Woo, what a start! Taking the reins from North Dakota's finest, Bryan Leininger, was sure to be a task unto itself, but the Chapter is humming along thanks to a great group of volunteer leaders. Year after year, I find myself continually amazed at the skills and generosity of those within our Chapter who selflessly offer their time to promote our profession and create unique experiences and opportunities for us to interact as a community of designers.
Over the last few years, many of these Chapter leaders have been setting us up for the future by exploring the potential of adding an association manager to assist with various tasks and responsibilities, thus freeing up our members to further engage with the public and promote the profession. I am excited to share that at the beginning of 2022, we added Nancy Hoines, PLA, as the Association Manager for the Nebraska/Dakotas Chapter ASLA.
Nancy has a background in serving organizations with similar missions and needs as ours, providing management services to the South Dakota Engineering Society, the American Council of Engineering Companies of South Dakota, and the Design Professionals Coalition of South Dakota. I look forward to working with Nancy and am excited to add extra capacity to our Chapter through this strategic hire. Nancy is attending our monthly Executive Committee meetings and will be around our annual conference, so if you haven't had a chance to meet Nancy yet, I encourage you to attend one of these events.
In addition to this exciting change, 2022 brings with it the hope that we can all return to what I enjoy most about this Chapter - the sharing of stories, ideas, and even just a friendly 'hello' with all of you.

 
As we slowly plan more face-to-face events, I see increased participation throughout the Chapter. Thanks to the leadership of Sam Howland, NDC ASLA Partnership Program Chair, as well as our wonderful section chairs, Tanya Olson (SD), Brad Garcia (ND), and Caitlin Bolte (NE), we have a regular, monthly gathering scheduled for the year. In case you haven't heard, NDC ASLA members are gathering in Fargo, Rapid City, Sioux Falls, and Omaha on the first Thursday of each month. Watch your email for more information, and if we are missing your location, please reach out to me personally so we can extend this opportunity to interact with all.
I close by thanking Bryan Leininger for his service as Chapter President. Bryan led the Chapter through an... interesting time. Overseeing the Chapter's first fully virtual Central States conference and then guiding us to return to an in-person conference in Rapid City required foresight and a steady hand. Luckily for us, Bryan took the challenges in stride, and both events were successful because of it. I would also be remiss if I didn't thank Steve Rodie for serving as the Chapter's Fellow Nomination Chair for many years as he steps away and learns what the true definition of 'retire' is. Lastly, I thank you all for continuing to participate and contribute to an extraordinary ASLA Chapter.
Sincerely,
Zack Fergus, PLA, ASLA, ENV SP

Executive Committee 2023:
Past President, Zack Fergus
President, Chris Brandriet
President Elect, Mike Bender
Trustee, Chad Kucker
Treasurer, Jessica Williams
Secretary/Communications Chair, Anne Machian