Back then the publication was a whopping 52 pages with about 10 of those pages being full color. Today LASN is pushing 350 pages and highlighting 42 local firms, three universities, 37 professional award winners, and 33 new Fellows . . .

That?EUR??,,????'???s more than the number of people who knew what the initials LASN stood for back in ?EUR??,,????'???86. In fact, more people will be seeing LASN magazine at the annual meeting this year than the entire mailing list of 1986 . . .

Back then I had a full head of hair (see inset), a rented Camero (that everyone thought was a Corvette), a homeless contributing editor, and a typesetter who ended up shooting her husband six times with a ?EUR??,,????'??38?EUR??,,????'??? . . . Boy, those were the good ol?EUR??,,????'??? days . . .

Back then the San Francisco meeting was host to the largest gathering of landscape architects in the history of the ASLA annual meeting. Funny how history repeats itself. Once again San Francisco is hosting one of, if not the, largest gatherings of landscape architects ever assembled . . .

The ASLA may want to consider coming around to SF a little more often than once every 21 years. Not only is San Fran a great town to visit, but the area boasts some of the most progressive landscape architects in the world, and the surrounding hillsides are rife with history and well-planned projects.

Back then I wrote about the ASLA reaching 8,500 members and how there were about 40 states with some form of licensure. Today the ASLA membership is several thousand more than that and the state count is 49 out of 50 . . .

Back then I wrote about how great it was to welcome David Bothardt, the new executive vice president, while at the same time sad to see Ed Ables leave the post. It was true the ASLA lost a good one in Ed Ables. . . . Anyway, today ASLA has a proven great one in Nancy Somerville . . . And so this meeting should be another great one as well.

Back then the meeting had great significance to me and LASN, in that it was the first time I was a part of a controversy in the profession . . . LASN was kind of an unwelcomed guest . . . Definitely not sophisticated enough for this great society . . .

That may still be true . . . But the significance of this annual meeting to LASN is now more profound in that the profession is making such a strong and great impact on the world community. Over the 21 years since the last SF meeting, the world has become more aware of landscape architects and the work you do.

The environmental awareness of the country and the world has set the stage for this profession to become the true leaders, and your collective works the true value of development. People will always need buildings to hold their things. People will always appreciate those interior amenities, but one of the most important amenities to any project in this millennium is the surrounding landscape.

Structure is great, but Olmsted?EUR??,,????'???s realization of the need of the human mind to be exposed to the randomness of the natural landscape has truly gained a place in the psyche of the American public. The end result is found in virtually every modern development . . . OK . . . I surely wouldn?EUR??,,????'???t have said that 21 years ago . . .

So enjoy yourselves in the City of Lights and soak up all that is San Francisco . . . It may be another 21 years before the annual meeting returns, but it shouldn?EUR??,,????'???t be that long before you do . . .

?EUR??,,????'??+God Bless