2018 Directory

17 of New York City that I had only read about. We spent a great deal of time walking the expansive and inspiring spaces surrounding the World Trade Center. We were mesmerized with the spectacular Oculus Building by Santiago Ca- latrava. My head was on a swivel. Not too far away from the Oculus we managed to find Wall Street, a tiny alley like street in the center of the financial district. We were now at the hub of world com- merce. One can only imagine. Having witnessed a great col- lection of architecture, past and present, we decided to feast at a wonderful Italian restaurant called Eataly. On the walk back to the subway, we experienced the allure of an open air market that featured a variety of cultural cuisine, primarily from Latin American countries. The smells and sounds were invigorating. New York is a huge melting pot of people, of culture, of language and of social interaction. I abso- lutely loved it. First on the conference agenda were the candidate speeches, followed regional caucuses, a by-laws discussion, etc. culminat- ing in the election of next year’s leaders. These are: 2019-2020 AIA President-elect, L Jane Freder- icks, FAIA South Carolina, 2019- 2020 Secretary, Jason Winters, AIA AIA Chesapeake Bay/AIA Maryland and 2019-2020 Direc- tor-at-large, Jessica Sheridan, AIA AIA New York Chapter. Of note, the AIA Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct by-laws were discussed and by a huge majority vote, were amended. I was privileged to attend the AIA Western Mountain Region business meeting, and later, we reconvened to celebrate our newest regional Fellows at the WMR Fellowship Reception. I did not attend the Fellowship Convocation, but spent time with several of our regional recipients including our old friends Stewart Coppedge, FAIA from Colorado Springs, Glenn Fellows, FAIA from Albuquerque and Tanya Salgado, FAIA from Denver. Also attending were Ed Vance, FAIA and his better half Ruby from Las Vegas, as well as past AIA President RK Stewart, FAIA and Jeannie Jackson FAIA from Utah. I was also able to spend quality time telling stories and lamenting the past with Law- rence Enyart, FAIA, a regional Fellowship Director from Ari- zona and one of my professors while attending ASU. After the regional reception, Barb and I decided to walk a portion of the infamous High Line with Katie Wilson. The High Line terminates at its northern edge at the remarkable Shed, a project now nearing fruition. It is an absolutely amazing structure, especially at night. In the distance are the distinc- tive profiles and silhouettes of the Chrysler Building and the Empire State Building. The Shed Building and its entire 21st century complements are surrounded by historic and significant structures from past decades. As my son would say, it is an awesome environment, dude. The care of these buildings and the vision of its developers and architects is on splendid display. The notion of repurpos- ing and honoring the past and introducing the future in a single setting makes one proud to be an architect. Still having energy, we shared several stories and "one beer a piece" with Katie at a local bistro and then turned in at 2:00 in the morning. Carl Elefante encouraged us in his welcoming remarks to “Enjoy this once in a generation happen- ing. Be inspired. Connect. Share. Make memories." I am pleased to report, we followed Carl’s sage advice. b