A new year and another new President! Thank you, Mr. Maple for leading our organization over the last two years and for continuing to guide us with your wisdom. I am honored that the Society has chosen me to follow in your footsteps.

As a profession, we are seeing our workload shift internationally and the world is becoming more Global every day. How do we adapt our “Architect helping Architect” credo to the changing world? It is not an easy answer, but it is a question that your National Board and National Committees must answer with respect to their societal charges. I am personally committed to positioning SARA for not only the present, but the future, and hope that all of you share this goal.

The economic challenges of the past several years have put our National Society in a position where general operating costs are increasing while the need to provide more communication and outreach to our membership is also increasing. This is not a negative. This is not a call to increase membership dues. It is, however, a wake-up call for our National Board to revisit how we function, how we spend your membership dollars, and what we must do to provide additional benefits to our membership. We can, and will, do more with what we have!

We need to provide more for our membership, especially the younger generation who grew up with computers, websites, email, Facebook and LinkedIn. Our Technology and Membership Committees are already working together to advance several initiatives which include delivering SARAScope electronically to those who make the request. Please contact our executive director, Cathie Moscato at cmoscato@sara-national.org to confirm your email address and be added to the pending electronic distribution list. In the meantime, just a reminder that SARAScope is posted to our website as a pdf file and can be downloaded at your convenience.

In addition, we will be evaluating a number of important issues facing the Society including Humanitarian Efforts, Professional Outreach/Strategic Alliances, International Outreach, Membership, Design Appreciation and Celebration, Communication, Technology, Sponsorship, Mentoring, Council Development as well as our overall Fiscal Health and how, where, and why we spend our money. We see 2012 as a transitional year – your committees will be developing short and long term goals – what we can reasonably do in 2012 while outlining additional goals for future years and drafting a workplan to get there. We can always change goals and modify workplans, but a roadmap will allow us to plan for the future!

At the January National Board meeting, I challenged all the Committees to have very specific goals and to document these goals along with the value and benefit they will have to the Society.

• What is the one thing that we are doing well, that we should be doing even better with and how do we do more of it?
• What is one thing that we are doing poorly, that we should not be doing or should do differently?
• What is the one thing that we are not doing, that we should be doing? And how do we do it?

We need to think outside the box. The future is now. I do not have all the answers, but in true “Architect Helping Architect” fashion, we will get there by sharing ideas and working with each other.

We have a terrific organization and a lot of enthusiasm for the future – let’s make sure we plan for a future together – in a manner that advances the Society and maintains our love of everything that SARA means to us individually and collectively.

I look forward to working with all of you to take better care of our SARA family and friends and position the Society for wherever and however the world turns.

Until next time, all my best,

Suzette Stoler, FARA
President, Society of American Registered Architects

Message from January-February 2012 SARAScope

See SARAScope Archives for Past Presidents' Messages