I sure hope everyone had a nice fourth of July. It’s a holiday I have always enjoyed. Wait a minute. Fourth of July. That means first of July. Holy cow, that means I’m president of the Chapter! Yikes! Just hang in there Joel!

First off, let us give Randy Smith a big than you for his excellent work last year. Believe me when I say that I will be listening very closely to what he has to say as the past president on the executive board.

In June, I attended the national convention in Baltimore. There are lots of new things happening out there. Have you heard about the Institute’s new CEU Network? GreenFormat? National BIM standard? How about the AIA’s new versions of their documents? Please be aware that the Atlanta Chapter will make every effort to inform you of these new initiatives and programs. Look for future announcements about technical and education seminars on these topics.

But the convention was not all work, work, work! I was able to attend the awards banquet this year. And several chapter members were recognized for their achievements.

The 2007 Environmental Stewardship Award was presented to Dagmar B. Epsten, CSI, CCS, AIA, LEED AP for demonstrating environmental stewardship by promoting environmental awareness in the construction industry, practicing sustainable environmental design, or educating others in the advantages of designing for sustainability.

The 2007 Ben John Small Memorial Award was presented to Raymond Sluzas, CSI, CCS, CCCA, AIA, LEED AP for obtaining special proficiency and outstanding stature as a practicing specifications writer.

The 2007 Distinguished Service Award was presented to Casey F. Robb, FCSI, CCPR, LEED AP for rendering distinguished service in the advancement of the Institute’s mission or in its administration.

The 2007 Construction Technology Award was presented to Rob Dean on behalf of Building Systems Design, Inc. for developing innovative, technically unique, and integrated technology to produce better, more up-to-date construction documents.

If you see these members, please offer your congratulations on their outstanding achievement.

By the time this message is posted we will have completed our FY 08 planning session. Look for next month’s “President’s Message” for exciting things that will happen within the Chapter this coming year.

Joel Kramer