From The Publisher April 2000 ... unify the profession, support licensure, promote the profession to the public, strengthen the LA's position ... Whew . . . . OK . . . I've almost settled down from last month's ASLA attack on LASN and can't say how much I appreciate the positive response we received in support of the magazine, our direction et.al. In fact, I only received a total of two (2) negative comments, one from an LA who actually thought we were trying to be the ASLA's publication . . . !?! . . and the other from another publisher who pointed out that LASN's BPA Audit only reflects the fact that LASN sends out more magazines than the competitor and shows the strength and sources of our mailing list . . . . Again . . . Thank you . . . . What really matters though, is that the ASLA hire a new EVP who will work to unify the profession, support licensure, promote the profession to the public, strengthen the LA's position in the development marketplace while building alliances within that community, and prioritize the efforts of the Society to accomplish these goals. I understand that the person must have strong organizational skills and a track record of building a better association (but better discounts at UPS are only fringe benefits, not real improvements). The main reason people tell me they join (or don't join) the ASLA is that they are looking for the association to strengthen the profession . . . mark that . . . strengthen the PROFESSION! In the new administration there must be a paid staff of at least three professionals to work on licensure issues and another multi-staffed office for legislative affairs not pertaining to licensure. In the past, ASLA has had, at best, one person handling both those critical areas of the legal arena and that is just not enough! * Members do not pay their dues to establish better relations with Puerto Rico only to have the profession swept from under their feet here at home. The ASLA has to continue to evolve from a social outlet for professionals and absolutely focus on setting a rock solid legal foundation for the profession. Another area, that the late Jot Carpenter recently wrote about, is the need to get students into LA programs. In these past decades of environmentalism I still can't understand the lack of attention ASLA has paid to recruiting new talent into the profession. You'd think that the schools would be turning away the hordes of environmentally conscious youths. Unfortunately, without a more solid legal foundation and without a greater public awareness of the LA profession, the halls of ol'e LA U may very well go empty in the years ahead. Whatever the ASLA does, it needs to get past the old isolationism, past the bashing of LASN and other groups trying to advance the profession, maintain the highest level of integrity and focus on the external factors that limit the growth of the profession . . . or in a more positive framework . . . focus on those external factors that can lead to a stronger foundation and accelerated growth. Have a great month and God Bless . . . .