Caron N. Beard, FASLA
Category: Service
Beard Landscape Development (Retired)Friendsville, Tennessee

Caron Beard received his nomination, in Service, from the Tennessee Chapter. As a lifelong practitioner, mentor and ASLA leader, Beard has made extraordinary contributions to ASLA chapters across the nation as well as to the national society. From Idaho and the Pacific Northwest to Arizona and Tennessee, he has successfully brought a vital message to decision-makers about the value and role of landscape architects in the shaping of the public realm and in protecting the public's health, safety and welfare. Beard has been an active participant in ASLA's work as a volunteer and elected leader. He led the formation of the Arizona Chapter in 1973, and soon after that turned back a threat to the state's landscape architecture licensing law. At the Tennessee ASLA Chapter, he represented the profession at every level, from high school career days to the adoption of a countywide master plan and a state-road landscape design initiative, the latter being one of many efforts he made to ensure the involvement of landscape architects in the design of transportation corridors and other public spaces. Beard was also pivotal in the accreditation of the University of Tennessee landscape architecture program. Through his example, he has demonstrated that through active advocacy in the service of ideals and principles, one person can make a profound difference for the profession and the communities it serves.