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INFORMATION ABOUT THE AIA STRUCTURE:
I have been mercilessly abusing the AIA in my ignorance of their structure.
I believe that many of us have. I owe the AIA and their staff an apology: I'm sorry: you have not deserved the criticism that I have leveled upon you and the AIA, because I was not previously knowledgeable of the structure of the AIA. Many of us may owe the AIA a similar apology and better than that, start doing something to make things better. Read on, you'll find out why.
One of their administrative people from Washington D.C. and I just spoke. This has clarified a lot for me, and I hope, for all of us architects in the AIA who do not know these structural things about our parent organization.
Here's the deal:THERE IS NO IMAGINARY AIA COMMAND CENTRAL of 10 to 20 or however many people sitting around at the Octagon getting fat off our dues! No. Only several administrative people.
I just discovered that the AIA has instead a Board of Directors; there are 40 of these people. And do you know where they are and what they do and how they make their living? THEY ARE US. None of them gets a penny for being an AIA Director. You or I could be one. They are all architects running their own practices, all across America, not in Washington and certainly not enjoying much, if any benefits from undertaking their responsibilities, except for putting up with abuse from people like me and others of us. They don't deserve it. They are us.
Let's all look in the mirror the next time we want something special to get done within the AIA. Like I said, I am disappointed that I can't blame someone else. Doggone it. I need to look at myself the next time I want to complain about something and find like-minded architects and band together to make constructive improvements.
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Rand Soellner AIA
Architect/Owner/Principal
Home Architects
Cashiers NC
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