ASIC Is on the March

By Dan Benner, President
American Society of Irrigation Consultants

Dan Benner, President

2004 was a good year for the American Society of Irrigation Consultants (ASIC). Our professional membership and industry support grew and are as committed as ever to our goals as an organization.

And our mission remains clear and steadfast: To enhance the role of the independent professional consultant as the unbiased advocate of the client. Our responsibility is to provide objective irrigation consulting services in the effective use and management of water and other natural resources.

The bottom line is that we assume the responsibility of an irrigation project’s success, which extends far beyond a high-performance irrigation design. ASIC professional members work exclusively in our clients’ best interests. In doing so, we provide preliminary planning to establish critical project coordination, and then move into design development services that ensure all site criteria are evaluated and the absolute best combination of irrigation products will be employed within budgets and deadlines.

In addition, we provide professional contract and construction documents, critical to compliance and other issues related to large-scale irrigation projects, as well as bidding and award services, and contract administration and observation.

For the irrigation contractor, we ensure comprehensive site preparation; provide clear project specification and design documents consistent with local codes, ordinances and guidelines; coordinate the irrigation project from planning to operation; and are available to resolve any discrepancies between design and installation specifications. These services provide the necessary coordination between numerous professionals on the project in varied disciplines to ensure successful irrigation and landscape performance.

So ASIC’s destiny is clear, but our approach will change a little. This year we plan to increase our visibility within allied industries and associations, and our overall efficacy in advancing high-performance irrigation projects for government agencies, universities, private developers, golf courses, athletic fields, amusement parks, resorts and so forth.

We have a new executive director, Norm Bartlett, who is a master administrator with 35 years in the irrigation trenches. And we’ve added a communications manager, Luke Frank, who has more than 10 years of irrigation field experience and nearly 15 years as a professional journalist and public relations representative in the industry.

Things look good for ASIC in 2005. We have an innovative, committed Board of Directors, an integrated staff of specialists with direct irrigation experience, a clear mission and solid green-industry support.

Dan Benner is president of Hydro Environmental, Inc., a full-service irrigation consulting firm in Marietta, GA.