Hello to the entire AIA Dallas community, and Welcome to 2024 – A New Year and A New Look!
It is a great pleasure to announce the official launch of our new AIA Dallas website. This website will serve our AIA members and architecture and design communities in Dallas and Northeast Texas for the foreseeable future. I want to extend my gratitude to the entire website task force, led by Ron Stelmarski, FAIA, who dedicated over a year to rebuilding a new website for the future of AIA Dallas. The task force worked under the guidance and leadership of past presidents Kate Aoki, AIA and Ben Crawford, AIA and AIA Dallas staff Elizabeth Jones, Assoc. AIA, Katie Hitt, Assoc. AIA, and Zaida Basora, FAIA to bring our website up to date for future communications and collaboration with our AIA members. Although it was a long process, it was necessary to provide a fresh platform for our members to stay informed of activities, issues and how to become more involved. We hope you enjoy the new features and offerings as you continue connecting and engaging with AIA Dallas events and activities.
I am honored to be your President for 2024 and excited to lead our organization with events and programs for all our members that align with our mission, vision, and values. I am proud to share our new slate of AIA Dallas chapter officers and board members for 2024, now available on our new website, and I invite you to learn more about each of them. They each bring unique value to our board and are committed to serving and strengthening our chapter. I would also like to thank our Immediate past President, Kate Aoki AIA, for her dedicated leadership and service to AIA Dallas. I look forward to her future service as President-Elect of the Architecture and Design Foundation board.
In 2021, I had the opportunity to serve as a core member of the AIA Dallas Strategic Planning and developed a comprehensive five-year strategic plan. The plan focuses on four core areas: Advocacy, Partnership, Membership, and Operational Excellence. These areas are essential components for AIA Dallas and aim to guide us to serve our members better, connecting with our professional practice and career goals and how we engage with the community.
I am excited about the upcoming year as we’ve launched new programs and events to engage our members further. During the Passing of the Hat ceremony at the Holiday Party in December, I unveiled four keyword initiatives for 2024 – Serve, Engage, Connect, and Relationship. These initiatives are designed to encourage the AIA Dallas family to Be Of Service, Become Engaged, Make Connections, and Build Relationships. They are intertwined and part of the access and engagement process with your AIA membership and AIA Dallas as your local chapter, including its offerings.
I want to highlight some upcoming events and programs planned for 2024. Among them are Empowering, The Tour of Homes, and Design Awards, which are some of our signature events. For the first time, AIA Dallas will be participating in Dallas Pride activities and events with our LGBTQIA+ Alliance. We have decided to expand our annual Golf Tournament, which is always a sell-out, by doubling the number of courses available. This will give more firms and allied partners the opportunity to participate this spring. Krob, our long-running and highly regarded international design competition, will be celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, and we will have a special exhibition, a podcast series, and a commemorative book, along with a celebration honoring this milestone.
We have introduced a new Professional Development series as part of our Architecture Matters programming that will take place monthly after the board meeting throughout the year to increase the opportunity for chapter members to engage and network in a chapter meeting-like format that is free to all AIA members. They will allow everyone to meet and engage with our chapter leaders and board members in a social setting before the evening programs and learn about the things that matter at AIA Dallas!
Additionally, we will be launching a new membership engagement series called Firm Fridays, where participating firms will host an informal gathering and social happy hour on Friday afternoons once a month, starting in March and continuing through the fall. This will be an opportunity for firms to share some of their completed and current projects on the boards and for us to learn more about their practice and firm culture, tour their office, and network with firm members and other peers in the profession.
Our goal is to offer various opportunities for our AIA members, as well as our community members, to participate and serve. AIA Dallas has over 20 committees and networks providing members with more than 100 events and programs, and monthly meetings. These platforms foster engagement, facilitate professional development, serve our communities, and more.
I am pleased to announce the establishment of the AIA Dallas Urban Design Committee, strengthening our partnership with allied organizations and agencies, allowing us to address urban design and related issues in the built environment, and joining a national network of other AIA Urban Design Committees to broaden our reach and resources. This allows us to continue growing our local-to-national relationships across our committee and network offerings, which the Committee on the Environment (COTE), Academy of Architecture for Healthcare (AAH), and other AIA Dallas committees participate in. I invite you to explore the range of committees and networks AIA Dallas offers, reach out to the current committee chairs and members, and participate in fostering, learning, and engaging in events and activities. For those who currently lead, have led, and are future leaders of our committees, I thank you for your service and commitment as we continue to evolve our chapter for the future.
Finally, I am here to serve our members at AIA Dallas. I welcome any feedback, suggestions, or opportunities to improve our chapter and prepare it for the future. Let’s Be Of Service, Become Engaged, Make Connections, and Build Relationships. I look forward to seeing you all at upcoming events and other activities at AIA Dallas.
Sincerely,
Peter Darby, AIA
2024 AIA Dallas President