A Brief History of the Big Sky Chapter #146 On March 8, 1948 the Construction Specifications Institute was incorporated in Baltimore, Maryland.In the 60 years since that date, thousands of people have joined CSI and chapters have been established across the country.Many years ago, the non-affiliated membership in Montana gave thought to starting a chapter; however the numbers and challenges did not work out . . . too few members and too many miles between them. Now fast forward to 2005.Then Northwest Region Membership Chairman Robert Simmons, CSI, CCPR, emails all 13 current non-affiliated members in Montana, planting a new seed in their minds about starting a chapter in the State.A spark of interest is shown and a planning meeting is set up for late February 2006 in Bozeman.Several non-members from around the State are also invited to attend the meeting.Northwest Region Committee Chairmen fly in for the two-day meeting to promote CSI membership to the non-members and encourage the current members about benefits of having a chapter.Everyone in attendance is excited about the prospect of creating a new chapter.The first objective is to increase membership for the plan to succeed.Jan O’Brien, CSI is appointed interim chairman, and Ryan Russell, CSI, CDT, Assoc. AIA is appointed interim secretary-treasurer.Over the next several months, after hundreds of emails and telephone calls, membership increases to 19; by laws are written; officers are elected; and a petition for chapter charter is submitted to Institute on August 7, 2006. Word is received from Institute Secretary Carole Schafmeister, FCSI that our by laws are approved and a recommendation will be made to the Institute Board of Directors to approve our petition.The Board met in Denver, Colorado on November 18, 2006 and the petition for chapter charter was approved, making Big Sky Chapter #146 the newest chapter of CSI.Just like 145 Chapters previously . . . desire, hard work and dedication of members pays off.A chartering ceremony is set for January 13, 2007 in Bozeman.Several dignitaries from CSI Institute and the Northwest Region attend.Among them are Institute President Edward Soenke, FCSI, CCS, AIA; Vice President James Robertson, FCSI, CCS, AIA; Secretary Carole Schafmeister, FCSI; Northwest Region Directors Tom Deines, FCSI, CCCA and Anne Whitacre, FCSI, CCS; and Northwest Region Membership Chair Robert Simmons, CSI, CCPR. In the first year of its existence, the Big Sky Chapter established a monthly newsletter (Big Sky perSPECtive); created a website (http://csibigsky.org); became a CSI CEN Registered Provider; and established a Student Affiliate Group at Montana State University - Bozeman.The issues that prevented creation of a chapter in Montana over 30 years ago still exist . . . too few members and too many miles between them.However, we are addressing them “outside of the box” by corresponding with chapter membership via email and holding our chapter board meetings over the internet.We are continuing to investigate other ways to keep our members involved.These methods keep our membership informed and give them the opportunity to participate without the long travel distances common in our State.