October President's Message

Dear Members,

Happy Halloween Everyone!!  October has been a very busy month for all of us, personally and professionally.  In case you missed any of our activities, I want to get you caught up on the CSI action we’ve had over the past month.  We started our Fall programs with a CEU lunch and tour of the New Millennium Building Systems manufacturing plant in Memphis.  It is always great to see what can be sourced from our very own city and we appreciated the opportunity that New Millennium provided. 

In mid-October, 3 of our chapter leaders went to the National CSI Convention in Denver, CO.  And I’m pleased to inform you that the Memphis CSI Chapter received the most awards of any chapter in the country.  I’m very proud to announce our chapter won the Outstanding Chapter Commendation!  Cheers to us!!  We have all worked very hard over the past couple of years to achieve this recognition.  The other awards were for individuals who have served our chapter at the highest level and they are: 

Melissa Pope, Communications Award

Nestor Lobos, Communications Award

Chris McNally, owner and President of Memphis Reprographics, Organizational Certification of Appreciation

We will be acknowledging these individuals, as well as celebrating our chapter’s commendation at next month’s social and food drive for the Mid-South Food Bank.   We hope you can join us at Flip Side at 1349 Autumn Avenue from 5:30 – 7:30pm on November 16, 2022.  Entry to this meeting is a non-perishable food item.  Donations are down at the food banks in Memphis, this will be our way of giving back to our community.

On October 22, we had a lot of fun at our annual Boos & Brews event at Meddlesome Brewery.  This year all proceeds from Boos & Brews went towards our Dempsie B. Morrison Scholarship Fundraiser.  We will announce how much we raised at next month’s social, as well as how far along we are to hitting our $12,000 goal.  If you are interested in donating, you can find the link on our website under the scholarship tab.  Boos & Brews would not have been possible without the generosity of our sponsors, Yates Construction, Perkins & Everitt and The Dillard Companies.  We thank them for supporting CSI!  ABC West TN Chapter partnered with us to bring this event to our community.  They were instrumental in the success of this event and we thank them as well. 

To wrap up the year, we will have our Year End Extravaganza party on December 8th at No. 2 Vance at 325 Wagner Place in downtown Memphis.  This is strictly a “come and have fun” event, so mark your calendars and save the date!                 

To stay in touch with all we do, please follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram (@memphiscsi on Instagram and at CSI Memphis on Facebook).  

Thank you for your membership and I look forward to seeing you!

Lisa Perkowski

September 2022 President's Message

Dear Members,

We found our venue for our monthly CSI Memphis business meetings! The first meeting will be on October 19, 2022 and will be held in the Sandler Training Room at 5350 Poplar Avenue, Suite 500. We will hold meetings on the third Wednesday of every month and unless otherwise noted, the timeframe will be from noon to 1:00pm. If you plan to attend, please rsvp at www.csimemphis.org under the events tab. Our first meeting in October will be a “welcome back” meeting where you can meet this year’s officers and board of directors. At the October meeting, we will announce our plans for the Dempsie B Morrison Scholarship and will announce our two new student recipients. The CSI Memphis Chapter has been raising scholarship money for a full year of in-state tuition for two students at the University of Memphis since 1979! We love this partnership with University of Memphis and our plan is to continue these fundraising efforts year after year. Please come prepared to hear what we have planned for the year ahead, but also come with your ideas. We want the monthly meetings to be as interactive as possible.

Mark your calendars for the third fun-filled, family friendly Boos & Brews social event on October 22, 2022. This is always held on a Saturday so that families can come together to relax and enjoy each other’s company. We are having Boos & Brews at Meddlesome Brewery again this year, all details are on the CSI Memphis website. We are doing this event in conjunction with the West TN Chapter of Associated Builders and Contractors. ABC is another great industry organization for you to meet and get to know. All proceeds of Boos & Brews will go to the Dempsie B Morrison Scholarship fund. You can find event details at www.csimemphis.org

Other important future dates:

November 16, 2022 monthly meeting will be a social in the evening and not held at the Sandler Training Room. This will also be a Food Drive for the Mid-South Food Bank. Details will be provided soon.

December 8, 2022 CSI Chapter Year End Extravaganza

April 13, 2023 Build/IT

June 8-10, 2023 Gulf States Region Conference in Memphis

The temperatures are dropping and if you are like me, you are ready to say goodbye to summer. We had a very engaged group attend the Schluter Systems CEU and hands on training as our last summer event. It’s fun getting your hands on the tools and the products to better understand how things go together. The Chapter’s goal is to have at least one hands on training event each year, so if you missed this one, check back with the website frequently to see when the next one will be in 2023.

