CONSTRUCT in Baltimore: Come See the City I Love!

I grew up in a small town in the Ozark Mountains in Arkansas. It was a great place to live and there are many things that I miss it about it. During and after college, I lived in Mississippi and after about five years in Jackson, MS, my wife and I decided to relocate to Maryland. My wife had a great job opportunity here and I was ready for a career and scenery change. After 15 years of living in Baltimore, I can say I am in love with this city. I love everything about it: the people, the history, the culture, the food. Its many neighborhoods offer a great diversity of shopping and festivals and its rich history is fantastic to experience and learn about. 
 

In about one month, my adopted city will host one of the great events in the construction industry: CONSTRUCT 2014 and the CSI National Convention. I've attended this convention each year since 2006 and have a great time each year experiencing the education, product show and people that make this event and CSI as an organization great. Most professional organizations have some sort of national conference and I've attended several. All of them are great events featuring education, idea sharing and lots of fun. Most are held in great cities across our country and give attendees the opportunity to see some things that they might not normally be able to see or experience in their usual lives and careers. But because of the diversity of membership, events and experiences, I think CONSTRUCT is the best convention available.

CONSTRUCT and the CSI National Convention has taken me to cities that I've visited before (Chicago and Nashville) and cities that I might not get to visit (Indianapolis and Phoenix). It has taken me to cities close to home (Philadelphia) and now my home chapter gets to host the convention again for the second time in seven years. I was our chapter president in the summer of 2007 the last time CSI visited our great city and found that I didn't have enough time to do everything I wanted to do and see everyone that I wanted to see. In the years since, I've gotten to know many, many more people, been a national committee chair and am now a presenter at CONSTRUCT for not one but two seminars!

Seeing my friends and colleagues at the various events of the week or just around the convention center are always great experiences at CONSTRUCT. The educational sessions are very exciting and thought-provoking. Walking the show floor learning about new products and collecting chotchkies for my kids is a lot of fun. This year, I'm honored to be sitting on the bloggers panel with Cherise Schacter, Lori Greene, Dave Stutzman and Sheldon Wolfe being moderated by Eric Lussier. The humbling experience of passing out well-earned and well-deserved awards as my duties as Awards Committee Chair will be a highlight of the week as well.

While all of these make CONSTRUCT the premier event of the AEC industry, this year the thing that I am most looking forward to is showing people from across the country and across the world our beautiful city. Within easy walking distance of the convention center are many things to do and see after the convention closes each day. The National Aquarium in Baltimore and the Maryland Science Center are nearby for those who enjoy a little science while they're in town. The Edgar Allan Poe House is a few blocks away on North Amity Street as is his grave in Westminster Cemetery near the University of Maryland Baltimore. Sports fans should check out the Babe Ruth Birthplace and Museum on Emory Street and the Sports Legends Museum directly adjacent to the convention center.

There are also many things to do and see along Pratt Street and the Inner Harbor waterfront. On Thursdays at 100 Light Street, there is a lunch time farmers market. The Inner Harbor's Harborplace offers shopping and restaurants in two separate buildings. There are harbor taxis and other boating opportunities along the water with great views of the Tall Ships that will be docked in port as part of the Star Spangled Celebration: the culmination of three years of celebrations highlighting Baltimore's and Maryland's involvement in our nation's history and the writing of the Star-Spangled Banner, our National Anthem.  Don't miss the food trucks that park at various spots around downtown offering great food at lunch time.

A short walk from the Inner Harbor brings you to the Harbor East and Fells Point neighborhoods. Harbor East is a new development along the water that features high end restaurants and shopping. A favorite of mine is Chazz: A Bronx Original, which is a pizzeria owned by actor Chazz Palminteri. A few steps further brings you to Fells Point, an original seaport neighborhood of Baltimore featuring quaint bars like The Horse You Came In On Saloon and Max's Taphouse and shopping in several nautical themed shops. For those interested, the #RunCSI course takes us through Harbor East to Fells Point and back to the convention center on Friday morning.

These are just a few of my favorites, so if you're heading to Baltimore for CONSTRUCT or for any other reason, here are some links to check out:

csibaltimore.org - the Baltimore Chapter's web site, so look us up and if we have a meeting or event, be sure to register and stop by!

Baltimore.org - the official travel site for Baltimore

godowntownbaltimore.com - the Downtown Partnership web site has all kinds of information about living, dining and entertainment downtown

starspangled200.com - the official web site for the Star Spangled Spectacular celebrating 200 years since the writing of National Anthem.

aqua.org - The National Aquarium at Baltimore is right downtown, a mere three blocks from the convention center and less from many of the hotels.

marylanzoo.org - The Maryland Zoo in Baltimore is north of downtown in Druid Hill Park and is one of the better zoos in America with new renovated exhibits and lots of animals to see.

mdhs.org - the Maryland Historical Society has some great history on their web site and their archives are on Monument Street in the Mount Vernon neighborhood.

baberuthmuseum.org - web site for both The Babe Ruth Birthplace and the Sports Legends Museums

For those of you on Twitter, make sure to include these follows on your news stream:

@BaltoCSI

@starspangled200

@BaltimoreMD

@DTBaltEvents

@MDScienceCenter

@NatlAquarium

@LiveBaltimore

@BabeRuthMuseum

@MDSportsMuseum

I hope to see you all at CONSTRUCT2014 and the CSI National Convention in beautiful Baltimore, MD in September. If you have any questions about things to do or see in downtown, please stop by our host chapter booth and just ask. We'll have members ready to help!