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!
