Paul Eno, New River Press
With that lofty but achievable goal, Felix Carlone of F.A. Carlone & Sons inaugurated his first term as RIBA's 34th president at the association's Annual Meeting, held at Kirkbrae Country Club, Lincoln, on October 2 before an audience of 116.
Taking office along with Carlone were vice president Roland Fiore of South County Sand & Gravel Inc., treasurer Steven Gianlorenzo of Gianlorenzo and Sons Construction Corp. and secretary David Caldwell Jr. of Caldwell & Johnson Inc.
Thanking outgoing president Bob Baldwin and RIBA executive director John Marcantonio for "preparing us for the future," Carlone laid out bold plans for his administration: Continuing to expand member services and education; aggressive recruiting, especially of younger members; strong legislative advocacy on all levels, and more.
"We are positioned to be successful in the future," said Carlone, the son of a founding member of the association.
Baldwin presented a farewell address, echoing many of Carlone's sentiments and offering thanks to the officers, board of directors, committee chairs, Marcantonio and the RIBA staff for "excellent teamwork and a job well done."
Marcantonio offered an update on RIBA matters, thanking the Annual Meeting sponsors and RIBA staff. His message: "RIBA is getting stronger all the time!"
Also taking place at the annual meeting was the "passing of the gavel" from retiring general counsel James Sloan III, who served RIBA in that position for 53 years, to his successor, attorney Christine Engustian.
Along with the new administration, other RIBA offices were filled:
Taking their places as local directors with terms expiring in 2015 are Frank Bragatin of Ferland Corp.; David Caldwell Sr. of Caldwell & Johnson Inc.; Louis Cotoia of Arnold Lumber Co., Inc.; Joel DeMelo of DeMelo Construction; James Deslandes of Deslandes Construction Inc.; Thomas Lopatosky of LOPCO Contracting; Carol O'Donnell of CRM Modular Homes, and Nicolas Reuter of Picerne Real Estate Group.
Dean Martineau of Dean W. Martineau Carpentry becomes a local director with a term expiring in 2014.
Approved as national directors (to actually be elected at the National Association of Home Builders Convention in Las Vegas, Nev., in January) are Michael Artesani Sr. of W. Artesani & Sons Inc.; John Anderson of Insurance Reconstruction Services/Tech Builders; Brian Arnold of B.R. Arnold Construction Co., Inc.; Robert J. Baldwin of R.B. Homes Inc.; Michael DeCesare of DeCesare Building Co.; Raymond Gallison of Newport Plate & Mirror Glass; Steven Gianlorenzo of Gianlorenzo and Sons Construction Corp.; Paul Norbury of Norbury Construction Co., and Peter Rogers of Gerard Building & Design Co., Inc.
Approved as alternate national directors, (also to be elected at the National Association of Home Builders Convention in January) are Michael Artesani Jr. of W. Artesani & Sons Inc., Robert DeBlois Jr. of DeBlois Building Co., William Geddes of Geddes Builders, Scott Grace of Overhead Door Garage Headquarters, David Miles of Milestone Homes Inc., and Daniel Paquette of Sterling Construction Management LLC.
Approved for re-election as RIBA's NAHB representative is Barbara Gallison of Newport Plate & Mirror Glass, to actually be elected at the National Association of Home Builders Convention.
For details on RIBA membership, joining a committee or serving in a leadership position in the association, visit www.RIBUILDERS.org.
Paul Eno is the owner and editor-in-chief of New River Press, Woonsocket and is the editor of the monthly RIBA newsletter, The Rhode Island Builder Report.