On February 11, the AIA celebrated one of the most pleasing and personal parts of the annual Grassroots National Leadership Conference: the awarding of the National Service Award, bestowed by AIA national staff members upon a component executive for outstanding achievement. This year’s recipient is AIA Potomac Valley’s Executive Director Lloyd N. Unsell Jr., Hon. AIA. And AIA Executive Vice President/CEO Norman L. Koonce, FAIA, received a very special and personal honor from the Council of Architectural Component Executives.

Unsell praised for generosity
“This year’s recipient of the National Service Award is a neighbor,” Koonce said as he presented Unsell the award. “More importantly he is a friend, the kind of friend who is always putting the welfare of others first, the kind of friend whose instinct is generosity and sharing, the kind of friend who makes the AIA a special place.”

Unsell’s citation reads:
“In recognition of his vision that led to the creation of ArchiWire, an online firm-news database service for the profession; his dedication that led to its development in collaboration with the AIA national component; and his generosity in donating his idea and resulting revenue to benefit both CACE and AIA components.”

Koonce receives inaugural Norman L. Koonce Award
CACE President Elizabeth E. Mitchell then told the group that she has discovered that her elected position carries with it a great perk: The CACE resident gets to coordinate the annual search for a member of the national component staff who is widely regarded as a “best-practice demonstration of a truly inspired team leader, someone who listens carefully, offers good counsel when needed, bends over backwards to help you, and is just plain fun to work with.

“You would expect that someone who is able to meet all these criteria would also be capable of walking on water,” Mitchell continued. “The truth is, we do have a miracle worker in mind.” She then presented Koonce with the newly created “Norman L. Koonce Award.” The citation reads:

“As Executive Vice President and CEO of the American Institute of Architects since 1999 and previously as President of The American Architectural Foundation, Norman L. Koonce, FAIA, has actively, creatively, and consistently nurtured the concept of AIA unity, and through his efforts has significantly advanced trust and synergy among AIA components of all locations and sizes. By fostering collaboration, he has developed a new, intangible wealth for the AIA, that of access to resources across institutional boundaries for all members and the communities in which they live and work.”

From here on, to celebrate and magnify Koonce’s contributions, CACE will seek to recognize achievements that reflect the rich legacy with which Koonce has endowed the AIA, through the bestowing of the Norman L. Koonce Award. The CACE executive committee, with assistance from the national component, will annually solicit nominations of individuals serving in staff positions at any AIA components—local, state, regional, national, and international—whose efforts, like those of Koonce, have significantly advanced the effectiveness of the AIA in serving its members by drawing together the energy and ideas of diverse organizational constituencies. The award will be bestowed only when the merits of a nominee offer compelling evidence of distinction in the achievement of AIA unity.

Koonce expressed his sincere thanks for what he believes is a true honor.

Copyright 2005 The American Institute of Architects. All rights reserved. Home Page