSI, Lifetime Member, CCS, CCCA, AIA, CSC, DBIA, LEED AP

A very special shout out to Lane Beougher, FCSI, Lifetime Member, CCS, CCCA, AIA, CSC, DBIA, LEED AP for reaching the 35year anniversary! Congratulations!

Hey there, everyone! Kathryn Marek here, your new CSINext President. 

I know, 2020 is turning out to be a heck of a year. And in a funny way, I can’t think of a better time to be President of CSINext.