The last couple of months have been a flurry of Celebrate Architecture, Home Tour, Sand Castle Competition, and MOVING. In spite of the necessary upheavals involved in moving the contents of an office that had been on one place for 13 years, our major spring time events were quite successful.

Celebrate Architecture netted a record amount of money for the Houston Architecture Foundation and its public and professional education projects. One of those (Back from the Brink) is detailed elsewhere in this Perspective. The Home Tour also set a record—more than 1000 people visited 7 houses that highlighted the talents of AIA architects. The Sand Castle Competition, well-documented in this issue, fielded a record number of teams and raised significant dollars to support the Chapter’s public outreach activities. It also attracted enormous media attention: a front page story in the New York Times, CNN, lots of local television and print media, and calls for interviews and information from Vermont, Minnesota, and Japan! The success of these events has two sources. One is the creative energy of the committees. Frank Douglas, FAIA, Kathy Heard, AIA, Rand Silverman, AIA, and Pam Vassallo, AIA, chaired hardworking and effective teams this year. The other is the large group of sponsors that make these things work. We owe a big thanks to both. You will find their names listed elsewhere in this issue. Please take time to thank both the volunteers and the sponsors.

And then there is the new office. While there is still a bit of furniture and equipment left to acquire and a bit of reconstruction yet to do, we are here and welcome visitors. When it’s all done, we’ll have a grand opening to thank another group of suppliers of product and service that made this place possible. Robin Harrison served as our broker in finding the space and as construction manager through the build out. Gensler generously donated design services with Mark Francis, AIA, taking the lead. Other generous support came from: MidWest Electric, electrical subcontractor; Lightolier, light fixtures; The Powell Group, new desk in the membership office; Office Pavilion, secretary chairs; LTB Construction, general contractor; Marek Brothers, dry wall and paint subcontractors ; Carey Ellis Art Consultants; Premisys Real Estate Services; front doors; McCoy, filing cabinets; Brochstein’s Inc., moving the conference table and the reception desk. When you see them, thank them. Our office is the public face of architects in Houston, one of which you can all be proud.

So drop by. Take advantage of the meeting space, the library, the job and resume file. Look at the distinguished architecture on display in the gallery. Pick up announcements of interesting events around town. And give yourself a pat on the back for being part of such a creative, generous, and public spirited profession.

Martha C. Murphree, Hon. AIA