Greetings, Members of AIA Baltimore!
As I write the first of my President’s Letters, I must make a few acknowledgments:
Scott Walters, 2021 AIA Baltimore Past-President – Scott guided us through a year that started with excitement about our future and the opening of the Center for Architecture and ended, well, we all know how it ended. Regardless of the struggles, he continued to provide the Board of Directors with guidance and optimism, even as we were forced to pivot and adjust operations. I look forward to working with him in our new roles and in doing some of it in-person in the coming year.
Kathleen Lane and the professional staff at AIA Baltimore – As if the typical load of events and meetings wasn’t enough, they had to, like all of us, do so under new protocols and pressures. Our virtual events actually experienced increased attendance over typical in-person versions and the budget for 2020 showed minimal disruption. Additionally, they lead the effort to clean, stage, and sell the former Chapter House at 11-1/2 West Chase Street and ready the new Center for Architecture for what we hope will be actual occupancy in 2021. We look forward to seeing the results of all their hard work.
The Board of Directors of AIA Baltimore – Directors of the Board continued to provide valuable input and advice as we strove to provide resources and programs to our members. They did so while also managing their own careers and family obligations in this challenging year, with smiles and energy on every Zoom Board Meeting.
You, the Members of AIA Baltimore – Your creative responses to the challenges of 2020, with continued enthusiasm and optimism, have helped get us all collectively to the other side. You’ve taught us new and effective ways to work, to socialize, to learn, to inspire, and to lead us into the new year.
And with that, I want to express my mission for 2021. I, like most of you, look forward to the promise of a better year, one buoyed by a vaccine for COVID-19 and our continued use of best practices and healthy behaviors. We will get back on track. We will see our economic conditions improve. We will continue to address the issues of social injustice and economic disparity in our profession, city, and country. We will meet with one another again, beyond our screens, to socialize and network and collaborate in ways that were once familiar to us. My mission for 2021 is to renew our optimism and use the strengths that we take from our challenges to brighten our futures. Onward and upward.
Happy New Year!
Scott A. McGovern, AIA
2021 President – AIA Baltimore