The cooler temperatures are also perfect timing for a plant tour, so don’t miss out on the September 29th lunch CEU and plant tour at New Millennium Building Systems. The CEU course will cover many joist and structural deck products for a variety of building types. Immediately after, we will tour the deck manufacturing facility.

One last thing to note, we are on LinkedIn now, search for CSI Memphis Chapter. We would love for you to follow us there and on all social media platforms (@memphiscsi on Instagram and at CSI Memphis on Facebook).

Thank you for your membership and I look forward to seeing you!

Lisa Perkowski

August 2022 President's Message

Dear Members,

It’s hard to believe that summer is almost over, and kids are back in school.  Summer has been fun for us!  We had a successful 2nd CSI Bowling Tournament in July where even the “losers” were winners.  This will definitely be an annual event for our chapter, and we know it will grow over the years.  We had a great time and the tournament could not have been a success without the generous support of our sponsors.  SESCO Lighting was our premier event sponsor, Fluor sponsored our drawing prizes, Ameristar provided our CEU lunch and Memphis Reprographics made us look good, as they always do, by providing our signage and printing.  We will close out our Summer season of events with a morning CEU and hands on training with Schluter Systems on August 30th.  This will be a great opportunity to take what you learn and put it into practice.  We hope you can attend!

In July we had a very productive transfer of power (TOP) meeting.  The best thing that I can say that came out of the TOP, is that we got organized. We spent time reviewing the way we do things, as well as discussing how to improve the Chapter. We are streamlining our internal and external communications, we are creating a shared calendar to stay on top of what is going on in our community, we are re-investing in our committees and will be having regular committee meetings that will allow us to be better.   Our big plan is to be better communicators to our members.  We will be bringing back our monthly member business meeting to keep you informed on what our plans are, what events we have for you, any changes you need to know from National CSI and more.  But most importantly, the monthly meeting will provide us an opportunity to hear from you.  We want your ideas, thoughts and opinions and we want you to engage with us.  We hope to see you every month at each member meeting, as well as at our chapter events.  The first monthly member meeting will be next month at noon, date and location to be announced.  We are very close to having a monthly location established and once that is in place, you will receive an email with the details.  The business portion of the meeting will be kept to no more 15 minutes with time for comments and questions after.  We are currently working on an exciting line up of speakers and we will keep all new engagements up to date on the CSI Memphis website.    Please consider attending, this is your chapter and we know you can help us make the CSI Memphis Chapter one of the best in the country. 

The changing of the Summer season to Fall always makes me feel a bit nostalgic. I’m excited about our Fall lineup of events.  Our first event is an awesome opportunity on September 29th with New Millennium Building Systems, who will be providing a lunch CEU with a plant tour immediately after.  This will be our first plant tour in a good while, so I hope you can make it. 

I urge you to follow us on Instagram and Facebook to keep in touch with what we have been doing, as well as what we will be doing.  You can find us and follow @memphiscsi on Instagram and at CSI Memphis on Facebook. 

As always, we look forward to seeing you over the course of the year….

 

Lisa Perkowski

July Member of the Month

Sarah Hadskey is an Architect and lifelong Architecture Junkie that is celebrating the 20th anniversary of her design firm, SAM studio.  Sarah is a graduate of the LSU School of Architecture in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. LSU turned out to be a great choice, because it allowed the exploration of regional building types, landscape design, context, food culture, and encouraged travel, too. 

Trying on different hats in the profession, Sarah worked at firms of different scales and types from her first job at a sole proprietor in Baton Rouge doing renovations for churches, homes, and college sports stadiums, an A/E firm that planned City Parks in the New Orleans area, then to mid-size Fleming Associates in Memphis, and lastly the larger firm HBG in the hospitality/casino Entertainment Studio before starting her own business. Working regionally from Louisiana up to Illinois also allowed her to learn more methods of design along with site and building water management.

Over the years, SAM studio has evolved into a highly client centered boutique architecture firm that collaborates closely between building owners, facilities departments, and end users to make their buildings more responsive to user needs and easier to maintain. Sarah often does renovation work in buildings that are 50 years of age or older resolving technical challenges and systems upgrades. She is always trying to integrate travel experiences, landscape strategies, and resilient building practices in her designs while remaining in context with local building history and environs. 

