President's Report

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Hello FLASLA Members!

We have lots to celebrate and be proud of within the FL Chapter this month, and I’d like to take a moment to recognize some of the accomplishments of our members. First off, our Florida Chapter was successful in having two members elevated to Fellow-Elect. The Chapter members nominated are Michael Kroll and Mario Nievera. Michael was nominated in the Knowledge Category and Mario was nominated in the Service Category. Congratulations to both on this great achievement. They will be honored with the title at the investiture dinner in Denver at the National Conference. Many thanks need to go to the efforts of Jeff Caster, Chair and the members of the Fellows Nominating Committee.

In addition, the FLASLA design awards jury convened June 6-7 to judge the entries submitted to the Chapter for consideration. The jury selected 25 projects to be celebrated as professional design entries and five student awards as well. The caliber of projects submitted were of the highest standard, as always, showcasing just how much talent our Chapter produces. The awards will be handed out during the Friday afternoon program at the State Conference in Key Largo. Also, the presentation of the Stressau and Environmental Sustainability Awards will be presented there as well.

Lastly, congratulations needs to be given to the faculty and students of the University of Florida. For the second year in a row they have won the US Environmental Protection Agency’s Campus RainWorks Challenge. This year’s team consisted of 16 landscape architecture students, three engineering students and one fine arts student. The team was tasked to select and design a campus site of their own choosing, and provide analysis, design, stormwater calculations, proposed maintenance and expected performance data. The submittals included a 20-page design brief and a three-minute video that summarizes the project. The team’s design plan centers on a 67.6 acre sub-watershed in the northeast corner of campus, which includes Yulee Pit and Jennings Creek. To engage students with the journey of water, the three-phase plan would transform two detention facilities into campus amenities and highlight the flow of stormwater into above ground pipes and vegetated bioswales. In addition to treating and retaining stormwater and improving groundwater recharge, the team’s plan would improve aesthetics and safety along Inner Road. The challenge was created to engage college and university students in reinventing water infrastructure and developing innovative green infrastructure systems to reduce stormwater pollution and build resilience to climate change.

Do you have an accomplishment to share with the Chapter? Well this is the forum to do that! We are an organization of members working together for a common goal and we should be celebrating our accomplishments the same way. If you or a peer have been recognized by an organization or your community please send information to your Member-at-Large for Public Relations and Marketing, Laurie Hall memberatlargePM@flasla.org.

Congratulations to all again.

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