2000-2001 Annual Report

| Print | E-mail

Sunday December 31, 00 16:00

ARIZONA CHAPTER ASLA ANNUAL REPORT (2000-2001)

Message from the President

Ron Tatasciore, President, Arizona Chapter, ASLA
a time for reflection... past, present and future.

It was a pleasure to serve as your president over the past year. Together, we have made our Arizona Chapter more visible. Now I reflect on my term as your president on what we have successfully accomplished together and where we need to go.

Success is achieved not only with leadership but with a team of committed volunteers who have given their time and energy to further promote our profession of landscape architecture. Thank you to all of you who have made this past year a success! This includes our executive officers and committee members. Thank You!

Our Arizona Chapter has changed and grown, from a small social group, to a medium sized chapter with Southern and Northern Sections. At the beginning of my term I learned at our National CPC (Chapter Presidents Council) meeting that we have grown. We are now classified as a large Chapter by ASLA National standards, with almost 350 members. It was an eye-opening experience to sit at roundtables with other large Chapters, including California and Florida, to learn and share ideas, opportunities as well as constraints of providing improved and better services to our members.

At the beginning of my term as your president, my goal was "to provide leadership to reach out and develop greater exposure through professional development and promotion of the profession of Landscape Architecture in Arizona; And to provide leadership that reaches-within to communicate with and respond to our Arizona membership".

At the beginning of the 2000 year term, our executive committee discussed and voted to prioritize six actions for the year, as follows:

Action 1: to develop programs that reach out to promote the profession in Arizona. This action item included two priorities:

First, a Landscape Advocate Newsletter, to reach out to the state legislature, is still being formulated. Last year we submitted and were approved for a Chapter Initiative Program (CIP) funding grant by ASLA National to put together a newsletter that would reach out to our Arizona Legislature and decision makers. This action was delayed. However, as of September 2001, it was put back on our priorities to be done for Spring 2002, as part of a larger promotional effort. This newsletter is envisioned to be introduced at a breakfast event at Bank One Ballpark, as part of our second successful CIP funding grant to host this promotional breakfast event.

Second, we got our Arizona Awards program reactivated. Thanks to our Awards Committee, we did have a very successful Awards Event on November 3, 2001. See details of award winners, friends and news release with graphics on our website, under our electronic "Mesquite Journal".

Other activities that have reached out included: Getting more pro-active with ADOT to support landscape architects and help the agency with their reorganization. This included an intensive effort of meetings, letter writing and phone calls to support the success of Landscape Architecture, in a government agency. In addition we volunteered to assist the small Arizona community of Bullhead City. Our members were invited to speak at the Windy River Institute's Symposium, on the importance of the Colorado River Landscape as link between Bullhead City, Arizona and Laughlin Nevada.

Action 2: to encourage continuing education and leadership among our membership. This action item included three priorities:

First, maintain our luncheon and speaker seminars for Central and Southern Sections. This year both Phoenix and Tucson had high participation, to the point of not having enough lunches for some folks. However, our vendor sponsors continue to be most gracious and supportive. Thank You.

Second, Leadership development training and seminars were offered. A seminar offered by ASLA National at the CPC and BOT meetings, were attended by the President, President-Elect and Trustee. In addition, the Arizona Chapter supported the San Diego Chapter for their upcoming Leadership Workshop held on August 24 and 25th.

Third, research on CEU's Continuing Education Units were explored for Arizona. It seems that the Arizona Board of Technical Registration (BTR) may need encouragement to implement this. Thus, action was begun to create an alliance with the (AIA) Arizona Chapter of the American Institute of Architects, to share information and help achieve this goal together.

Action 3: to develop interactive tools to communicate with our members in Arizona. This action item included two priorities:

First, develop an interactive electronic communication, using an Intranet as a new tool for two-way communication. This was successfully accomplished, however after having almost one-third of our members join new this Intranet, the system cancelled advertising and the cost became prohibited to continue. The good news is that we have focused on improving our website, at: http://www.azasla.org New content has been added to our website to enhance its' information, for members and the public. New sections include an electronic "Mesquite Journal", with links to President's Messages, News-Special Announcements, Awards, Journal Articles and Job Opportunities. "Current Events" section includes links to Bulletin Board Events, Chapter Seminars-Luncheons, Meetings and Monthly Calendar.