LEED Accredited in 2006, she was a founding member of the Memphis Regional USGBC chapter, and its President in 2007.  For the last decade, Sarah enjoyed serving regularly on the Architectural Jury at the University of Memphis for the upper level and graduate students in Comprehensive Studio.  

Current projects-on-the boards are exciting: Exterior Improvement Grant projects for the Downtown Memphis Commission and their neighborhood clients that will bring joy to their immediate surroundings. It is a pleasure to get to know so many new people and help them dream bigger to refurbish family treasures.  These projects also are enhance view corridors and landscape context in the City of Memphis.    

Personal Bio:

Moving a lot as a kid, Sarah has lived in seven states, including Tennessee. She loves to travel while being anchored at a “home base” in Memphis now for 27 years. Growing up in many locations allowed a variety of interests to develop: in Florida, it was very easy to go boating whether by canoe, speedboat, or sailboat. Pennsylvania, Texas, Florida, and especially Ohio let her explore the world of horseback riding. Learning to jump horses in high school came in handy when she moved to New Orleans and then Memphis—it was not long before she found a horse of her own. Foxhunting  and trail riding in the Memphis region held her interest for the next decade.

In a bid to hold her growing architecture practice and retire her first horse, Sarah and Glynn Hadskey moved from the University of Memphis area and bought Fat Pony Farm.  Unknowingly, they bought a tick problem and 10 acres of solid invasive species. Sarah applied everything she knew about architectural project research and her background to the problem.  After about a year of research, she implemented a program of invasive species eradication and native species encouragement on Fat Pony Farm.  It has been a ringing success in tick reduction, and improves water management goals yearly. Upon arrival, things would flood with 6 inches of rain. Now it takes 14” of rain—and Sarah is shooting for absorbing  25” because of climate change. Strategies include soil improvement, extensive native plantings, and regrading. 

Native planting and invasive species eradication also had a radical positive effect on the wildlife and ecosystem, much of which is chronicled since 2008 on the Facebook page for Fat Pony Farm. The most notable difference is that the property went from being utterly silent to now noisy with birds, frogs, and insects. The Eastern Box Turtle is a threatened species and has been doing well with the changes—there are more every year. Sarah adds knowledge of invasive and native species in the Memphis area yearly, through various workshops and conferences in addition to research. In 2019, she took the West Tennessee Urban Forestry class and is now a certified Urban Forestry Advisor.  Fat Pony Farm is a certified Tennessee Tree Sanctuary with the Tennessee Urban Forestry Council listing 73 species of native trees. It is also on the Homegrown National Park Map. 

Managing the 16 acres of Fat Pony Farm and its citizens (wild and domestic) is a daily challenge. Residents currently include 2 horses, 1 pony, 6 barn cats, 2 indoor cats, 1 dog, 2 adults,  a kid, and a BUNCH of native plants with nightly firefly jewelry. 

Why I like CSI: 

I like the local Memphis chapter of CSI because they are a friendly, diverse, and welcoming group. They have a focus on technical education and sometimes even hands on construction demonstrations, along with a robust social/networking component. The meetings are well run. My projects generally feature a technical problem that needs to be resolved for the client, so having a more technical “how things go together” focus on CEU’s is really valuable to me and my practice. Having time to really get to know different parts of the architecture industry is also helpful—building is a team sport and it takes many players to do it well. I love learning anything I can to smooth out project flow from casual conversations at regular events.

 

July 2022 President's Message

CSI Memphis Chapter President: Lisa Perkowski

Daltile I Architectural Sales Representative

It’s been an interesting 3 years, hasn’t it?  3 years ago on July 19, 2019 we had our first CSI Memphis Bowling Tournament. It was a big success and we decided to make it an annual event.  Fast forward to July 2022, 3 years later, we were finally able to have our second tournament. In my opinion, it was just as much fun as the first.  Three years ago, we had no idea what we were all about to experience and when the Pandemic finally hit us and shut our community down in March 2020, our chapter basically shut down as well.  I’m very happy that we kick started our new fiscal year off with a fun event for us to get together and build on the camaraderie that the CSI Memphis Chapter is known for.  Prior to the bowling tournament starting, we factored in an educational experience through the generous sponsorship of Ameristar, an Assa Abloy Company.  Wayne Norman of Ameristar presented a CEU course on perimeter security systems.  We got smart and had fun, all in the same afternoon!  I urge you to visit our social media and website for pictures of the day, see the teams, the winners, the good time had by all and I urge you not to miss this event next year!

