2023 President's MessageAs I enter my second and final year as President of the ICRI Metro NY Chapter, I take with me the experiences of a challenging, but rewarding first 365 days at the helm. Overall, I'm very proud of our Chapter's successes in 2022, particularly in providing more opportunities for meaningful engagement of our members and sponsors, introducing innovative programming formats and topics, and providing professional development and outreach opportunities. Aside from our social and technical programs, we transitioned to a new website to fully bring us into the 21(.2)st century, revamped our Sponsorship program, and explored new technical and social event ideas. Additionally, our board members proudly represented our chapter at the Spring National Conference in Baltimore, and The Fall National Conference in Atlanta, provided (2) scholarships to Concrete Industry Management students from the New Jersey Institute of Technology, and awarded our 2022 Project of the Year to Pullman for their restoration of the Con Edison Headquarters. Nothing we did last year was done without some combination of blood, sweat, and tears contributed by our awesome group of board members. It’s all done out of a love for our community, expressed with their volunteer time that I have absolutely no clue how they find. I’m endlessly impressed with their dedication and commitment to achieving our goals, and can’t thank them enough for everything they do. I want to close by thanking our members for your continued participation and enthusiasm in our professional community, and sponsors for your incredible support and advice. In the year ahead, we look forward to collaborating with more individuals, as well as organizations with similar pursuits as ours: to provide education, certification, networking, and leadership to improve the quality of repair, restoration, and protection/preservation! Yours sincerely, Derek Robertson |