Past Chapter Presidents
Raymond A. Fisher 1958-1959
Morton E. Ackerly 1959-1960
Marshall G. Lindsay 1960-1961
Leland W. Cook 1961-1962
Edmund C. Jacquel 1962-1964
Roswell H. Johnson, Jr. 1965-1966
Arthur E. Prack, Jr. 1966-1968
Leonard L. Mitchell 1968-1969
William N. Manning 1969-1970
Richard E. Adasiak 1970-1972
Edward W. Cable, Jr. 1972-1973
Donald L. MacLachlan 1973-1974
Kenneth Tyson Nagie, FCSI, CCS 1974-1976
John A. Hill, Jr. 1976-1978
Zygmunt A. Rice 1978-1980
George Merges, Jr. 1980-1982
Paul M. Pearson, CCS 1982-1984
Vincent O. George 1984-1986
Charles A. Brown, CCS 1986-1988
Brian Joos, CCS 1988-1990
Sandra A. Hundley, FCSI, CCS 1990-1992
W.J. Bonner, CDT 1992-1994
Roger A. Mallory, CCS 1994-1996
George Merges, Jr. 1996-1998
Sheila Cartiff 1998-2000
Jerry Churray 2000-2002
Martin J. Thornton, CSI, CCS 2002-2004
Scott Keener, CCS 2004-2006
RonnaLeah Prindible, CSI 2006-2008
David Miller, CSI 2008-2010
Robert Bailey, CSI, CCS 2010 - 2012
Michaeleen Vargo, CSI 2013 - 2015
Bill Vernon, CSI 2015-2016
Rich Strayer, CSI 2017-2018
Martin J. Thornton, CSI, CCS 2018-2019
Kelly Brown, CSI, CCS 2020-Present
About Us
Download our CSI Pittsburgh Chapter Brochure!
Pittsburgh Chapter CSI was organized in 1957, granted a charter by the Institute on February 15, 1958, and incorporated as a non-profit organization in July 1958. The names of 25 full members and 36 associate members appear on the Charter.
The first Chapter President was Raymond A. Fisher, AIA, Professor of Architecture at Carnegie Institute of Technology (now Carnegie-Mellon University). Following his term as Chapter President, Raymond Fisher was elected Regional Director of Area 3, Middle Atlantic District (now the Middle Atlantic Region), a position he held until his death in 1959. Harry Ray Nay of the Pittsburgh Chapter was appointed to serve the remainder of Fisher’s term.
Other Pittsburgh Chapter members who have been elected Director for the Middle Atlantic Regional include Paul Pittsford in 1978, Kenneth Nagie in 1993, and Brian Trimble in 2004.
The “Specigram” was Pittsburgh Chapter’s monthly newsletter, so named at Charles J.S. Lewis’ suggestion in November 1958. “Specigram” evolved from a news bulletin to a professionally-produced, award-winning publication. With the introduction of the CSI Pittsburgh web site and broadcast e-mail capabilities, Chapter members now receive meeting notices by email and visit the website for Chapter news and information.
In 1980, the Chapter held its first annual Building Products Show. Through 1991, the Show was held at the Expo Mart in Monroeville. In 1992 and 1993, the Show moved to the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, and from 1994 through 1998, had been held at the Sheraton Station Square. The Building Products Show was retired after the 1999 show.
In 1983, the Chapter established a Refresher Course for the Institute’s Certified Construction Specifier (CCS) program, an examination given annually since 1977, to certify those who prepare specifications. Since then, Pittsburgh became an official testing site for the exam. Also since then, the Institute added additional certifications and modified the course which is now known as the Principles of Construction Documents course. In 1995, the Pittsburgh Chapter was selected as a Beta-testing site for the Certified Construction Contract Administrator (CCCA) exam. The Pittsburgh Chapter is proud to have numerous CCS, CDT, CCCA, and CCPR recipients.
The Pittsburgh Chapter created the Roswell H. Johnson Specifications Competition and a memorial award in honor of Mr. Johnson, a Chapter member and specifications writer who won numerous awards in the CSI National Specifications Competitions in the mid-1960’s. This annual competition is open to specifiers from local firms on submissions of local projects.
The Harry Ray Nay Memorial Award was created to recognize those individuals who serve at the Region level, in an outstanding manner, for the benefit of the Pittsburgh Chapter. In 1990, at the direction of Sandra Hundley, President, the Chapter created the Raymond A. Fisher Award to recognize those members who have been active in the Chapter for 15 years, and have represented the Chapter at region and national levels. Winners of all Chapter awards are honored at the annual Chapter Awards Banquet.
In October 1965, the Chapter sponsored, hosted, and programmed a Tri-Regional Conference in Pittsburgh, a Middle Atlantic Regional Conference in 1973, 1985, 1995, and 2005. Annually, an average of 10 Chapter members travel to one of the 16 other Chapters in the Region to attend Region conferences.
In 1990, former Chapter President Kenneth Nagie, FCSI, CCS, AIA, architect and specifications writer, became the first Pittsburgh Chapter member to be elevated to Fellow of the Institute.
In 1992, the Chapter sponsored the creation of a new Region Award in honor of longtime Chapter member, George C. Neuhausel, to recognize members of Region chapters who have served for 15 consecutive years or more, and have not received any Region honor awards.
In 2000, former Chapter President Sandra A. Hundley, FCSI, CCS, R.A., architect, became the second Pittsburgh Chapter member to be elevated to Fellow of the Institute.
In 2007, former Chapter president George Merges, Jr. becomes the third member to be elevated to Fellow of the Institute.
In 2008 the Chapter celebrated its 50th anniversary with a formal event that featured many distinguished guests from the Region and Institute, as well as Raymond Brooks, the last remaining original Charter Member.
From 2007 – 2013 the Chapter has received CSI’s Outstanding Chapter Commendation.
From 1958 through 2013, the Pittsburgh Chapter has had 32 presidents.
UPDATED!!!
The Chapter Bylaws and Policies have been updated, click the Resoucres link to download the PDF.