Second, a local annual member's event was desirable to include Phoenix and Tucson. Initially this was though to be a social event and picnic, however this idea was postponed to focus resources on reviving our Annual Awards Event. Thus, the good news is that we had a very successful Awards Banquet held on November 3rd. Hopefully, this event will continue and become part of an annual meeting for our members in Arizona.

Action 4: to improve operations and management of our Arizona Chapter. This action included two priorities:

First: Develop an operating budget. This was vastly improved, thanks to our Treasurer, who is very careful spending our limited cash. In the future, we need to increase our income, so we can enhance services offered to our members.

Second: Our new Arizona ByLaws were drafted and approved by a vote of our membership. Members supported this new ByLaw, to replace our long outdated 1973 ByLaws! The full text of this ByLaw is posted on our website, with a synopsis. This will help improve operations and management, by giving us the tools to operate as a larger size Chapter. Thus, we should be able to provide more benefits to our members, in the future.

Action 5: to prepare for Sunset Legislation in 2005.
This includes pre-planning for this future legislation, in two ways:

First, Our Arizona delegate attend the National Licensure Summit, held in California in November 2-4, 2001. A report is posted on our website, under "Mesquite Journal" that outlines the combined actions of PAL - Partnership for the Advancement of Licensure, including: ASLA, CLARB, CELA.

Second, ongoing action includes coordinating information with the future "Arizona Advocate" newsletter. This is part of our outreach program, to better communicate with our fellow associations, including Architects, Planners and Engineers.

Action 6: to prepare for National Annual Meeting 2006. This has begun at both our CPC and BOT meetings, since we lost the opportunity for 2004 Annual Meeting to Salt Lake City, we are positioning ourselves for 2006. At that time Arizona will have improved convention infrastructure, hotels and transit completed. Our Chapter and Trustee needs to express our interest again, to ASLA National.

Other activities this year included the following:

Chapter Presidents Council (CPC)
President, Ron Tatasciore and President-Elect, Marc Beyer attended the CPC in Washington, D.C. in the early Spring of 2000, organized by ASLA National. This included participation at a Forum and series of Round Tables. Discussions were productive to share knowledge and learn of new ideas that have created success in other Chapters. An action plan was produced to help guide all Chapters. The Fall CPC meeting, planned to take place in Montreal did not happen, due to September 11, 2001. Thus, the next CPC meeting in Washington in April 2002 should be organized to bring our concerns to ASLA National.

Leadership Development Workshop participation
The President and President-Elect participated in leadership training at the CPC Meeting. Members of our chapter also attended the leadership development workshop in San Diego Chapter, with Tom Dunbar, FASLA in August 2001.

Membership
Membership grew this past year at a fast pace, due to our strong economy and encouragement of the student chapters at ASU and U of A. We just missed National's recognition and check for the greatest number of new members.

Professional Awards Program / banquet
Plans for the revival of our Annual Awards Program were successfully achieved by the Awards Banquet at South Mountain Environmental Educational Center on November 3, 2001. Thanks to Angela Dye's leadership and the energy of her committee.

Thanks to Greg Presto, we share some photos of our Awards Event:

 

 

Newsletters
Our Chapter has not produced our "Mesquite Journal" newsletter for the past few years. However, this year we started our electronic "Mesquite Journal" updated regularly on our website.

Communications
The addition of Greg Presto as our communications chair has helped reach out to our members and the public better. Enhancements to our website started to develop new ways to reach our membership and beyond to the public, to complement electronic mail, post cards and invitation mailings of notices and events.

LARE Review
We thank Bob Gladwin's leadership and his committee for organizing another successful LARE Review this year.

