Five awards to be presented at Annual Business Meeting
by Sara DeSalvo, AIA, Director of Communications
The Rochester chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA Rochester) plans to recognize five Honor Award recipients at its Annual Business Meeting at The Little Theatre on October 27th, 2022.
David Beinetti, AIA, LEED AP, former President and Chief Marketing Officer and Current Principal at SWBR, will receive the prestigious AIA Rochester Medal of Distinction, which recognizes a lifetime of achievement in architecture including service to the profession, the chapter, and the community. This award is the highest honor that AIA Rochester can confer on one of its members.
Beinetti has been at SWBR since 1979 and is a longtime AIA Member. His professional work is in education, housing, and workplace industries. Outside the firm, he is a community leader driving for significant and positive improvement to the built environment in the City of Rochester and throughout the State of New York. “His leadership is inclusive, contagious, and genuine. Leaders in our community hold Dave in the highest regard and value his ongoing contribution to improve our community and lives through use of sustainable practices in design.” said Jennifer Takatch, AIA, 2021 Medal of Distinction recipient. Beinetti has lent his professional skills as a member of the Board for Rochester Downtown Development Corporation, NAIOP Upstate New York, Design Build Institute of America Liberty Region - Upstate NY Chapter, Monroe Community College Fund, and Rochester Sustainability Collaborative to name a few. Beinetti has won many awards and accolades; most recently he received AIA New York State’s 2020 Schwartz Community Development Award. Robert Duffy, President and CEO of the Greater Rochester Chamber of Commerce, noted that, “For over 40 years, Dave has committed himself and his work to enhancing the community around him. Not interested in making a quick buck or applying for self-congratulatory prizes, but instead to teaching the next generation of architects how to be the best at what they do.”
Sara DeSalvo, AIA, of Dwyer Architectural will be awarded the 2022 Emerging Architect of the Year Award. This award recognizes the efforts of emerging leaders within the chapter who have contributed their time and talent towards the improvement of the architectural community and have made considerable advances in their professional career. As a rising architect, DeSalvo has already made notable contributions to the field. DeSalvo is currently serving the AIA Rochester Board of Directors as Communications Director and interim Social Media Director and is active with the AIA Golf Tournament for Scholarships and the Women in Architecture Committee. DeSalvo serves as a mentor to students and the next generation of architects in many facets; most notably through her work as a BArch Program mentor to students at Alfred State College, as an NCARB Advisor and as a member of the Accreditation Board at Alfred State College. “Sara is a great role model for all aspiring architects. She is a born leader possessing a dynamic, contagious positive attitude with a passion and desire to succeed, not only for herself but for all those around her.” says Kimberly Dwyer, AIA, EDAC, Managing Partner at Dwyer Architectural. Outside of the profession, she has given back by volunteering for numerous charitable events, such as the American Diabetes Association Tour de Cure, The Alzheimer’s Association Walk to end ALZ, and has been a member or leader of a CANstruction team since 2006, where cans and donations support our local Foodlink.
Christina Fluman, Associate AIA, of Edge Architecture received the 2022 Volunteer of the Year Award. She currently serves as the Director of Practice and Design for AIA Rochester as part of the AIA Rochester Board of Directors. Fluman was responsible for the planning and execution of the 2022 AIA Rochester Design Awards, which recognizes excellence in design by local architects. In addition to her efforts to promote architecture within the Rochester area through leading the Design Awards program, Fluman and a colleague demonstrated their capability to produce excellent architecture by winning AIA Rochester’s 2022 Designers Unleashed: Ideas Competition. Outside of the profession, Fluman coaches and mentors young athletes to both improve their soccer skills and help promote positive life values, she works with the Cancer Community Center of Rochester through Edge Architecture and has been helping them redesign a large portion of their community spaces for their members, and she also served as a panelist for the 2022 New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) Artist Fellowship program as part of the Architecture/Environmental Structures/Design Guidelines category.
Andrew Petrosky, AIA will be presented with the Past President’s Medal. Petrosky led the chapter in 2021, through the second year of COVID-19. Even though the challenges of a second year of COVID-19 had to change the delivery and format of some events, he remained focused on creating opportunities for the chapter while keeping the chapter in a good financial position.
Cannan Alexander & Scott (CAS Reps) will receive the Allied Member of the Year Award. CAS Reps has been an unwavering supporter of the chapter's endeavors both as an underwriter and as a participant. CAS Reps is a manufacturers’ representative firm specializing in building enclosure products for the commercial and residential construction industry, where their mission is to educate, inform and consult with architects, developers, and contractors to increase the awareness of premium products. Since 1999, CAS Reps has been growing, learning and sharing their expertise, so the industry can mature and progress collectively into a better
educated and informed building industry.
In addition to the accolades, the Annual Business Meeting will include a review of the chapter's 2022 events, the announcement of the 2023 AIA Rochester Board of Directors, and a keynote lecture by Kamal L. Crues, P.E., the ROC the Riverway Program Manager for the city of Rochester, NY.