I’d like to spend a bit of time reminiscing about the last fiscal year, July 2021 through June 2022.  That was the first year of my Presidency.  I decided to say yes to the Presidency because I’m a do-er.  My daily job consists of constant planning, setting up meetings, presenting to small groups and large crowds, being in front of people every day and I thought I could just carry that into the president’s role: easy, no brainer.  Well, it takes a village to get your chapter back on its feet and I’m proud to say that I feel like we collectively did it!  Our leadership team pulled together a meeting or event every month. We had generous sponsors, we met new people, we nurtured longstanding relationships, we maintained our membership level and we even got a couple of new members to join us.  We had our best fundraising year of all time for the Dempsie B Morrison Scholarship Fund too and that is no small task.  Thanks to all of our generous donors and to our Scholarship Chair, Julie Fleming who graciously handles this big task year to year.  We brought back to life our CSI Student Chapter, thanks in great part to Safari Love  and our University Liaison, Jenna Thompson.  We will be getting the student chapter progressing forward this year and we are very excited for the students to join us!  So I think we have some bragging rights and I’m going to just go ahead and say it…we had a pretty darn successful year! 

Having said all of that, there is much work to do.  We just completed our Transfer of Power meeting and we pulled out a lot of good stuff for this new year.  We have some great things lined up for you all over the next year.  We vow to be better communicators with our members, we vow to provide more chapter information on a monthly basis, we vow to provide good energy, education, support and most importantly, we vow to do all of this while having a great time!  I love the Memphis design and construction community and I believe you all do too.  So please consider getting out and joining us at our meetings and events that we have planned for you.  We want your feedback on your needs as a member and I am more than happy to discuss with any of you any ideas you may have for how we can continue to grow and be successful. 

 

Looking forward to seeing you over the course of the year….

 

Lisa Perkowski

Spring President's Message

Hello CSI Memphis Chapter!

Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

It is with both excitement and trepidation I commence my term as CSI Memphis Chapter President. We are all burdened during this time with health concerns over the transmission and spread of Novel Coronavirus, attendant social distancing that is affecting communications and ability to gather together as a body, and the unknown financial ramifications the lockdowns will have on our economy, the construction industry and our segments within.

 

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Jeffrey Parnell for his service as Chapter President over the previous two years. Jeffrey his Officers and Directors provided excellent leadership in growing the Build/IT Products Display Show to a well-organized and attended event and fund raiser for the Dempsey B. Morrison Foundation Scholarship Fund (DBMSF). Jeffrey and team also provided interesting Programs for the Member Luncheons and presided over the 60th Anniversary Award Show. Jeffrey has respectfully represented the Memphis Chapter at Regional and National events and meetings, and lead to our Chapter’s many Regional and National awards. Thank you!

 

The mandate to quarantine to slow the spread of the Corona Virus ultimately forced the Chapter to cancel Build/ IT Products Display Show for 2020. There is just too much uncertainty and risk to plan, fund and attempt to hold the event under the current constraints. This will place a burden on our Chapter for the year to try to raise funds to support DBMSF, as pledged. To this end we need to plan additional activities to support our Chapter Membership and Scholarship Recipients. I hope we can hold an even bigger Build/It in the spring, I’m sure there will be pent up demand.


The future of our profession is in the minds and hearts of the young people imagining and modifying the environment. I would like to build on the contacts we have developed with the University of Memphis and become more involved with students and activities. I think we can also reach out to other local institutions of higher learning to connect with their students as well. We have reached across to other professional construction and design organizations to conduct joint social activities that brought us together and presented our organization to additional potential members. This appears an excellent avenue for member growth.


I look forward to serving you this year, and will do my best to make it a success. It will already be memorable, so we will build upon that!

 

Sincerely,

 

Gary M. White CSI, AIA

Job Posting: Construction Administrator with Evans Taylor Foster Childress (ETFC) Architects

Construction Administrator

October 21, 2020

Evans Taylor Foster Childress (ETFC) Architects is searching for a full-time Construction Administrator to contribute to its highly innovative and diverse team of professionals in their Memphis office.

Position Overview:

The full-time Construction Administrator position supports the Architectural Design Team with operational duties of the office. The position requires an individual with excellent communication skills, both written and verbal, proficiency in computer programs, ability to multi-task, provide attention to detail, a high level of professionalism, and integral team player with a “can do” attitude.

