2015 Directory

6 WYOMING ARCHITECTURE .15 | www.aia-wyoming.org T he AIA is a robust organization which is signified by the op- portunities for growth and leadership that it makes available to its members. AIA Wyoming is a reflection of the AIA National organization, only on a much smaller scale. It is an organization that is engaged in the relevant issues facing the built environment and one that enlists the talents of its best and brightest members to advance the cause and celebrate architecture. It is my honor to serve as the President of the Wyoming Chapter. We have many accomplishments to highlight and showcase. As an organization we are adept at serving our members as well as providing outreach to the public. We do this by holding conferences, providing continuing education, hosting tours of buildings and spaces, recognizing accomplishments, advocat- ing for the profession, and so on. These activities are important. It is a constant ongoing effort, and it makes a difference. During 2015, as with many years prior, we held three successful Chapter conferences; in Cheyenne in February, in Evanston in June, and in Casper in October. Several of us attended the Western Mountain Regional Conference in Keystone, Colorado in October, the Grassroots Leadership Conference in Washington, D.C., and the National Conference in Atlanta, Georgia. The conferences are a time when we get together with our colleagues for continuing education, to recognize of achievements, to tours and celebrate great archi- tects and architecture and, of course, allow us some much needed socializing. These events are in large part successful because of our loyal sponsors and exhibitors, many volunteers, and the attending members. These events help bind us with a synergy which in turn, advances our profession. The British architect, Norman Foster, is quoted saying, “Architecture is an expression of values”. In today’s world of rapidly advancing communication tools and technology I find myself often in the mode of management and very little time spent in creative thought. Fortu- nately the AIA helps me find the balance and provides the world with support to manage the creation of great architecture. The AIA Wyoming Board of Directors has been very busy. We are tasked with implementing the updated Strategic Plan. Each Board member participates as a liaison to the standing committees which you can read more about in the following pages. The Board represents Wyoming at the AIA Western Mountain Region (WMR) meetings and events as well as at the AIA National Convention and AIA Na- tional Grassroots Conference. We continue to participate in the AIA National Repositioning Initiative and as we move forward, we will keep our Chapter up-to-date on any changes that occur. Finally I want thank you to all of our chapter members, task force members, committee members, Board of Directors, and our Execu- tive Director, Susan Menghini, for the time, effort and support that makes this professional organization successful. b Architecture: The Expression of Our Values Like many of you reading this I am passionate about architecture. I love buildings. I love the process of developing something from an initial concept, through the vetting of ideas and then forming them into something tangible, discovering and solving problems, and finally experiencing the end results. AIA WYOMING PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE BY CHET LOCKARD, AIA, AIA WYOMING PRESIDENT We are fortunate to have the opportunity to do this over and over. To practice architecture successfully I strongly believe it has to be done with the support of the American Institute of Architects.