History of the Tidewater Virginia Chapter, Csi

HISTORY OF THE TIDEWATER VIRGINIA CHAPTER, CSI

Mr. Raymond J. Frank, AlA, CSI, and the Chapter's first president, recalled that by the Time the Tidewater Chapter was formed in 1964 -17 years after -the Institute's founding -there were 6099 CSI members all across the nation. "There were 66 Chapters in the Institute and 8 chapters in our North Eastern Section, Region 3, whi.ch it was called at that time. With the addition of the Blue Ridge Chapter, there were 3 chapters in Virginia and 12 in our Middle Atlantic Region. " On the occasion of the Chapter's 15th Anniversary, Ray further recalled the organizational meeting at the Builders and Contractors Exchange at 210 East 21st St., at which time the bylaws were "adjusted" and the first slate of officers were elected :

President Raymond J. Frank lst Vice-President Ernest Modlin 2nd Vice-President William Price Secretary Conway M. Britton Treasurer W. C. Ormond Editors M. Ray Jordon and W.C. Ormond "We often held our Chapter meetings at a restaurant on the west side of Granby St. near the bridge over the I.afayette River. Tidewater was the name chosen for this chapter so as to include the people from Norfolk, Portsmouth, Hampton, Newport News, Princess Anne County, and Virginia Beach. " Ray said, "We had some good meetings and some interesting programs, but our membership did not grow as we had hoped. .There was resistance to CSI at that time because of the threat the CSI 16 Division Format posed (real or not). The 16 Division Format represented a radical departure from the AIA Manufacturer's Data Filing System established in 1920. It was a serious departure from the dozens of traditional indexing and section numbering systems developed by as many architectural offices in Tidewater alone." Whatever the reasons for the Chapter's disappointing rate of growth , they were eventually overcome as was a nearly total collapse of the chapter at one time during the intervening 17 years . * The above information reprinted from Tidewater Chapter Member's Handbook '82 In the early 80’s the chapter had grown to approximately 54 persons and was in the position of setting up its incorporation as an organization with the Commonwealth of Virginia. This was accomplished by President Jack Barradell in 1982 giving the Chapter legal status as a non-profit professional organization. In the mid - 80’s The Chapter developed a relationship with the Civil Engineering Technology department at Old Dominion University. With the support of two faculty members, Joe Bonebrake PE CSI and Edward Estes PE CSI, the Old Dominion University Student Affiliate of CSI began meeting and thriving. The Affiliate received their “official charter” in 1989 at the Middle Atlantic Region Conference 89 held in Norfolk VA. Also during the mid 80’s and continuing to the present, the Tidewater VA Chapter was and is active with successful Product Shows and Seminars held for the Hampton Roads area. It also promoted Certification with Fundamental Formats Workshops lead by key chapter members. In 2001 and 2002, The Student Affiliate was very active participating in and hosting Regional Student Meets during the beginning of the spring semesters of those years. Student Members of the chapter also Shows in Dallas and Las Vegas respectively. They made a very good showing in Dallas with a Goldberg type LEGO structure and took first The Chapter successfully hosted the Middle Atlantic Region Conference again in 2003 under the able guidance of our President Linda Pressler CSI, and was nominated and received an Outstanding Chapter Award from CSI in April of 2004. During FY 2004 and 2005 the chapter meeting programs were held at lunch time and had a unifying theme, Designing to Government Criteria and Designing the Building Envelope. The Chapter took positive steps to recognize our past and future in establishing a Student Scholarship for a deserving engineering or architectural student in the name of Past President Harlen N. Hiller RA CSI. Harlen was instrumental in the establishment of the Student Affiliate Fund that provides the Scholarship. As with the economy, the Chapter has seen it’s ups and downs in membership and participation. FY 2006 is looking up with good programs and new leadership and membership growth. Let’s see what the next chapter in the life of the Tidewater VA Chapter CSI holds for us. Roll of Chapter Charter Members:

Laszlo Aranyi * Allan E. Sadler James R. Nicholes , Jr . Raymond J. Frank Alexander N. Branch C. Hall Snellings Waverly C. Ormond John A. Hoffman Conway M. Britton Thomas F. Steige1man * Oscar C. Parker, Jr. * M. Ray Jordan Walter E. Carter John W. Waller William S. Price, Jr . John H. Mayo Sol Wm. Cohen William M. Walsh, Jr . Peter Reisner Ernest W. Mod1in * Grady E. Everett John E. Wilson, Jr . *deceased