President's Message

I have been looking forward to October weather and football. Go Tigers!! Speaking of University of Memphis football, we will be drawing for 2 tickets to the Tigers games versus Navy, Tulane, SMU and East Carolina at our October 12th Chapter meeting. Donate at the Silver Level ($100) to be entered in the drawing. Congratulations to Mike Zielinski who won 2 tickets to the Tigers versus Louisiana-Monroe, UCLA and Southern Illinois!! Thank you again to Michael Cardone for donating these tickets!!
We are very excited about our October program, The Grand Carousel Pavilion at the Children’s Museum of Memphis with a focus on Glulam Construction, presented by Tim Michael of designshop. How many of you remember riding on the Grand Carousel at Libertyland? I am so thrilled this piece of Memphis history will find a permanent home in the heart of Memphis at the Children’s Museum.
For all you history buffs like me… The Carousel was built in 1909 by Gustave Dentzel and installed at Forest Park Amusement Park in Chicago. That park was destroyed by fire and the Memphis Park Commission purchased the Carousel in 1923. The Carousel became a centerpiece ride at Libertyland when it opened in 1976. The Grand Carousel is one of the nation’s finest, original, hand-carved Dentzel carousels and one of only four or five all-horse Dentzel carousels left in existence. The Grand Carousel was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980 before going into storage after Libertyland closed in 2005. The Grand Carousel was stored at the Mid-South Coliseum until it was sent off for a $1 million restoration in June 2015.
Please remember to make a reservation for our Chapter meetings. If you are interested in sponsoring a CSI Memphis Student member at our monthly Chapter meetings, that would be very much appreciated. CSI students receive a discounted rate and so you can sponsor a student for $12.50. We would love for our University of Memphis students studying architecture, engineering, design and other construction related curriculum to be able to attend our Chapter meetings now that they are held during lunch (and practically on campus)!

Julie Fleming, CSI
Memphis Chapter President