From The Publisher October 1999 It is hard to focus on the future as the year 1999 comes to a close. The ASLA is celebrating its 100th year; Western civilization is celebrating the end of the second millennium since Christ, as well as an end to one of the most eventful centuries in the annuls of history. This is the century that saw flight go from 10 feet off the ground to somewhere past Pluto, communications go from horse back to satellites, transportation go from walking to wheels to supersonic flight, record keeping from quill pen to pentium III's (and for us Mac-Heads the G4), and war from hand-to-hand combat to missile-guided nuclear weaponry. In other words, it is easy to spend a lot of time reflecting on where we've been and how far we've come in a short period of time . . . . This has also been the century of the fad . . . Hula hoops, the Big Bands, prohibition, hippies . . . . . . . . . . . . . As such, it is almost as important to think about what has been replaced as it is to think about what has done the replacing. I bring this up because for every fad and for everything that seems to have lasting value, something or someone comes along and tries to improve and/or replace it. The Hula Hoop was replaced with the Frisbee . . . the Big Bands are now a guitar, synthesizer, bass and drums . . . prohibition has been replaced with night clubs, MADD and organized crime . . . . hippies with yuppies, then boomers and now GenX'rs . . . . As the French say . . . The more things change, the more they stay the same . . . OK . . .what does this have to do with you, the Landscape Architects out there . . . . Well . . . . This profession is at a crossroads and growth is the key. If not growth, then . . . .? Architects are vying for your business, Contractors are vying for your business, Designers are vying for your business . . . The public still has very little concept of what you do and how you are different from the groups above . . . Growth is the key! School enrollment is down . . . ASLA membership is stagnant (how can it grow without growth from the profession?) . . . Licensure is predicted to follow enrollment . . . . ENOUGH! Enough of the doomsaying . . . . The one thing you have in your favor is that the public wants you to lead the way! There is so much pent up demand for Landscape Architects it is hard for me to fathom why this profession isn't blooming! Have any of you picked up a newspaper or tuned into a news broadcast without reading or hearing about the environment . . . or urban sprawl . . . ? The population will continue to grow. That means development. The people know this is true and are searching for ways to keep the landscape and accommodate growth. Al Gore thinks we should all leave the countryside and move to downtown New York (or some densely populated, environmentally friendly megapolis), but the people want to live in a place where they can run in the sun and play Frisbee! They want you to help them out! The problem is the old Van V's society of "let's make a landscape they can see but not touch," and the "let's keep anyone out who doesn't sit in our club" mentality is hindering a profession that needs to get out, kiss a few babies and shake the hand of the public, and establish some lasting (and pertinent) alliances. ASLA needs to get a staff of three or four legal types to attack the licensure front. Not to protect the turf, but to work on expansion. According to Sun Tzu's "The Art of War," the best way to win a war is have the other army join yours without ever fighting a battle. Right now, the elitist attitude, carried on but a few shoulders, is causing the other armies to unite against you. This needs to stop! The ASLA and the profession needs to root these Frank Lloyd Wright Wannabes out of the mainstream and start walking a path that encourages field experience, welcomes new licensees into the fold, and develops the small residential market that is not only booming but hungry for the prestige a Landscape Architect gives their front yard. This profession could triple in size and still not meet all the demand. At this years' 100 year celebration the main topic needs to be growth! There is nothing more pressing than that single issue. How to grow, where to grow and with whom to grow. Three simple aspects for a bunch of smart professionals who specialize in planning . . . . ASLA needs to establish a plan for growth (and I don't mean raising dues or buying new headquarters . . . I mean tripling the number of LA's and quadrupling the sphere of influence) and then get to the task of doing. Membership is a function of market, 100 city parks are cute, Puerto Rico may some day be a state, and the association leadership may win awards for newsletters, but none of that matters and every one of those programs should be scrapped in lieu of adding staff to enhance and grow licensure, to work on strategic alliances, to promote enrollment and to reach the public. 100 years is great . . . 200 will be even better!!! God Bless . . . . - George Schmok