Perhaps this has been discussed before, but picked up a leaflet at the CSI West Region Conference yesterday promoting “CSI’s Master Specifier’s Retreat”. I’m wondering what folks on 4specs think about it.
I attended the one this year that was held in Tucson almost 2 months ago. There was a good field of what I considered to be pretty top-notch specifiers there and a good number of manufactureres. There were also pretty good technical programs which generated some discussion. Each manufacturer got some one-on-one face time with a specifier which will require more manufacturers to participate. There was also informal networking time with reps and specifiers. I would like to have had a bit more time with a couple of manufacturers and would also like to have had the content of the technical sessions a bit more ambitious, but overall, I give it a thumbs up. I believe that the manufacturers who participated also found it worth their while.
The first Retreat was fantastic. It was, possibly, the most worthwhile use of my time outside the office in recent memory (okay, no snide comments please about my memory please).
I will definitely sign up for the next one.
I agree. I was humbled by the experience. I was in awe by the whole retreat. I just cannot say enough good things about this retreat, and the educational experience I gained. Not to mention seeing other lady specifiers! LOL! RIGHT LYNN? LOL! We scared off the men when we all gathered together at the fire pit that night shooting the breeze…it was hilarious!
Maybe I should come next time.
I couldn’t agree more with Ken, Melissa and Peter. It was more valuable than ArcUS, which I attended for the first time last November. The sessions here were longer and more informational. There was more opportunity to network as well as gain knowledge.
I’d do it again in a heartbeat. (right, Melissa!)
I have been recommending it to other specifiers. It was fantastic for me. (I don’t really have much to compare it to, though.)
How many people have signed up for MSR 2013?
http://www.csinet.org/Main-Menu-Category/Education/Master-Specifiers-Retreat
I’m passing the word on to manufacturers as well.
Hope I get to go and that I’ll see all of you wonderful 4specs.com contributors there.
I expressed my interest, but i have yet to hear if i am one of the chosen ones.
And you won’t for a while. If it works the same as last year, they’ll close the application time and then make decisions.
Well, apparently the 2012 retreat was very successful for The Vinyl Institute: http://www.vinylinfo.org/update-for-building-product-manufacturers-csis-master-specifier-retreat-exchanging-knowledge-about-vinyl/
To those who attended, what did you learn that is of benefit to specifiers?
I thought they did a good job this year (I did not attend last year) making the talks upper level enough and complicated enough that I took notes through all of them. The presentations are posted on the CSI website. The product reps were different from the ones I typically meet with at ARC-US, and the format wasn’t nearly as frenzied – but I think that has to do with the personalities of the people who organized the groups. I also liked the small format: 40 specifiers, and 40 product reps, so it was possible to feel like you were all there together. I would also like to mention that the javalinas were pretty cute.
As for vinyl, the USGBC, as of 2007, does not endorse avoiding PVC. This assessment hasn’t changed yet. http://www.usgbc.org/ShowFile.aspx?DocumentID=2372