Today, I’m reminded of what AIBD does best: bringing people together in remarkable places to learn from great work and remember that design is a cultural stewardship, not just a service.

I'm reminded of this today because it's Dennis' birthday.

For over 45 years, Dennis White, CPBD, AIBD, USGBC Green Associate, has been a pioneer in environmentally responsible construction, with a continued focus on creating energy-independent, holistic, and organic designs.

While practicing his craft in and around Mason City, Iowa, Dennis has been a loyal servant to the profession.

In June, we celebrated his 25th year of Professional AIBD membership, and last month marked his 22nd year as an NCBDC-certified designer.

Dennis is representative of what I’ve found to be a typical AIBD member: quietly ambitious, hands‑on, practical, and modest in public, but deeply driven to do right by clients, craft, and community.

In 2013, Dennis curated an architectural experience I have never forgotten.

Serving his local chapter, Dennis arranged an AIBD weekend event at the Park Inn Hotel, accompanied by a tour of the Melson House, which is where I’ll begin.

This house was designed by Walter Burley Griffin for J.G. Melson, one of the key developers of Rock Crest-Rock Glen. Its location is by far the most dramatic of all the houses in the development. It sits right on the edge of a limestone outcropping with an incredible view of the valley below.

Standing before it, the first feeling is that you are not just looking at a building; you are looking at geology that decided to become a house. The ashlar stone walls rise directly out of the cliff so convincingly that it feels less “sited on a bluff” and more “grown out of the bluff.”

When you have the time, the Building 51 Museum has a very large collection of exterior photographs showing the amazing stonework and detailing of the Melson House.

Just as impressive as the house is the story I heard describing the series of events that led to its creation.

Frank Lloyd Wright was commissioned in early 1909 to design the unified City National Bank and Park Inn Hotel in downtown Mason City. In late 1909, he left his practice and went on a (questionable) European adventure with Mamah Cheney, and his chief draftsman, William Drummond, took over supervision of construction until the complex was completed in 1910.​

While in Mason City, he also designed the Curtis Yelland House (1911) on River Heights Road, giving the town at least one clearly attributed Drummond Prairie residence of its own.

Meanwhile, back in Chicago, after Wright left for Europe, architect Hermann von Holst took over management of his outstanding commissions and set up an office in Chicago’s Steinway Hall. Von Holst quickly hired Marion Mahony, Wright’s long‑time associate (his first employee, I believe), to “ghost‑design” or carry forward the design work for Wright’s remaining clients, positioning her as the person to contact if you were a stranded Wright client or developer.

Mason City developers James Blythe and Joshua Melson had hoped Wright would design a new residential development along Willow Creek, but his sudden departure and scandal stalled those plans.

Two years later, Melson reached out to Mahony (now Griffin), who recommended her husband, Walter Burley Griffin, also a former Wright employee who ran the firm while Wright was in Japan.

Griffin then laid out the Rock Crest–Rock Glen development and designed several of its houses, creating what is now one of the largest, most cohesive Prairie School residential districts in the United States.

What are my takeaways from all this?

First, be careful not to burn bridges in this industry. Word of mouth is still a very strong marketing strategy.

Second, “Fight to be #2.” That is something I learned many years ago from businessman Harvey Mackay. I’m not suggesting we settle for second place permanently, but rather that we strategically position ourselves. Eventually, the top choice (#1) may run off with a mistress (or something else), and first-place opportunities will open up.

Third, every city is a studio and a teacher, with something architecturally significant to explore. Walking through a town’s neighborhoods is essentially walking through a three‑dimensional archive.

Finally, and most importantly, my involvement with AIBD has provided me with incredible opportunities, but it's the amazing people I've met that have truly made the experience invaluable.

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Those who attended that weekend made the trek from at least two other surrounding states. I made the fourth state represented.

Staying at the Park Inn, the only remaining hotel designed by Wright, was literally residing inside a piece of Prairie School history. Dennis didn’t just schedule a meeting; he opened a door to history and invited others to inhabit it.

That kind of hospitality is part of AIBD’s culture of peer‑to‑peer mentorship and generosity.

I invite you to experience it yourself.

SAVE THE DATE!

​AIBD’s Annual Conference is July 29 through August 1, 2026, in Cleveland, Ohio.

The Ohio chapters of AIBD are a supporting partner of the event and invite you to join them for a memorable conference where you can connect and build lasting relationships with fellow professionals.

In the meantime.

Florida is hosting an “AIBD Connect” workshop on January 16, 2026, in Sanford, featuring a full day of education and networking. The day concludes with a hands-on, immersive visit to 1to1 Plans, where you step inside a full-scale set of house plans and experience your drawings as real, walkable spaces.

And May 1, 2026, is AIBD Connect - Colorado, hosted by the Colorado Chapters of AIBD in Castle Rock (more information to come soon).

Stay tuned, the word on the street is that our central Atlantic members are working on a day of activities at the National Building Museum in our Nation’s Capital.

I challenge you. Be the member who curates the experience for everyone else.

Do what our birthday honoree did: pick a setting that teaches, arrange a tour (or just a lunch), and connect colleagues to local history and craft.

You won’t be working alone. AIBD’s A‑Team can help you shape the idea into an event, and then turn “I found a cool place” into a clear, compelling invitation to our entire community.

We are all members with different roles and markets, sheltering under a shared language of good residential design.

Meeting together turns continuing education into a pilgrimage and shared memories.

Thank you, Dennis, and happy birthday!