In the words of Martin Luther King, "The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy." Today's economy and the rapidly evolving technologies around building construction challenge us to work together and remain focused. It has been deeply satisfying this past year to see that we are doing exactly that.

• We've met the challenge of the growing green construction industry, and the demands of elected officials, by launching our new International Green Construction Code. Whether your community is ready or not, the ability to have this tool when the time comes is critically important. And as we have heard from a variety of sources, this is an opportunity for us, the code officials, to establish a greater degree of relevance in our society.
• You have provided a great response to our request for feedback on the update of our strategic plan. The Blueprint to 2015, combined with our new strategic budget, demonstrates our ongoing commitment to our core mission of code development, our primary service of professional development, and our necessary attention to smart business development.
• Building on policy changes initiated after Minneapolis by my predecessor Adolf Zubia, I formed a new Code Development Review Ad Hoc Committee with seven board members and six industry representatives. We did this to hear the concerns about participation in our hearings, and share your desire to engage our membership to provide the best codes to our jurisdictions. The work of this committee is difficult, with no silver bullet and no solution that will satisfy everyone. But their work is critical to our success, and they will continue to engage with you as we move forward.
• Our codes are growing in stature, as they become recognized within national policy discussions and utilized in jurisdictions throughout the world. The International Energy Conservation Code is not only acknowledged as meeting national goals, but serves as the baseline for our new International Green Construction Code. Many of our codes are being adopted in their entirety in locations such as the United Arab Emirates, and being used as key resource documents across the Western Hemisphere in Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean and South America.

• At the Foundation, we expanded our public outreach with a move to Building Safety Month with unprecedented media coverage and participation. We also established a new scholarship program to send people to our code hearings.
• We started a new chapter at ICC-Evaluation Service with a transition in leadership and the utilization of new partnerships to accelerate the delivery of quality evaluations to the marketplace.
• We not only repaired and hardened our website, but are moving aggressively to use technology to extend our communications to social media and reinventing our Building Safety Journal.
• A host of new approaches to professional development have hit the street or are scheduled for release, addressing your desire for affordability, variety and access.
• We've never been more visible or respected on Capitol Hill, and within the community of federal agencies and national organizations, than we are today.
• Whether it involves the needs of the private sector, a building department, or a specific discipline, we are delivering expertise and service that each of us can be proud of.