Duties:

· Coordinate all architectural and consultant activities related to construction contract administration, including process sketches and permit revisions, field observations, reports, change orders and pay requests.

· Review project submittals and shop drawings.

· Review, coordinate and respond to RFIs.

· Other related activities include assist with the development and improvement of the contract administration process with emphasis on efficiency, quality assurance, quality compliance, and project closeout.

· Compile, evaluate and present feedback information related to necessary changes in construction documents.

· Attend project meetings; prepare and distribute meeting minutes as required by contract.

· Conduct on-site observations, prepare and distribute reports.

· Coordinate with the architecture/engineering team to ensure project completion complies with contract documents and applicable codes, standards and regulations.

· Review contractor’s project drawings, warranties and other post-construction submittals.

· Review construction change orders for contract conformance.

· Review contractor requests for payment.

· Communicate effectively and maintain proactive working relationship with clients and contractors.

· Some periodic regional travel should be expected.

· Background check required for some projects

Qualifications:

· 5 years minimum of experience in a construction-related field while providing construction and or design administrative support in an architectural, engineering, construction management, project management or related company.

· A Bachelors' degree in Architecture, Engineering or Construction Management is preferred.

· Knowledge of sustainable design and construction process is preferred.

· Ability to read construction drawings and specifications.

· Strong knowledge of construction materials and processes.

· Have a positive attitude with a sense of humor

· Have a desire to learn while being a team member

· Be detail oriented and flexible while multitasking

· Excellent verbal and written communication skills

· Excellent organizational skills and follow-through ability with little direct supervision

· Strong customer service skills

· Basic computer application proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite, AutoCAD and Revit is preferred.

Benefits:

· Contributory 401(k) retirement plan with matching funds

· Health Insurance

· Vision Insurance

· Dental Insurance

· Life Insurance

· Paid Time Off

· Salary is commensurate with experience.

Please submit resumes to: email@etfc-arch.com. No phones calls please.

January President's Message

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Happy New Year CSI Memphis!

I hope everyone enjoyed the holidays. Now that the new year has started, the Memphis Chapter of CSI is gearing up for the 2019 BUILD/IT Products Display Show. Booths are starting to fill up quickly! If you want to get involved with one of the best product shows in the Gulf States Region, you can check out the award-winning www.csimemphis.org to download the registration packet. We’re lining up several exciting events lined up for BUILD/IT including a Mock-Bid Day presented by the good folks at Turner Construction and a Booth Crawl at the products show. The year’s show is on Tuesday, April 9th and we will be returning to the Grand Ballroom at the Holiday Inn located on the University of Memphis Campus.

Last year’s show was largely successful due to our wonderful sponsors and vendors and we need your help to have another great event. Just like the previous years, admission to the product show, registration for the seminar and keynote, entry into prize drawings, meals and beverages are all free to BUILD/IT attendees. These perks draw architects, designers, contractors, and engineers from across the Mid-South. I ask that you join our event this year as either a sponsor and help us continue one of our chapter’s great tradition of knowledge transfer. The proceeds from BUILD/IT go to fund the Memphis Chapter of CSI as well as the chapter’s Dempsie B. Morrison Scholarship Fund. You’ll find a registration packet attached.

We also have a great slate of Chapter Meetings lined up. The chapter meeting is Thursday, January 10, 2019 at 11:30AM. CSI Memphis welcomes Jason Weeks of LRK to discuss University of Memphis Laurie-Walton Family Basketball Center. In February, on Valentines Day, Turner Construction will give a presentation on the Construction of the Methodist Hospital Expansion. After that, the chapter will tour the V&S Galvanizing Plant. There’s plenty to do this year and as your chapter’s president I will continue my role to provide plenty of opportunities for knowledge transfer and comradery.

CSI is the best kept secret in the industry, and we need to change that. I would like to challenge every member to bring a friend or colleague to the next chapter meeting. Volunteer your time; we have no shortage of committees to join and a slew of great events planned over the remainder of the fiscal year. Want to get involved? Email us at info@csimemphis.org. If you don’t have the time to volunteer but still want to help, donate to the Morrison Scholarship Fund and help provide opportunities to the next wave of AEC professionals.

Jeffrey Parnell, CSI, CDT, AIA

Architect, HBG Design

CSI Memphis Chapter President

November President's Message

Greetings CSI Memphis! 

