President’s Report

 To:                   ASLA Florida Members

From:              Adam McCollister, President

Date:               January 15, 2020

ASLA Florida,

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!  I hope you all had a chance to get away from work and enjoy time with friends and family over the holidays.  Luckily, I did and now that I’m back into the swing of things I’m excited and focused on the year ahead – and what a year we have in store for us!  Lots of exciting things are happening in our Chapter, and I’m thrilled to be part of it all. 

Not much new has happened since last month’s reports, so I’d like to take this opportunity to just touch on a couple of the key items / events on the horizon.

Design Awards + Awards Gala

The Call for Entries has been issued for the 2020 cycle. The deadline to submit is Friday, February 28, 2020 at 6:00PM EST.  Awards will be presented formally at our Design Awards Gala on May 15th at the renowned Grand Bohemian Hotel in Orlando.  I don’t want to spoil any surprises, but I can guarantee you this will truly be an event to remember!  I hope to see you all there!

Visit our website to submit your project: click here

2020 ASLA Florida Golf Tournament + Scholarship Fundraiser

Following the Awards Gala, on Saturday May 16th, we will be hosting our annual golf tournament in Orlando.  Details are still being worked out, but go ahead and save the date!  If you’ve participated in one of our tournaments in the past, you know how much fun they are.  This year will be even better given that we won’t be tied to the annual conference schedule which tends to press us for time.  Given the flexibility in schedule, we expect this to be one of our best golf outings yet.

As you may or may not know, the primary goal of our annual golf tournament is to raise money for our scholarship fund.  In 2019, ASLA Florida partnered with the Landscape Architecture Foundation (LAF) to establish the Career Discovery Scholarship, which is awarded to students currently enrolled in an LAAB-accredited landscape architecture program at a university in the state of Florida. Eligible students are either:

• Undergraduate students in their first 3 years, or
• Master's students seeking a first professional degree in landscape architecture (cannot hold an undergraduate degree in landscape architecture)

Candidates should exemplify the ideals of landscape architecture in scholarship, service, and ethics and show promise in the fields of landscape architectural design or research. Candidates are evaluated based on their commitment to the profession of landscape architecture, leadership, service and volunteerism, design ability, academic aptitude, and financial need.

Deadline to apply is February 1st.   To learn more, visit the LAF website: click here

To learn more about the scholarship fund and how you can contribute to this effort, please reach out to our Scholarship Committee Chair, Jonathan Haigh.

2020 Ed Stone Lecture Series at the University of Florida

In remembrance of Edward D. Stone, Jr., the University of Florida’s Department of Landscape Architecture hosts this lecture series in his honor, commemorating Stone’s numerous contributions to the fields of landscape architecture and land planning.  I look forward to this lecture series every year, and I encourage you to join if you’re able.

This year’s featured speaker is Marc Treib, delivering his lecture Landscapes as Sculpture/Sculpture as Landscape: The Work of Isamu Noguchi.  Event details:

Friday, February 7, 2020
6:00 – 7:30 p.m.
Harn Museum of Art
University of Florida

Thank You!

I’m truly thankful to each and every one of you for your time and support as a member to this Society – the organization that works tirelessly to advance the profession of landscape architecture and, most importantly, advocates for the basic right to do so. 

Should you have any questions or concerns regarding ASLA, or if you want to just drop a line to say hello, please don’t hesitate to do so.  I look forward to serving as your President in 2020 and am here to help in any way I can.

All the best,

Adam McCollister, PLA, ASLA
2019-2020 Florida Chapter President
president@aslaflorida.org
m: 334.790.4136