Individual commitment to a group effort – that is what makes a team work, a company work, a society work, a civilization work.
~Vince Lombardi

Every year during the holiday season the “red kettle campaign” begins, with volunteers at every Kroger, Macy’s and CVS in town. I’m often struck by the number of people that walk swiftly past, without a glance or offering of “thank you” to those frozen bell-ringers. We all know that every little bit counts – each and every penny, dime or dollar that is contributed helps the greater mission that organization stands for; doing the most good.

As I reflect on what AIA Detroit has done as an organization this past year, after committing to “doing the most good”, I am still astounded by the number of committee and volunteer hours; CEU credits; competitions, and networking opportunities we offered this past year. If you attended the Annual Meeting, you had the opportunity to see and hear about all the phenomenal work that we have done to increase the visibility and voice of architecture in Detroit. In my opinion, we have done better than simply “good”; we have been exemplary in the services provided to you, our members. And I say this, with a resounding applause, to the efforts of Lauren Myrand and Charlie Klecha, who contributed more than their share to making each of these services and events an outstanding success. There aren’t enough thank you’s in the world to signify our gratitude for their efforts. (more…)