I would like to thank everyone who attended our October Chapter Meeting!  For those of you who missed it, Scott Guidry and Tim Michael of designshop gave an excellent presentation on the Memphis Grizzlies Facilities with a focus on Millwork and Lighting.  November’s chapter meeting will be Thursday, November 8, 2018.  This meeting will not be at the Holiday Inn.  We will tour the Memphis Millwork plant located at 1049 Galloway Avenue.  I think this tour will work nicely with October’s chapter meeting.  To RSVP to the chapter meeting, checkout the events page on the award-winning www.csimemphis.org.

Awards.jpg

The CONSTRUCT Show wrapped up on October 5th.  Long Beach was an amazing host city and I believe our chapter’s representatives enjoyed their time on the west coast.  CSI Memphis sent four representatives to the Institute Convention; our Vice President Susan Evans, Past-President Mike Zielinski and Treasurer Gary White all joined me in Long Beach to represent CSI Memphis. Jason Ontiveros and Isaac Barrantes also attended representing the University of Memphis Student Affiliate.  I’m proud to report that I was very impressed with their professionalism at the conference.    They spent a great deal of time on the expo floor talking to vendors and other professionals learning how to become better architects.

This was my fourth year attending CONSTRUCT.  I have previously visited the shows in Chicago, Austin and Providence.  As always, I love attending the conference for two reasons: education and fellowship.  This year’s education sessions were amazing.  I am proud to say that I was impressed with the institute’s commitment to engaging Young Professionals in the industry to join the institute and to have the seasoned veterans of the field to share their knowledge with tomorrow’s leaders.  This message was plainly illustrated in my two favorite sessions.  First, was the Knowledge Transfer session presented by Brok Howard.  This was the first time I’ve heard anyone presenting how to work alongside millennials in the industry in a positive manner.  As a millennial myself, I found it extremely refreshing.  He also challenged the next generation of leaders to learn from the predecessors and to maintain relationships with the industries veterans along the way.  The second session with this focus was the Millennials as Successors Panel.  Friend of the chapter, Michael Riscica was on the panel along with several other emerging professionals from around the country.  Cherise Lakeside from #LetsFixConstruction led the panel. 

The takeaway from both sessions is that a mutual respect is required for these two generations to work together in a productive way.    For instance, a Baby Boomer uses a saying, “I have ties older than you,” to a Millennial colleague is not productive.  It immediately demeans the young professional and will force them to search elsewhere for guidance and possibly employment.  On the other hand, the Millennials need to be more open in their communication with Baby Boomers.  In-turn, Millennials must recognize that they will be mentoring the next batch of young professionals from Gen Z in the same way.  In 10 years, Millennials will make up nearly 50% of the workforce across our industries and others.  It makes no sense for Boomers and Millennials to be combative.  It is far more product to work together to elevate the profession together.

The annual Institute Leadership and Business Meetings had similar themes to the two sessions I enjoyed the most.  Our CEO, Mark Dorsey, has done an excellent job of righting the ship over the past few years.  He has implemented changes to the website that were long overdue and has hired an outside consultant to help chapters bring in new members and retain existing members.  This initiative is called the Dynamic Chapter Program, or DCP for short.  You can volunteer to be one of our chapter’s representatives in this program by checking out www.csiresources.org/ .  Our very own Carlie Massery has volunteered to represent the Little Rock Chapter and will double as our chapter representatives for now as well.  I think that the institute is on the right path and I think our chapter is as well.  CONSTRUCT always energizes me to improve the Memphis Chapter of CSI.  As your chapter’s President, I will continue to work my hardest to improve the content we deliver to our members. 

CSI is the best kept secret in the industry, and we need to change that.  One theme that continued across the entire conference was that everyone singing praises about CSI was speaking to the choir.  Now it is time to come home and spread the word about the Institute.  I would like to challenge every member to bring a friend or colleague to the next chapter meeting.  Volunteer your time.  We have no shortage of committees to join and a slew of great events planned over the remainder of the fiscal year.  Want to get involved?  Email us at info@csimemphis.org.  If you don’t have the time to volunteer but still want to help, donate to the Morrison Scholarship Fund and help provide opportunities to the next wave of AEC professionals.

Jeffrey Parnell, CSI, CDT, AIA

Architect, HBG Design

CSI Memphis Chapter President

October President's Message

Greetings CSI Memphis!

