"Welcome to the AIA's annual Winter Leadership Olympics!" declared AIA Executive Vice President/CEO Norman L. Koonce, FAIA, setting a tone of friendship and levity that developed into the underlying theme for the opening session of the 2002 Grassroots Leadership conference, Wednesday evening, February 27, in Washington, D.C.

"Going for the gold in the days ahead will be the best and the brightest professionals from over 300 AIA components from all over the world," Koonce told the audience of component executives, chapter officers, national staff, and allied professionals. "We can look forward to the CACE slalom, plus the PIA curling, the legislative luge, and the presidential pair skating, featuring those champions, 2002 AIA national President Gordon Chong and President-elect Thom Penney, " he quipped.

Koonce reminded participants that just like the Salt Lake City Games, the AIA's Grassroots is not pulled together overnight, but rather requires a full year of planning. He told them that the changes they would see in this year's program directly reflected the requests of participants from last year's program, such as more opportunities for leadership training. "Grassroots 2002 is different from Grassroots 2001 because we listened and working together we made changes," Koonce said. "That's how the AIA works at its best. "

Good news
AIA President Gordon H. Chong, FAIA, began his remarks by pointing out "some remarkably good news" that he hoped would set the tone for the days ahead:

• The Institute's budget is not only balanced, it's showing a surplus
• The AECdirect issue has finally been resolved
• "Take a deep breath," Chong said, "this is the first Grassroots in memory where we are not agonizing over the consolidated dues and membership base." He thanked CACE, the state and local components, and the national component staff for their tireless work on the database.

Chong revisited Koonce's Olympics analogy, remarking on the men's aerials competition in which skiers race down a ramp soar to the height of a four-story building, and "somehow land on their feet—most of the time . . . no net, no harness, no second thoughts. Here was the consummate marriage of knowledge and total self-confidence," Chong said.

Grassroots is about sharpening our knowledge, he explained, but it's also about developing self-confidence, the confidence to sail into a session of your local board of education, a city council meeting, the statehouse, and, as we'll do tomorrow, the office of a congressional representative and know that we'll land on our feet—most of the time. "Grassroots is about learning the language of engagement and acquiring, through real-life practice, gaining the confidence to soar and demonstrate leadership," Chong concluded.

Awards galore
National AIA President-elect and Grassroots Chair Thom Penney, FAIA, reminded the participants that "architecture is a team sport." He said, "It doesn't happen until we work together to become the whole that's greater than the sum of its individual parts."

Playing up the Olympics analogy, Penney then led the portion of the program "where we award the gold." The awards presented include:

Component Excellence Awards
• AIA Baltimore, for its "Overall Program in Public Affairs and Communications"
• AIA Colorado, for its "Single Public Affairs and Communications Initiative," in promoting and publicizing the 2001 AIA national convention.
• AIA Denver, also for a "Single Public Affairs and Communications Initiative," for
renovating the homes of people with disabilities through the "Freedom by Design Project."
• Washington Chapter/AIA, "Single Public Affairs and Communications Initiative," for "raising public awareness of architecture and design among the media and the residents of the District of Columbia through the AIA/DC Magazine."
• Jerome Filer, FAIA, for "Outstanding Individual Contribution to Public Affairs and Communications" in hosting and producing the television show "All About Architecture."
• AIA San Antonio, for a "Single Government Affairs Initiative," for the outstanding advocacy effort to revise the Unified Development Code.
• Lawrence Livergood, AIA, for his "Outstanding Individual Contribution to Government Affairs," in "promoting the profession through his community service and commitment to architecture."

National Service Awards
• T. Duncan Abernathy, AIA, government affairs director, Virginia Society of Architects, in recognition of his leadership and service in the political arena on behalf of the architecture profession in the State of Virginia.
• William Babcock, Hon. AIA, AIA Wisconsin's executive director, who organized and led the successful drive to oppose the Supreme Court's challenge to Wisconsin's statute of repose
• Frederic Bell, FAIA, executive director, AIA New York, for "his boundless energy, passion, and dedication with which he helped coordinate information resources, funding, and a disaster response team for New York City and the architecture community in the wake of the attack on the World Trade Center."
• Joseph Jackson, Assoc. AIA, executive vice president, AIA Colorado, for "his commitment and dedication to ensuring the success of the 2001 National Convention, and his initiation of the collaborative efforts needed to achieve a centralized national job board."
• Nancy Jenner, deputy director, Boston Society of Architects, for effectively championing the cause of inclusiveness and providing guidance to AIA national committees and CACE resource networks.
• Janet Pike, Hon. AIA, executive director, AIA Kentucky, last year's CACE president and 2002 national Executive Committee member, who has been "generous with her time and advice, enthusiastic in serving CACE, the Revenue Sharing Task Force, the membership Services Advisory Group, and other AIA committees, she is an exemplary model of an extraordinary leader."

AIA National Staff Awards
2002 CACE President Karen Lewand, executive director, AIA Baltimore, presented this year's AIA National Staff Awards to:

• Brenda Henderson, Hon. AIA, managing director of component relations, in recognition of her outstanding service to the AIA, especially her visionary advocacy on behalf of the state and local components.
• Carol Madden, managing director of membership services, in recognition of the professionalism and skill she exhibits in managing the AIA Membership Services Team.
• The entire staff of the AIA national component, in recognition of the collective sense of partnership, responsibility, and commitment to quality they have demonstrated in collaborating with component executives throughout the country to provide quality customer service and excellent value to AIA members.

CES Awards for Excellence recipients
from AIA Columbus, FreemanWhite, Inc., and USG
celebrate onstage with Chong, Penney, and Koonce.

Gratitude toward stakeholders
Continuing the awards celebration, Penney presented the CES Awards for Excellence, honoring CES Providers and their commitment to an overall system of quality programming. The award, provided this year with generous support from W.P. Hickman Systems, Inc., was given to:

• AIA Chapter category: AIA Columbus (Amy Kobe, executive director),
• Large Firm category: FreemanWhite, Inc., Charlotte
• Stakeholder-Commercial category: United States Gypsum, Co. (USG), Chicago.

Continuing on the theme of partnership, Penney introduced Victor O. Schinnerer's Construction Industry Group Manager Lorna, who spoke about the CNA/Schinnerer/AIA Trust Component Grants Program-along with Senior Vice President Kevin Collins, Marketing Director Mike Farrington, and Assistant Vice President for Risk Management Frank Musica, Assoc. AIA. Penney expressed the Institute's gratitude not only for the company's programs of continued support for AIA architects, but also for hosting the evening's reception, which immediately followed. Schinnerer also was responsible for the presence of this evening's special guest, none other than AIA Gold Medalist Thomas Jefferson!

—Stephanie Stubbs, Assoc. AIA

Copyright 2002 The American Institute of Architects. All rights reserved.