Archives
This is the first year an archivist was appointed. Thank you to Kathy Emery for her commitment to our ASLA over the years. We will look forward to her documenting our historical records, starting with a list of Past-Presidents of our Arizona Chapter.

Licensure/ registration/ sunset review
Arizona is licensed by the Board of Technical Registration. Legislation is due for sunset review in 2005. Thank you to Lori Woods, delegate to the recent Licensure Summit, held in California in November. She has strong knowledge of ASLA, CLARB and CELA issues, plus past experience serving on the Arizona Board of Technical Registration. See her report on our website, under "Mesquite Journal".

Community Assistance
We were asked by the Bullhead City Windy River Institute to participate in their symposium. Thanks to Ron Tatasciore and Kathy Emery, who volunteered to speak on managing the value of the landscape along the Colorado River.

Involvement/ activities with allied organizations
We participated again this year, at the Southwest Horticultural Trade Show and Conference, in September 2001, sponsored by the Arizona Nursery Association. Thank you to our volunteer member who answered questions at our booth. Thank you also to Ron Tatasciore and Lorna Carranza, who volunteered to act as facilitators at the Educational Sessions of the Conference. In addition, we started to forge a stronger relationship with the AIA, Arizona Chapter of the American Institute of Architects this year. This included our involvement at Architecture Week, sharing information on CEU's, Continuing Education Units, and starting a discussion on sharing office space and resources in the historic Walker Building in downtown Phoenix.

Please contact your current President or a committee member if you have ideas or wish to get involved in helping your ASLA grow. Visit our website, not only to read information but to contribute articles, ideas and share your opinion in our Mesquite Journal. Our Arizona Chapter of the ASLA will continue to strive and improve services to our members as well as continue to reach out.

We are a volunteer group and need your continuing participation and support to make it happen. While the events of September 11^th 2001, did cancel the National Annual Meeting, planned in Montreal, they also made us stronger to communicate together and work as a team. We should feel confident that our new executive committee will continue stronger, with new ideas. Collectively our efforts will build a stronger ASLA in Arizona. Let's stay focused on our goals and objectives to enhance the Landscape Architectural profession for our future.

Ron Tatasciore
President, Arizona Chapter, ASLA (2000-2001 term)


Message from our Trustee

Angela Dye, Trustee, Arizona Chapter

• The events of September 11, 2001 led the ASLA Executive Committee to cancel the Annual Meeting in Montreal. Aside from all the other issues with such a traumatic event, it has forced the Board of Trustees to embark on conducting business by email, Internet, conference calls, and electronic voting. The cancellation has also significantly impacted the budget. In October, the BOT approved minutes and the consent agenda by email. In December, the Board held a conference call (over 50 on the phone), and approved by voice vote 3 items:
  
  - Approved a motion to accept the Governance Task Force Report to conduct business as before, but directed the ExComm to develop policies for consideration on Chapter formation, electronic voting, and Trustee accountability.
  
  - Approved a motion to retain the conveyance of one ASLA medal each year, but directed ExComm to recommend appropriate new categories, more clarification of what medals we do have, and additional PR for the recipients.
  
  - Approved a motion as the members of LEAF, to accept the proposed LEAF By-laws and ratify the ASLA ExComm as its Board of Directors. (LEAF = Library and Education Advocacy Fund). The purpose of this group is to enhance ASLA's information, education and professional practice resources through solicitations and sponsorships.
  
  - Discussed revisions to the budget given the economic downturn and impact from cancellation of the Annual Meeting. An insurance claim has been filed, but currently there is no word yet on the amount that will be honored. A claim of $1.2 million was submitted. Refunds are currently being processed; most are being applied to next year in San Jose.
  
  - Discussed implementation in the Fiscal Year 01-03 budget of a software upgrade to the website that enables registering on-line for the Annual Meeting and for purchase of books.
  
  BOT - I have been appointed to chair the Government Affairs Committee. A Government Affairs survey was just distributed to the entire membership, soliciting input by December 31, 2001 on what the priorities for this committee and for ASLA advocacy at the national level should be. This committee will help Marcia Argust, manager at National, to focus the talking points for the CPC and BOT with Congress on Lobby Day April 25, 2002.
  
