Time to start a new year, and a new decade – hope your holidays were great! CSI has a diverse line up planned for you this year, delivering a wide variety of value to members.
The Worcester County chapter has been hard at work planning events for the first half of this new year. For January, we’ve got an interactive game planned where teams compete in a simulated mock-bid game by evaluating bid submissions and addenda to arrive at the “correct bid” – a real taste of the estimator’s life. February tentatively brings a panel discussion on the Cannabis industry here in Massachusetts and what it takes to plan, design, permit and get approvals for dispensaries and grow facilities. In March we head to Becker College to hear about design considerations for the emerging gaming design curriculum being offered by institutions of higher education. April’s program will be about the commercial building code presented by Shrewbury’s building inspector, covering common mistakes and things all architects and builders should know. And we wrap up the first half of the year in May with a live demonstration of building envelope water testing.
At the Region level, the Boston chapter is hosting this year’s Region Conference, in historic Plymouth, MA which is celebrating its 400th anniversary. The conference focus is “Longevity/Durability/Resiliency, Building on History to Create the Future”, and will feature a trade show, educational seminars, awards banquet, plenty of networking and social events, plus the opportunity to step aboard the Mayflower II, which triumphantly returns to Plymouth after a complete renovation replacing almost 70% of the ship. This event is a great place to expand your network beyond Worcester and into New England. The conference happens May 28 – May 30, and the full schedule is available at https://nercsi.com/northeast-region-conference/ and registration is open with early bird pricing up until 03/15/20.
At the Institute level, you can plan to advance your credentials by taking the CDT, CCCS (for specifiers) or CCCA (for contract administrators) from May 4 to June 5 with early registration starting in February. The CCPR (for product reps) is being rewritten though, and tests will likely happen in the fall. Show your boss and peers that you’re wikid smaht by acing the test after participating in group study sessions available online through the region website. And don’t miss Construct 2020, CSI’s national conference held this year in Grapevine, TX (Dallas / Fort Worth) September 30 – October 02.
With all this planned, it’s sure to be a fruitful and exciting new year!