President's Letter May 2019

Dear Friends,

This past week, Karen Colini, Nancy Zambie and I had a chance to visit the Cleveland Institute of Art (CIA). Last year, we voted to give CIA a Charitable Project grant to fund a student competition. Three groups of students from the Interior Architecture department have submitted designs for the CIA’s new rooftop landscape space. The winner will receive a cash prize, courtesy of our grant, and the honor of having their design used for the space. We listened to three excellent and professional presentations. The students showed us their visions for  a usable outdoor space for faculty and students. Elements of the designs included large movable containers for trees, vertical garden walls (a favorite for the the three of us) and colorful spaces. One design included a life-size Jenga game and a screaming booth for those who were in desperate need of stress relief. All of the students included plenty of green spaces in their designs. It was gratifying to see how important green space is to these young adults. I look forward to hearing about the winner.

I also look forward to seeing who receives grants this year from our Charitable Projects committee.

With warmer weather, I do hope you have a chance to enjoy our local green spaces. It is wonderful to see the trees and spring flowers start to bud and to feel the warmth of the sun.