  BOT April 19, 2001 in DC was Public Affairs Day. Fritz Steiner and myself visited the congressional offices of Rep. Shadegg, Senators Kyl, McCain, and Pastor to express interest in continuing funding of CARA, allocating funding for HALS (Historic American Landscape Survey) program for the National Park Service, and to generally acquaint them with ASLA and our interests and resources.
  
  Babbitt nomination - Secretary Bruce Babbitt won the nomination for the LaGasse Medal (non-LA) based on our nomination. He was to have a keynote speaker at the Montreal meeting. He will be speaking at the Mid Year 2002 meeting, and receive the Medal then.
  
  Fellows - we were successful in the nomination of Katherine Emery as Fellow. Christy Ten Eyck was also submitted, but was not nominated. We'll try again in a couple years.
  
  Awards 2001 AzASLA
  The Awards Committee of myself, Kathy Emery, Byron Sampson, Lorna Carranza, Christina Cenzano, Jim Coffman, and Jackie Keller successfully pulled off an awards banquet November 3, 20001 with 45 people attending, even though we were in the height of the World Series in Phoenix! Attached is a break out of Income and Expense for the event. As you can see below, we thought we would have more entries (40 vs. 14) and more attendees (100 vs. 45), but we gained 2 sponsors. While we lost a couple hundred dollars, my assessment is that we did well, considering the Chapter has not had a major event for 3 years, and this particular event hadn't been held for at least that long. Kathy Emery is compiling a summary of comments on how to do better next year.
  
  DRAFT Budget:
  Estimate $35-40/person x 100 people = $4000 +
  $150/ entry x 40 entries = $6000 + sponsors
  Actual $50/person x 40 people = $2000
  Sponsors (2) $1000
  14 entries x $150 $2100
  
  Thank you to Angela Dye for your active participation in our Chapter activities this past year. The Arizona Chapter is honored to have a Trustee responsible to National ASLA in Washington D.C., and a heart in Arizona.

Financial Highlights from our Treasurer
David Wilson, Treasurer

The following Financial Summary was prepared by David Wilson, AZ. ASLA Treasurer. Mr. Wilson assumed this office in October of 2001 when Lorna Carranza (past Treasurer) resigned the position to take employment out of state. The figures indicated below are based on the ledger maintained by Lorna during her term.

This summary is for a one-year period starting October 1, 2000 and ending September 30, 2001.

· Beginning Balance $11,576.21
· Ending Balance $8,549.18
· High Balance $14,518.06
· Low Balance $6,418.77
· Average Balance $10,700.00

· Total Debits for the Year $22,801.24

· Total Credits for the Year $24,830.68

The Chapter purchased a 6-month CD in January of 2001 for $8,000.00. The CD rolled over in July and had a value of $8,184.23.

Thank you to David Wilson for this comprehensive summary. Our long-range financial plan is based on priorities and on-going action plans, adjusted each year, by the current executive committee. Next year our priorities will include Breakfast at BOB event and the introduction of the Arizona Advocate's first issue, both actions are part of CIP Grants from National ASLA.

Officers, Arizona Chapter

The following ASLA Members were our Chapter Officers (2000-2001 term):

Angela Dye, Trustee
Ron Tatasciore, President
Marc Beyer, President-Elect
Ed Corral, Past-President
Lorna Carranza, Treasurer
Jeff Anderson, Secretary

Committees, Arizona Chapter

The following ASLA Members were our Committee chairs (2000-2001 term):

Joe Salazar, Central Section Chair
Christina Cenzano, Central Section Co-Chair
Karen Novak, Southern Section Chair
Todd Mumma, Southern Section Co-Chair
Jim Coffman, Government Affairs, Chair
Vic Kalva, Government Affairs, Co-Chair
Byron Sampson, Public Relations, Chair
Jeff Sargent, Public Relations, Co-Chair
Greg Presto, Communications, Chair
Kathy Emery, Member-At-Large
Rayka Ghaderi. Associate-At-Large
Kristi Anliker, ASU, Student Chapter President

