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

• 4 Years - Patrick Donnell, CSI, AIA
• 4 Years - Louis Rowe, CSI, CDT
• 4 Years - Dallas McCoy, CSI-EP
• 16 Years - D. Blake Wagner, CSI, CCCA, AIA, NCARB
• 21 Years - Kathryn Marek, CSI, CCCA, AIA, NCARB, SCIP
• 22 Years - George Wade Bevier, FCSI, CCS, LEED AP, SCIP
• 25 Years - Frank Fuller, FCSI
• 28 Years - M. Keith West, FCSI, CCPR
• 29 Years - Cynthia Belisle, RA, CSI, CDT, SCIP

We would like to do a shout out to Frank Fuller, FCSI for celebrating 25 years with CSI! 

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

Easter has come and gone. While most families focus on Christmas and Thanksgiving. This has always been a special time for my family to get together. This year, we will be doing a big smoke out of ribs and steaks on the 4th of July. We are not going to pass up a time to be together. Granted, it will be warm in Tucson in July. But it is not about the weather, it is about the company. The Coronavirus has created a new normal, but family will always come first. By now everyone is aware social distancing and self-quarantine.

CSINext continues to grow! CSINext is please to welcome the following CSI members to CSINext.

• November 2019 - Deborah MacPherson, CSI, CCS, CDT, SCIP
• December 2019 - Christopher Bennett, CSI, CDT, AIA
• December 2019 - Brent Williams, CSI, CDT (welcome back to CSI and CSINext!)
• February 2020 - Sasha King, CSI, CDT, AIA, LEED AP

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

• 2 Year - Dale DeCocker, CSI
• 3 Years - Cynthia Wright, CSI, AIA
• 7 Years - William Kwasniak, CSI, CDT
• 9 Years - Andrea Dinice, CSI, CDT, AIA, ASID, DBIA, LEED GA, USGBC
• 28 Years - Dennis DeLisse, CSI, CCCA, CDT, AIA, LEED AP, NCARB

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

The reports of how construction is moving today during the Covid-19 pandemic are varied.

Many segments are full speed ahead, others are shut down from state and local government.

Hospital work and the manufacturers that support it have kicked it up a notch or two or three.

What our business will look like after this event is uncertain.

Another service announcement from your Artichoke… Social Distancing is all the rage. Well, at least almost all of us are in the middle of it. I truly believe that every person wants this ‘new normal’ to end and get back to the old normal. While the numbers continue to climb in cases and unfortunately deaths, we need to maintain some of the best actions against this pandemic known as the coronavirus or COVID-19.

With all of the Social Distancing. While most are following the recommendations to self-isolate for 15 days to slow the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19) there are those that this is not an option. If still are one of those who is driving to work, you may have noticed the roads are pretty empty. I’m one of the few that has not been impacted by the need to stay home. Our office is running at 50% and we are maintaining really smart practices.

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.

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.

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!

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

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.