President’s Letter
Tony Rohr, AIA
2012 President
January 24, 2012
Dear Friends,
Happy New Year greetings to you all.
This is my first President’s letter to you, and the enormity of saying something meaningful and insightful in the letter has made my stomach ache. I really don’t care to lather on with some typical “this will be the best year ever” letter; I’d rather give you a few thoughts based upon a few items I feel are worth mentioning.
Warm January feelings:
With time off for family, friends and fellowship, it is normal to start the New Year with fresh legs and ambitious plans. The last several January’s have certainly been colder – both in temperature and in business activity – than it appears in 2012. The warmth in business activity this January is welcomed. The warmth in the outside temperature seems a blessing, but is it? On January 5th, North Dakota recorded the first 60 degree day in the first week of January since they began recording temperatures there. I suspect such an anomaly has ramifications beyond going to work without a heavy coat.
There is definitely more activity and optimism in our related businesses than in recent years – yet I believe we may be experiencing the new normal instead of the traditional “recovery.” Depending upon which set of statistics you read last, the economy lost nearly 8 million jobs since 2007. The economy is certainly improving but with modest job growth, if any – the proverbial “jobless recovery.” AIA KC member firm leaders that I visit with are more optimistic about the future than in recent past, although I am not convinced that situation is universally held. Let’s hope the situation continues to improve and it translates to new opportunities for those under-employed and unemployed. I plan to report back to you in the near future the state of our member firms as I contact more of them.
2012 national topics to watch:
Apple minus Steve Jobs: will they lose their mojo?
Supreme Court: taking on the “Affordable Health Care Act” – affects us all
Euro economy: weak export market and great value in European travel
2012 regional topics to watch:
KC Chamber’s Big 5 Ideas – ambitious and ready to see progress
States of Missouri and Kansas, state income tax revision proposals – with potential new sales tax affecting all professional service providers
KC School District status – what’s next? Being in limbo is never good.
KC Economic Development Corporation – needs permanent leadership and new drive
Google Fiber in Kansas City – sounds great…anxious to understand outcomes
Friendly KC Mayors – more cooperation between has to benefit the entire region
Meanwhile, back at the chapter offices at 1801 McGee:
We ended 2011 in good shape financially. Diligent budgeting and planning, Cornerstone Partners coming through again, and successful programs throughout the year are the correct ingredients for a successful year financially. No course correction is required to start 2012 – we can build upon our collective strengths.
Dawn, Sonya and I will continue the Visibility committee’s efforts of last year by visiting with local city and community leaders to place our chapter in place of reference for those making decisions that affect the built environment. We’ll know we are having success when we begin getting calls from civic leaders requesting the help of our chapter. We want our profession to be at the table with the city and region’s leadership.
Soon you will see new publicity related to Design Week 2012, the annual week-long ‘event’ of the Kansas City Design Alliance http://www.kcdesignweek.org/. AIA KC is a proud member of the Design Alliance and has been instrumental in the growth of programs and features that builds on its past success. Check out the event schedule and share it with your colleagues.
Our creative culture in KC:
I’ve never felt more strongly an architect than in recent times…because of the creative thinking required to survive the new economy and actually do meaningful work.
In that regard, I like a recent suggestion by IDEO’s CEO Tim Brown that questioned if there isn’t a more active role for design thinking in our economies that might allow innovation. “Design is testing the rules and innovation is the result.”
If there is one priority of the AIA KC Board’s Visibility committee, it is to craft scenarios to implant creative thinkers and problem solvers (yes architects) into positions to challenge and test the rules being addressed for our communities. Someone likened this to “sleeper cells” in the community, and while that probably isn’t the best terminology to use, it gets the point across.
Raise your hand if you want to be involved. We need creative thinkers that care and want to be involved in our future. Give us a call at 816-221-3485 or email me at (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
Here’s to a great 2012 in Kansas City.
Cheers
Tony Rohr, AIA
2012 AIA Kansas City Chapter President