Arizona ASLA Executive Committee Meeting

Committee Accomplishments

Committee members greatly contributed to the action items listed above. Thank you to all our committee members. In addition, other accomplishment highlights include:

• Successful Central and Southern Section programs with luncheons and speakers in both Phoenix and Tucson;
• Review of various municipal regulations and General Plans;
• Pro-active participation to help ADOT with reorganization;
• Successful application for CIP funding of future Breakfast at Bob event;
• Chapter website enhancements and communications;
• Chapter archive started;
• Chapter Awards Program successfully revived;

Student Chapter Annual Highlights

Arizona State University, (ASU) Tempe, Arizona; And University of Arizona, (UofA) Tucson conducted their Annual Awards events in 2000.

Members of the ASLA Executive Committee attended the ASU Awards Jury. Four students presented, with Student Awards given to three Merit Award Winners and one Honor Award Winner.


ASU Student Honor Award Winner - Todd Briggs

The Arizona Chapter President attended the University of Arizona Awards Jury and evening presentation event in Tucson.

Membership totals for 2001:

Our Membership includes the following categories, based on the July 2001 Roster.

Full Members: 202
Fellows Members: 9
Honorary Member: 1
Associate Members: 54
Affiliate Members: 20
Student Members: 58

TOTAL: 344

In conclusion, Thank you for the opportunity to serve as your president this past year. I am confident that the Arizona Chapter will be in good hands, under the leadership of Marc Beyer as your next President. Please offer to volunteer your help and contribute your time to serve on a committee or task force that will help make our Arizona Chapter of the ASLA even stronger, next year.

 

Respectfully submitted,

Ron Tatasciore
President, Arizona Chapter, ASLA (2000-2001 term)

 

1999-2000 Annual Report

| Print | E-mail

Friday December 31, 99 16:00

Ed Corral, President, Arizona Chapter, ASLA (1999-2000)
October 2000

Arizona Chapter
American Society of Landscape Architects
Annual Report - 1999 -2000

I. Presidents Message

"BRING BACK THE SPIRIT"

As I reflect back on the past year as President of the Arizona Chapter of ASLA, "Bring Back the Spirit" is a phrase that I hope carries forward in the years to come. We as members need to re-energize our chapter and start coming together as a group to promote issues, programs and educational opportunities that benefit the quality of life in our cities, towns and communities. After all that is what we are about -----designing, preserving, restoring and building healthier more livable communities.

I have been fortunate to meet, discuss and work with many talented Landscape Architects in Arizona and around the country who are also deeply involved in their local chapters. All of us have two things in common. One, we are all part of the ASLA team and each of us want to make a difference in our chapters and communities. Secondly, we all have a major piece of the puzzle at our fingertips and without it we can not take the next step forward. That puzzle piece is you the chapter members.

There is certainly much to be done by our chapter and no one will benefit from it unless we join together and make it happen. We as members all have a personal stake in what the work of ASLA does locally and nationally. We all need to get involved at the local level in order to realize and reap the benefits that our organization provides.

There are many national agenda items that beckon us to get involved. These initiatives are too numerous to list, but the local chapters are the conduit to making these initiatives happen, and let me tell you there is something for every interest and talent. But, we can't do it alone. We need your help to make it work. Locally, we have several initiatives in need of volunteers to make them happen and get them going. The "ASLA Advocate" is a local publication that will be distributed to our governmental community leaders. This publication will educate these leaders on the importance of Landscape Architecture professionals and how we impact the quality of life on a daily basis. We need a chairperson to spear head our efforts to land the 2006 National Meeting. This is a major effort we are preparing to pursue and will need the response of the entire chapter to pull it off. We want to bring "Back the Spirit" to help implement local agenda items such as High School and Middle School Recruitment Initiatives to educate and attract our young people into the Landscape Architecture profession. Our new Chapter website is a window of opportunity that will help us to reach out to chapter members, the public, vendors, suppliers, other landscape architects and other professional groups on a wide range of topics, opportunities and issues.