I would like to thank everyone who attended our September Chapter Meeting! We had a great turn out. For those of you who missed it, Veronica Tansey of Fleming Architects gave an excellent presentation on the recently completed Collierville High School. October’s chapter meeting will be Thursday, October 11, 2018 at the University of Memphis Holiday Inn. Our guest speaker will be CSI Memphis Past-President, Scott Guidry of designshop. He will present on his work on the Memphis Grizzlies Locker Room with a focus on millwork and lighting. This is a small, but high-profile local project and I am looking forward to learning more about it. This will also segway nicely into our Memphis Millwork plant tour scheduled for November 8th. To RSVP to the chapter meeting, checkout the events page on the award-winning www.csimemphis.org.

Past-President and Dempsie Morrison Scholarship Chair, Julie Fleming presented her Scholarship Fund Update at our chapter meeting. To date, the Dempsie B. Morrison Scholarship Fund Raising Drive has raised more than $4,000! Also, we announced a few winners for the University of Memphis Football tickets, graciously donated by our very own, Michael Cardone. Jim Neison won the full set of season tickets for donating $300 or more to the scholarship fund and Charles and Charlotte Cooper won the set of October tickets, which includes the home game against UCF for donating $100 or more to the fund.

The Institute Convention, the CONSTRUCT Show is less than two weeks away. Long Beach is this year’s host city and the conventions is October 3rd through the 5th. CSI Memphis will be sending four representatives to the Institute Convention. Our Vice President Susan Evans, Past-President Mike Zielinski and Treasurer Gary White will join me in Long Beach. We are all looking forward to the experience. Jason Ontiveros and Isaac Barrantes will be in attendance representing the University of Memphis Student Affiliate. I’m excited for these two students to get this experience; I had the opportunity to attend the Institute Convention when I was a student back in 2012 and it helped shape the person I am today. I probably would not be as involved in the chapter if not for that trip to Chicago those years ago. The members of CSI-S Memphis are currently raising funds to finance their journey and provide extra funds for the student affiliate. You can help them out by purchasing a calendar of student work at our chapter meetings or online at www.csimemphis.org/calendar. These calendars are $15 each and will be good all the way through December of 2019. The printing and binding of the calendars was done in-kind thanks to Chris McNally and Melissa Pope at Memphis Reprographics. That means that all the money earned from calendar sales goes directly to the student’s travel fund.

I would like to encourage our chapter’s members to volunteer, donate and get involved in anyway you can. Want to get involved? Email us at info@csimemphis.org. If you can’t donate your time or money to the chapter but still want to help, bring a guest to the next chapter meeting. With your help, we can continue expand and improve our chapter.

Jeffrey Parnell, CSI, AIA

Architect, HBG Design

CSI Memphis Chapter President

June/July 2018 President's Message

Greetings CSI Memphis! 

I am eager to begin my duties as CSI Memphis Chapter President for the coming 2018/2019 fiscal year.  I have been a member of CSI for most of my professional career and I was a member of the CSI-S student chapter during my time in the University of Memphis Department of Architecture.  I am an architect with HBG Design.  When I first came to the firm back in 2013, I was encouraged to rejoin the chapter by Dennis Elrod.  Upon rejoining, I began assisting Dennis as the Awards Committee Co-Chair.  It was not long after that I officially became a member of the board.

Read more

The CONSTRUCT Show Experience

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The CSI CONSTRUCT Show has once again come and gone.  For the second year in a row, I had the privilege to be in attendance as a representative of the Memphis Chapter of CSI.  I was accompanied by our fantastic Chapter President, Julie Fleming, and one of our chapter’s Past Presidents, Mike Zielinski.  This year’s show was hosted by Providence, Rhode Island.  This was my first trip to Providence, and it is a beautiful city, however, I didn’t get too much time to explore.  If you’ve ever attended CONSTRUCT in the past, you’ll understand exactly what I meant.  We were all so busy with seminars, speakers, ceremonies, and the show floor, that we didn’t mind having limited time to see all of the sights.  

One of the biggest highlights of the show was getting a chance to listen to the keynote speaker, Thom Mayne.  Mike and I even got the chance to meet him and ask a few questions.  That was one of the benefits that we earned as CONSTRUCT Insiders.  Mike and I both paid a little extra for this opportunity and it was well worth it.  Thom is a true starchitect and utilizes the Design-Build project delivery method to create his structures.  As a young architect, I welcomed the opportunity to listen to a master of the craft.  His philosophy was simple, in his keynote he stated, “I make buildings, not drawings.”   For some reason, that quote really stuck out to me.  Perhaps it did because we, as architects, get so bogged down in the design and documentation process, that we lose sight of the goal.  Another one of his principles as an architect is to model everything.  Thom stated that if he invents something, than he better be able to build it.  So, he starts with the 3D model by utilizing Building Information Modeling; his models are highly developed so that every nut and bolt is accounted for.  Then he transfers to scale models made of wood and chip board before finally building his designs in a shop. 

