.png)
Dear Friends,
Holiday greetings to all our members and your families! As we near the end of 2020, an interesting year indeed, there seems to be some positive changes around. Without going into full detail, I do believe it will be a new beginning in 2021. I am hopeful, and I encourage all of us to stay positive, believe, and keep doing good.
The first virtual ASLA conference reVISION ASLA 2020 was a great success. How convenient to be able to learn in the comfort of your home office, and at a very reasonable cost, with a lot of amazing sessions!
Some quick stats on the conference worth sharing- more than 3,000 people registered to attend reVISION ASLA 2020! The conference featured 25 education sessions available for professional development hours (PDHs). The program was also comprised of bite-sized learning opportunities, including six virtual field sessions, three Inside the LA Studio sessions, 13 fast-paced game-changers, seven “Continue the Conversation” sessions, five keynote sessions, 22 virtual networking sessions with PPN leadership team members and ASLA mentors, and six innovation showcase sessions presented by exhibitors. In addition, virtual ceremonies celebrated professional and student award winners, medal and honorary award recipients, and inductees to the Council of Fellows. Most importantly, all reVISION education sessions are now available on-demand through January 31, 2021. Registrants can access sessions by logging in to the reVISION platform. All evaluations and quizzes for sessions viewed on-demand (November 23, 2020 or later) must be completed by January 31, 2021 to receive credit. Please take advantage of this and earn your CEU’s. Social media efforts for reVISION 2020 had a potential audience of nearly 10 million people. ASLA doubled the number of reporters registered, showing great interest in this year’s virtual event.
As always, I like to keep you informed on the highlights from National ASLA;
ASLA welcomes Tom Mroz, FASLA, as ASLA president and Eugenia Martin, FASLA, as President-Elect. Wendy Miller, FASLA, will continue to serve as Immediate Past President for one year. Also installed were incoming VPs Tamas Deak, FASLA, Finance; Bradley McCauley, ASLA, Membership; and Adrian Smith, FASLA, Professional Practice. Congratulations to the new leadership!
The Emerging Professionals Committee released an ASkLA Podcast episode in October featuring CEO Carter-Conneen. In the episode, Torey discusses his background and plans for the future with ASLA. All ASkLA episodes can be found here.
Landscape architecture students continue to take advantage of ASLA’s free membership offer, bringing the total to 4,121 students, student affiliate, and international student members. Students now make up a quarter of the entire membership. Students can complete an application using a simple survey process, with more information found on the ASLA student’s webpage. ASLA still needs more mentors for the incoming student members. Mentors and mentees can both register here. To learn more about the mentorship program, please visit the mentorship page on asla.org.
Lastly, I would like to thank you all for the continued membership and your support of your chapter. We cannot do this without you, and we strive hard to live up to your expectations and serve you all. If you want to be part of our team and contribute to the profession, please feel free to reach out to us at contact@marylandasla.org.
Happy and safe holidays to you and your families, and I hope to see you or meet you in person, if life allows, in the next year!
Sincerely,
Om Khurjekar, PLA, ASLA
Trustee MDASLA