The Beginnings
In the spring of 1969, thanks to the efforts of the late Paul Corbin, then the Manager of the North Coast Builders Exchange (NCBE), a group of interested local design and construction professionals met with Mr. John Kuremsky, the Region 11 (now the West Region) Director of CSI, to discuss the benefits and possibilities of forming a CSI chapter in the Redwood Empire area.
As a result of that and several subsequent meetings, it was decided to seriously pursue the formation of a local chapter. Pro-forma officers were then selected and the new chapter was on its way. At that time, the recruitment of new members was difficult since, among other things, the concept of a construction specification organization was new to this part of the country. The two year long efforts of the initial group did prevail however, and at last we had enough members, a set of bylaws, and most importantly, the approval of the Institute.
The Redwood Empire Chapter was officially charted by the Construction Specifications Institute in May, 1971. The charter was presented to the chapter president, Mr. Keith Bergman, by the Institute President-elect Arthur J. Miller, FCSI at a charter banquet at the Los Robles Lodge in Santa Rosa on June 26, 1971. The charter lists eighteen Professional and ten Industry members. See the list of Charter members on the following page.
Over the years, the Redwood Empire Chapter has grown four-fold and more and sponsors activities throughout the year, such as the Construction Technology Expo each spring. The Chapter meets monthly, publishes a newsletter ten times each year, and maintains a web site at www.recsi.org. RECSI is one of the largest and most active construction organizations in the north coast with over 120 members. The NCBE is the largest builders exchange in California.