The role of Landscape Architects in the design and development of our local communities is another area where we can help shape our communities. We want to become leaders in our communities by doing more work at the local level. Get involved with city councils, planning commissions and design review boards. We need to start making a difference and promoting the importance of our profession to the quality of life.

I personally challenge each of you to get involved. Have a great year!
Ed Corral

II. Message From The Trustee

Please consider this the Trustee Report for the October 2000 Board of Trustee Meeting held in conjunction with the Annual meeting in St. Louis. (At the Annual Meeting, the budget is reviewed; Policy is discussed at the Mid-Year meeting.)


" Web site - The site has been redesigned to be more direct and help get people to the area of information they're interested in more quickly. It also appears we can afford the new software we need to upgrade our site, based on current projections.
" A Memo of Understanding was signed with the National Park Service to participate in the Rivers and Trails Conservation program.
" New Vice Presidents were swore in:
Information - Dennis Carmichael (EDAW, Arlington, VA)
Finance - Ed Curtin, FASLA (trustee, Indiana)
Membership - Stephen Carter (Corps of Engineers, AL)
" The Landscape Architecture Foundation will launch its new website early next year.
" A 2001 budget was passed and projections accepted for 2002.
" Upcoming meetings - September 22-25, 2001 Montreal, Quebec; 2002 San Jose; 2003 New Orleans; 2004 Salt Lake City. (Our proposal for 2004 was rejected primarily because SLC has never had an annual meeting. We were urged to try again in 2006.)
" A presentation was made by the Leadership Development Task Force, which proposes creation of a Trainer program that perpetuates as individuals are trained then become trainers.
" A presentation was made by the Governance Task Force, which suggested different governance structures for consideration. The concept of regional representation rather than Chapters was discussed. Comments by the BOT will be reviewed by the TF and another presentation given at the mid-year meeting.
" The Conservation Bill CARA was passed in Congress. It is not the full CARA legislation that ASLA supported. A total of $3 billion was approved, but the Land and Water Conservation Fund was not fully funded.
" The Policy Committee will reformat all ASLA policies to read more as position statements and rationale, and formatted consistent with one another.
" A set of Environmental Guidelines was approved.
" A report on Licensure was presented, outlining the current status of licensure efforts in Oregon, Virginia, Ohio, and Texas. Discussion by the BOT included whether National provided sufficient support, that lobbyists are highly valuable in this effort, and what organizations seemed to object to licensure.

Angela Dye, Trustee

III. Financial Highlights

End of the year Financial Statement includes the following:

Balances as of December 2000

Checking Account - $14,518.06
Money Market/CD Account - $3,007.87
Petty Cash on hand - $110.00

IV. Officer Listing

Ed Corral- President
Ron Tatasciore - President Elect
Angela Dye - Trustee
Joe Salazar - Central Section Chair
Karen Novak - Southern Section Chair
Jeff Anderson - Secretary
Lorna Carranza - Treasurer
Kathy Emery - Member at Large
Vic Kalva - Government Affairs
Mark Beyer - Public Relations

V. Student Chapter Highlights

The Student Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects held their annual awards program in the spring at Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona. Members of the Executive Committee were actively involved in judging the event.

Arizona Chapter of ASLA will continue this relationship with the student chapter on a yearly basis and is dedicated to serving the students further in 2001.

VI. Membership

Membership in the chapter steadily increased this past year. In 1999 the Arizona Chapter was recognized by National as a 'mid sized' chapter. During the 2000 fiscal year membership in our chapter increased to over 300 members and was the second fastest growing chapter in the nation. We are now recognized by National in the large chapter category. Lets continue this growth in 2001.

