I would like to start by wishing you all a happy and prosperous new year! I am truly honored to serve as President of the Asian American Architects/Engineers Association (AAa/e) this year and I am appreciative of this opportunity
Although, we are currently experiencing difficult economic times I am optimistic about the future. With the support of the AAa/e Board of Directors and our membership, I look forward to an unprecedented year for AAa/e in 2011.
I have set three goals for the organization this year:
- Increase membership
- Increase visibility
- Increase relevancy
Membership - Our organization exists for the benefit of our members and the strength of our organization is directly related to the strength of our membership. There is power in numbers and I would like to see AAa/e increase in power this year by increasing our members. My involvement in the organization has empowered me both personally and professionally. I would not be where I am today, the President of AAa/e, if I never joined. I hope that the organization can reach out to new members and give them the opportunity to benefit from AAa/e as I have. My plan is to focus our outreach efforts on the small business community and our next generation of leaders from the great universities here in southern California.
Visibility – AAa/e has achieved great visibility within the A/E/C community here in southern California. I believe that AAa/e needs to increase our visibility in our community beyond the A/E/C firms. We can do this by empowering our members to become more actively involved in public policy positions. As architects, engineers, and construction professionals, we have literally had our hand in building our community. We need to take the creative, problem solving, results oriented talent within our organization and extend it to leadership in our community at all levels – local, regional, state and federal. Together we can work to create a positive voice for our community.
Relevancy - I want AAa/e to be relevant to its membership. My goal is to help provide programs and events that focus on creating business opportunities and provide a platform for networking. This year, we have many exciting lunch programs and networking events to look forward to. We have a great line up of speakers for our lunch programs this year that will be sharing business opportunities for the A/E/C firms. I encourage you to not only attend these events but to come early and take advantage of the great networking opportunities available. As our industry is witnessing a shift from traditional design-bid-build project delivery to alternative delivery methods, such as design-build, the importance of networking and meeting the right people is essential.
I would like to thank you in advance for supporting these goals for the organization. As you participate and get involved with AAa/e, you will experience firsthand the benefits the organization provides and will quickly realize that you will receive back much more than you give to this organization.
I am excited to serve as your President this year and am humbled at the opportunity to give back to the organization that has given so much to me. It is an honor to serve you. We have an exceptional Board that is working for you and is open to hearing from you. We welcome any suggestions you may have on making AAa/e a better, more visible and more relevant organization. I look forward to seeing you at our next event!
Sincerely,
Saik-Choon Poh