Ohio ASLA Chapter

Brian Bernstein, ASLA, 2010 Chapter President
Nick Gilliland, ASLA, 2011 Chapter President

The Ohio ASLA Chapter had two inductees in the 2010 ASLA Class of Fellows, including:

Dennis Mersky, FASLA, Floyd Browne Group, Tallmadge, Ohio Category: Service to the Profession

Jerry Smith, FASLA, SmithGreen Health Consulting, Columbus. Category: Service to the Profession

The Ohio Chapter is comprised of four sections determined by territory; Buckeye, Maumee, Miami and Western Reserve.

The Buckeye Section is located in central Ohio and includes the city of Columbus and surrounding areas as well as the Ohio State University campus. Annual events include tailgate parties, professional/student mixers, and the annual Harvest Fest held in the fall.

The Buckeye Section sponsors a number of community service opportunities for its members, and works toward integrating students and emerging professionals with established local practitioners in an effort to bridge the gap between academia and the professional experience.

The Maumee Valley Section covers the northwest region of the state. There are currently about 50 members in the MVASLA section and typically four section meetings are held each year. The summer meeting has traditionally been a golf outing held at one of the many golf courses located in northwest Ohio. Another event that the Maumee Valley Section is involved in is the annual Student Design Competition. This competition is a joint effort with the Toledo Chapter of AIA. Professionals from both organizations become student advisors and typically visit the area schools once a week to provide insight and answer questions regarding the different professions. Student projects are then submitted and judged with prizes being awarded to the top designs in several categories. This event continues to grow in popularity every year and the Maumee Valley Section will continue to assist with the Student Design Competition each year.

The Miami Section is defined as the southwest quadrant of Ohio delineated north to south by a line struck, east to west, through St. Mary’s intersecting with a line struck north to south through London and continuing to the Ohio/Kentucky border.

The Western Reserve Section covers the northeast region of the state of Ohio. The Western Reserve Section is defined as that area of the northeast quadrant of Ohio east of Sandusky and north of State Route 30. There are more than 120 members in the Western Reserve Section.

The chapter recently held its awards ceremony honoring projects throughout the state. Honorees included: the firm Kinzelman Kline Gossman, LLC, recipient of an Award of Excellence in the Design Constructed category for their Scioto Audubon Metro Park project in Columbus, Ohio. The award of excellence is the highest level of recognition and honors professional achievement in projects that embody the creativity, imagination and practicality of the profession of landscape architecture.

To view more reports from the 2010 ASLA Chapter Reports click here.