1998-1999 Annual Report

| Print | E-mail

Thursday December 31, 98 16:00

Jeff Sargent, President, Arizona Chapter, ASLA (1998-1999)

THE TORCH HAS BEEN PASSED

With the close of the Centennial activities in Boston last October, the leadership torch was officially passed within the Arizona Chapter. Ed Corral (your current Chapter President) and Jeff Sargent (now serving as Past-President) attended the Chapter President's Council in Boston prior to the opening of the Annual Meeting. This past February, Ed and Chapter President-elect Ron Tatasciore attended the Chapter President's Mid Year meeting in Albuquerque New Mexico. Ron will serve as your Chapter President in 2000-2001. I know you will give both Ed and Ron the same support and enthusiasm you have afforded me over the past year.

Rounding out the balance of your Executive Committee for 1999-2000 is Angela Dye -- Chapter Trustee, Jeff Anderson -- Chapter Secretary, Lorna Carranza - Chapter Treasurer, Kathy Emery - Member at Large, Christina Weger - Associate at Large, Vic Kalva - Government Affairs Liaison, Karen Novak and Marc Beyer - Co-Public Relations Chairs. Section leadership has passed to Karen Novak (Southern) and Joe Salazar (Central). We are indeed fortunate in this Chapter to have so many capable people willing to serve the Society and the profession.

1998-1999 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE ARIZONA CHAPTER OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS

The Arizona Chapter Executive Committee established four principal objectives for fiscal year 1998-1999: (A) continue the reorganization and redefinition of the Executive Committee begun last year, (B) identify opportunities to provide service and benefit to the membership; (C) identify opportunities to better provide communication and foster public relations efforts; and (D) identify opportunities to promote professional development.

Changes to the Executive Committee.

1. This year, the ExCom established a Chapter Action Plan. This Action Plan gave the Chapter a road map for the busy year ahead and identified issues and programs the Executive Committee (ExCom) felt were of importance to the membership.
2. For the first time in recent memory, the ExCom established a meeting schedule (second Tuesday of every month). These meetings were open to the membership at large and the dates and times advertised to the membership.
3. The ExCom was expanded this year from the four core members to eleven, in an effort to broaden input into the Chapter and provide additional services. The Chapter positions of Past-President and President-Elect were re-instituted and the positions of Member-at-Large, Associate-at-Large, and Public Relations Chair were added. A second layer of ex-officio members including the ASU and UofA ASLA Student Chapter Advisors, the ASU and UofA ASLA Student Chapter President, the Editor/publisher of the Chapter newsletter the Mesquite Journal, the LARE Review Committee Coordinator, and the Landscape Architecture Representative to the State Board of Technical Registration were added as an advisory panel.
4. To bridge the geographic distance between the Tucson and Phoenix membership, the ExCom used conference calls to connect the Tucson membership to the ExCom meetings held in Phoenix each month. Chapter officers traveled between Phoenix and Tucson for events and Section meetings.
5. A committee was established to review our Chapter Bylaws and update them. This process continues, and recommendations for changes will be sent to the membership for comment and approval prior to next year's Annual Meeting.
6. The ExCom established a new policy for the selection of our annual Chapter Fellows nominee that will give the Chapter additional time to prepare a successful submittal. Since National only gives us about 3 months to prepare, the Chapter has decided to use the nomination period for one year to prepare nominees for the following year. The Board selected the following members as our nominees for 1999-2000: Charles Eatherly, ASLA for Works of Administration and Works of Design. Charles has been the head of the State Parks. Kathy Emery, ASLA for Works of Administration. Kathy is an Landscape Architect with the City of Glendale. Christy Ten Eyck, ASLA for Works of Design. Christy has her own practice in Phoenix. Larry Zukowski, ASLA for Works of Design. Larry has his own practice in Tucson.

Events

1. The membership base has steadily increased since 1997. The Chapter now has in excess of 300 members and continues to grow. We just narrowly missed (again) the $1000 prize for the Chapter with the highest membership increase. In spite of coming in second for the second year, I am delighted in that we must be doing something right, since our numbers continue to increase.
2. This past year, the Central Section continued to hold a successful lunch meeting series at the Desert Botanical Garden. The Southern Section began conducting a series at the Tucson Botanical Gardens - nearly all to sell-out crowds.
3. For the first time in recent memory, the Chapter will hold two golf tournaments -- one in Phoenix, and another in Tucson.
4. The ExCom voted to re-establish Chapter Annual Meeting and Awards Program in fiscal year 1999-2000.
5. The Chapter is continuing it's charter association and sponsorship of the Phoenix Orchids & Onions Program and Event.