Thom Mayne’s use of and thoughts on Building Information Modeling definitely caught my eye; if everything is modeled correctly and all of the information exists in the computer-generated model, he believes the need for paper drawings and specs will diminish to a point where they are no longer practical.  Technology is such a big part of the construction industry these days to the point that every team of contractors is linked together with laptops, iPads and other devices.  Using Thom’s approach, why do we need paper drawings for dimensions if everything can be verified in the model itself?  Why create a project manual that is three inches thick if each model component has the specification tagged to it in the building model?  It is an amazing thing to think about.  It was also funny to hear the entire room go silent when Thom mentioned this in his keynote.  Imagine a room full of specifiers being told that everything they do will be turned upside down.  You could hear a pin drop.

As I mentioned before, Mike and I sprung for the Insider package, so we were treated to a lunch Q+A session after the keynote.  It took a while for the microphone to come around the room, but it finally found its way to me.  I had my chance to ask one of the world’s best architects one question and I felt like I had to make it count.  I can’t remember exactly how I phased it, but it went something like this:


Thom, how were you able to convince your clients to go so far outside the norms of architectural design and practice, especially early on in your career? 


My question must have been a good one, because Thom took a deep breath, stated that he would need to sit down to answer the questions, and proceeded to go on about a fifteen minute tirade that covered politics, the construction industry in the United States, and his personal philosophy.  After all that, he circled back and answered my question rather simply.  First, he takes on all liability and risk using the Design-Build project delivery method.  Second, he preaches building performance over aesthetics; he explained that architects should describe to their clients what their buildings will do and not focus on how they will look.  Finally, he covered the topic of client management.  He said he liked to push his clients to take risks and that he could usually get them to come around to his way of thinking by using the two afore mentioned tactics of taking on liability and talking in terms of building performance.  All in all, it was a great experience and I consider it money well spent.

The Game Changer Session speaker also hit the ball out of the park.  His name is Paul Doherty and his company is called The Digital Group.  Oddly enough, though he hails from New York City Paul makes his home in our very backyard of Collierville, Tennessee.  His company promotes “Smart City Design,” which includes working with stakeholders, promoting sustainability, the use of renewable energy and strategic planning.  The part of his presentation that really caught my attention was a renewable energy source called Piezoelectric Technology.   In essence, this technology harnesses the kinetic energy of cars or pedestrians and transforms it into usable electricity.  This technology is already in use in the new Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.  Piezoelectric technology is utilized in the concourse of the stadium and powers the lights and food service equipment in the concession stands.  Paul believes that this technology will become significantly more usable and inexpensive over the next three to five years. 

The main speakers at CONSTRUCT were obviously a big influence on me.  The seminars were also fantastic.  There isn’t enough time in the day to go over each presentation that I enjoyed, but I can share one of my favorite moments.  Mike and I had the opportunity to put together a wall base assembly in a hands-on seminar.  This experience put all of my time detailing wall flashings in perspective.  This flashing assemblies and waterproofing and insulation measures are more than just lines on a page.  These details are tangible items and keep water out of the buildings we design and keep the people who occupy them comfortable.  Again, every seminar I watched was educational and entertaining in its own way, I simply don’t have the time to describe them all.

The CONSTRUCT Show is an educational tidal wave; but it also an extremely fun and enjoyable conference.  I was happy to meet up with friends I made back at the Austin show and introduce them to Mike and Julie.  The friends and connections I make in CSI are the main reason I get involved with the organization.  The CONSTRUCT Show is way to keep these friendships alive and to make new ones along the way.  The social outings planned by the Institute and its corporate partners facilitate the networking experience that makes CSI the great organization it is.  All in all, there was never a dull moment at the 2017 CONSTRUCT Show.  I’m looking forward to the 2018 Show, which will be held in Long Beach, California from October 3rd to the 5th.  I hope that more of our Memphis Chapter members will join me for this amazing experience.


Jeffrey Parnell
HBG Design
CSI Memphis President – Elect