Presidents MessageDavid L Stipe, ASLA, LLA
The office staff recently mailed out a save the date card and call for proposals for the 2015 annual conference to be held on May 29th. The event will be held in Wenatchee at the Convention Center just north of the historic downtown. This is the first time our chapter has hosted a traveling conference, which is a result of the 2014 Executive Committee’s commitment to continue to engage professionals throughout the State. We are confident that holding the conference in Wenatchee makes attendance at the event more palatable for folks from Spokane and the Tri-Cities. Over the past several years, Laura Thompson, our Eastern Washington Representative, has been doing great things to breathe life into our chapter in Spokane. We hope this year’s location represents the potential to have the conference in Spokane within the next several years. Many of you may not realize that I actually call Wenatchee home most of the year, with my firm’s primary location being there up until July of 2014. I know Wenatchee well, as I have lived here the past 12 years. So obviously I am excited to have the opportunity of hosting all of you in great sunny North Central Washington. Since this is a traveling conference for most of you, the schedule will actually stretch out over of couple of days. We are planning a social event on Thursday evening and educational outings on Saturday morning for those of you interested in staying for a few days. Wenatchee is a wonderful place to visit in May, with Spring out in full force in the Wenatchee Foothills and along the Columbia River. Average daytime temps should be around 70-75 degrees with little likelihood for rain. Wenatchee averages around nine inches of rain per year with less than an inch usually falling in May. We boast about our trails in Wenatchee with the ten-mile paved Apple Capital Loop trail along the Columbia River being the back bone of the system to the thirty + miles of hiking and mountain biking trails accessible right at the edge of the city’s western boundary. The theme ‘Meet in the Middle’ is more than just a reference to the conference location. The Call for Proposals has been sent out explaining our intent with this theme providing multiple opportunities for presenters to share their successes, ideas and methods of practice. Whether it is collaboration with civil engineers on creative stormwater treatment solutions, working with a client to balance their goals with regulatory requirements, balancing recreation and conservation, Landscape Architects frequently work on projects where true success is found in the middle. http://wasla.memberclicks.net/assets/docs/2015_Conference/2015_wasla_call_for_proposals.pdf Plan to meet me in the middle for some springtime sunshine, fellowship and learning opportunities. Yours truly,
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