Technically, the biggest bash should occur on April 17, for it was on that day-75 years prior-that the first official meeting of the association occurred. On April 17, 1930, representatives of 12 companies met at the
Palmer House Hotel (now the Palmer House Hilton) in Chicago and discussed, among other topics, "dues; renting a ‘suitable' office; and furnishing of the same." During the initial meeting, Mr. James Leenhouts, of Grand Rapids Plaster Co., was elected as the first president and chairman of the association, and authorization was given to hire Henry J. Schweim as "engineer of the association." Schweim was also authorized to rent office space and he quickly established the first office of the association in downtown Chicago, at 21 W. Wacker Drive. By the end of the year, he had also been appointed Secretary of the Corporation and was beginning to serve as chief executive officer of the association, a position he would hold until 1947.