Communications.

1. The ExCom is taking a thorough look at the Mesquite Journal. This year the ExCom established annual publishing dates that coincide with first day of Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall. Mesquite article contributions were solicited from the entire membership. This coming year the Chapter will set up an editorial board independent of the ExCom to continue to expand the journal's scope and to see that the Mesquite is published on schedule. I am pleased to announce that Tom Papandrew, FASLA has volunteered to lead out in that effort.
2. The Chapter submitted (for the first time) three proposals for Chapter Initiative funding from National. Two of the proposals were selected for funding by the Board of Trustees. Both proposals are directed toward increasing the visibility of landscape architecture and communication between members and policy makers.
3. One of the proposals will add funding for the development of a Chapter web site (which has already been approved by the ExCom and is currently under design).
4. Another proposal would create an issues-based newsletter or magazine about ASLA and landscape architecture that will be targeted to Arizona policy makers and thought leaders.
5. Our new Public Relations Chair was successful in getting Governor Jane D. Hull to sign a Proclamation declaring 1999 as the Year of Landscape Architecture in Arizona.
6. Soon after, the Chapter held our first public media event at the Youth At Risk Park - one of our Centennial parks projects.
7. Throughout the year, the ExCom used e-mail and fax technology to keep the membership better informed of significant events and opportunities.

Public Service, Advocacy, and the Centennial.

1. The Chapter participated in the National's program of Centennial events. Each Chapter was asked to provide two parks for the Centennial under the banner of the 100 Years/100 Parks program - Arizona contributed five (3 in Phoenix and 2 in Tucson). Chapter members selected six favorite Arizona landmarks that have had significant involvement by a landscape architect as part of National's Medallion program. The Chapter will hold a gala and media event in January to announce the Medallion sites.
2. The Chapter was responsive to several requests throughout the year for volunteers to serve on various committees and task groups (e.g. MAG, Rio Salado, NewTowN CDC, AMWUA, and the Board of Technical Registration).

Professional Development.

1. The ExCom was supportive and responsive to members with licensure problems and issues. The Chapter organized Winter and Spring LARE exam workshops at no cost to candidates.
2. The Chapter sponsored a portion of travel costs for ASU and UofA student representatives to LABASH in Kentucky last Spring.
3. We established an ongoing relationship with the Southern Nevada Chapter by sending a juror for their design awards program.
4. The ExCom is considering the possibility of Southwest regional conference in FY 2000-2001 or later -- we are talking the possibility with neighboring Chapters.
5. We are continuing to pursue the possibility of bringing the Annual Meeting to Arizona in 2004. As a pre-cursor to this, we offered to host a future mid-year Chapter President's Council prior to 2004 - a proposal that was met with enthusiasm by the other CPC members.

Finances.

1. The ExCom has decided to contract out our financial reporting requirements beginning with FY 1999-2000, partly to make certain we take full advantage of our exempt status and partly to provide long-term continuity in the Chapter's records.
2. The Chapter's operating fund balance in January 1999 was $9443. As of the end of July, 1999, the Chapter's operating fund balance is $13,673. The Chapter (as of July 31, 1999) has $2931 in a money market account.
3. The ExCom has decided to begin putting larger amounts of our operating fund into the money market account so the Chapter funds draw interest rather than sit dormant as they now do in the operating fund.

It has been my distinct pleasure to have served as your Chapter President during this Centennial Year. The Arizona Chapter has come a long way in the past couple of years, but there is much yet to be done and there are new ideas on the horizon. We continually seek your input and assistance in making this the best Chapter in ASLA.

your friend and colleague,

Jeff Sargent, ASLA
Past-President of the Arizona Chapter of the ASLA