Wearing various hats, several from AIA Seattle joined with some 900 elected, volunteer, and staff leaders from around the AIA world in our nation's capitol for AIA Grassroots 2/8-11.

Highlights:
� Welcome by AIA 2006 President Kate Schwennsen FAIA and EVP/CEO Christine McEntee, along with Grassroots Chair RK Stewart FAIA, offering a promise of new "one AIA" directions for the origanization in the advent of the 150th anniversary of its establishment. The AIA's new EVP/CEO, a week into the job, also offered an interactive forum that gave an intriguing foretaste of fresh views and opportunities to explore together.

� AIA Advocacy on Capitol Hill. Action kicked off with a Wednesday afternoon assembly, receiving a comprehensive and targeted "how-to" briefing orchestrated by the AIA Government Affairs team. This year's issues:
*Association Health Plans
*English Bill (Historic Preservation / Community Revitalization / Affordable Housing)
*Hurricane Rebuilding
*Global Climate Change (Sustainability in the Built Environment)
The AIA Washington delegation met with staff members of both House and Senate representatives. The best result of these meetings: the opportunity to carry forward relationships through invitations to legislators to attend local events, as their schedules may permit.

� Keynote address by Dr. Sharon E. Sutton FAIA, Diversity Matters: At the invitation of AIA 2007 President RK Stewart FAIA, Dr. Sutton offered her analysis of the failed promise of the AIA Diversity Movement of the 1990s, based on outcomes presented in the recently-released results of AIA's 2005 survey of professional demographics data. She challenged AIA leaders to act afresh on remedial measures, including inclusive outreach to architecture observers and educators ("research architects"), and installation of measures of success for design firm efforts to achieve success through diversity, including recognition along the lines of an "AIA Employer of the Year" award.

� Planning www.AIASeattle Walking Working Waterfronts Conference (9/14-16?, Seattle). This national Conference of the AIA Regional/Urban Design Committee, Committee on the Environment/COTE, and Housing Knowledge Community, and their local counterparts, will bring together key elements of the AIA sustainable design agenda, as well as civic leaders from near and far who have demonstrated commitment to advancing sustainable values in urban programs.

· AIA150. The potential for enactment of a united vision of architects serving their communitites, intensified by effective coordination and appropriate application of the AIA brand, looms large. Communities across the AIA nation buzz with big ideas and big plans, with AIA commitment to support endeavors and bring it all together. Also, a little bragging on AIA Seattle's Mississippi Missions as well as "Learning from South Park" and its possible subsequences at Summer Solstice 06, as well as other waterfront-related community engagement throughout the state, region, nation .... Onward with Advocacy, Community, Knowledge, Value!

· Component Excellence Awards brought forward programs at the local and state level that make a big difference, including AIA Washington Council for its overall legislative program that resulted in a breadth of achievement in the 2005 Washington legislative session.

· Workshops covered topics of practical value in meeting the challenges of organizational leadership, and also introduced the wealth of human and other resources at the Institute.

· AIA Big Sibs. The interaction with elected and staff leaders of large urban components invariably brings illumination and energy to all of us (especially over dinner at the historically significant Henley Park Hotel), as does interaction with component colleagues from throughout the AIA NW+Pacific Region.

· Our nation's capitol city offers venues and environmental encouragement for synergy: solid comradeship supplemented by good food and drink, and opportunities to visit our nation's treasures scattered throughout the city – including the National Museum of the American Indian, the Holocaust Museum and other hallowed halls, as well as intriguing residential and commercial neighborhoods, long walks toward and through magnificent distances. A snowy Saturday night brought about a foot of sparkling accumulation, enough to delight Valentine-tending hearts, and also to delay Valentine-bound homeward flights.

· Positive health status reports from two colleagues who had originally planned to join the Grassroots throng: AIA Seattle 2006-07 President Walter Schacht AIA, and past President Steve Arai AIA.

This report only begins to offer a sense of the rich-to-overwhelming exchange of ideas and possibilities at AIA Grassroots 06.