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Dear Friends,
I hope you are all staying safe and healthy during this unusual event. I am confident that all of you are trying your best to navigate safely through this pandemic. I encourage you to keep up the effort. I believe that together we will get through this. There will be a new normal, and I hope it will be better, more efficient, and we will be stronger as a profession.
ASLA has been proactive and working hard to serve the membership during the COVID-19 pandemic. The month of April was very busy and National ASLA successfully organized the Board of Trustees (BOT) and Chapter Presidents Council (CPC) mid-year meetings. These were organized via zoom and were very productive, allowing the ASLA business to continue. During the BOT meetings, the ASLA executive committee and the board unanimously voted on two important issues that will be great benefits to the entire membership. Stay tuned for official updates on what these are. Also as a result of your support, we were able to continue the tradition of celebrating the World Landscape Architecture Month (WLAM).
Now a few key highlights from National ASLA in response to COVID-19;
ASLA has compiled on asla.org an extensive list of resources for members to use during the COVID-19 pandemic. The site includes business resources, professional development opportunities, tools for students and educators, community tools, and government resources. The site will be continually updated as current news and resources become available. A COVID-19 Updates email will be sent weekly until the pandemic passes. If you have suggestions or ideas for resources, please email them to info@asla.org. Please use these resources!
Even in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, World Landscape Architecture Month 2020 and the Life Grows Here campaign has been met with incredible enthusiasm and engagement from around the globe. On social media, #WLAM2020 and #LifeGrowsHere have generated over 1,000 posts that have reached over 3 million people. ASLA also provided a weekly email update on all things WLAM related. Cheers to you all for participating!
As I stated in my last message, the annual election for 2021-2022 president-elect will be open from May 5 through June 5, 2020. All Full, Associate, and International members in good professional standing will be eligible to vote and will receive a paper and/or email ballot to participate. Here is your chance to familiarize yourself with the candidates’ concepts, aims, and biographies. In addition, two constitutional amendments are on the ballot, see information at Governance and Leadership. All Full members are eligible to vote on constitutional amendments. Please vote!
As always, I would like to make a plea- we need volunteers to serve on our committees and bring in fresh ideas. We are looking for an individual to be our membership chair. If you wish to contribute to this effort and the profession, please feel free to reach out to us at contact@marylandasla.org
Last but not the least, I would like to thank you all for your support of ASLA in various ways including continuing your memberships even in this difficult time, and we appreciate it very much. We cannot do it without you!
Sincerely,
Om Khurjekar, PLA, ASLA
Trustee MDASLA