Have I got a story for you.  Much to my amazement I received an invitation to become a Herman Miller Young Intern Architect at Healthcare Design 2010.  But wait, there was a catch.  A few weeks went by and I hadn’t heard from anyone at AIA, AAH or Herman Miller.  After buying my airline tickets and booking my hotel I received a call from my contact at HM.  There had been some confusion and that I had not been awarded. Goodbye.

Well that seemed odd.  I had an email indicating I had won, plus a follow up phone call shortly after that.  I bought tickets and everything since it was all reimbursable.  I’d have to say I felt a little cast aside…but why? What was the mix up?  I sent everything I had onto Doug (the managing principle at the firm I was working at) and he got in touch with someone.  Since things had already been purchased and not refundable, he convinced them to follow through on their original invitation in the email.  Just like that, I was going to HCD10 in Vegas!  I still wonder sometimes as to what was said between Doug and the HM folks. Much to my disappointment though, the only time I was listed as a recipient was at the conference.  A large photo of everyone was taken and was up on HM’s healthcare site but for the most part I can not find any source siting me as a recipient.  A bit of an issue when you tell people you’re  a HM Young Architect Fellow.  At least I still have my badge from the conference.