May 2013

Florida Chapter ASLA Trustee Report May 2013

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

From April 25 to 27, I attended ASLA Advocacy Day and the mid-year meeting of the ASLA Board of Trustees (BOT) in Washington, DC.

The BOT elected three new ASLA Vice-Presidents: VP of Education, our own Kay Williams; FASLA, VP of Communications, Pam Linn, ASLA; and VP of Government Affairs, Tom Doolittle, ASLA. They will take office, along with President-elect Mark Focht, at the conclusion of the ASLA Conference in Boston this November. Honors recipients were also voted upon and will be announced soon. Keep an eye on LAND.

*** VOTING IS OPEN! **** President-elect candidates Richard Zweifel, FASLA and Vaughn Rinner, ASLA presented their candidate speeches to both the BOT and Chapter Presidents Council (CPC). Their speeches were video recorded and will be available for viewing on ASLA.org. All full members of ASLA should have received their online voting instructions Monday, April 29 via email. If not, contact ASLA headquarters right away. Voting closes May 29, 2013.

CLARB gave an update on the LARE changes, which now includes simpler registration; in Florida, candidates register directly with CLARB for the exam and with DBPR for the State of Florida Section. The entire exam is now computerized which has increased the number of testing sites nationwide from 50 to 250 locations and the test can now be taken nearly any time the candidate desires rather than the once or twice a year it used to be. Results are available in 4-5 weeks rather than 10-12 weeks and will eventually be instantaneous. These changes make the exam more objective and therefore more defendable in comparison to other professional exams.

There are now 120 grading questions and 100 design questions. Candidates drag and place items rather than draw. It is the first of its kind in the testing community and being held up as an example of ‘best practices.’ CLARB has been approached by AIA and the Engineers who are now looking at adding this program to their exams. The International Federation of Landscape Architects (IFLA), specifically China and Mexico, want to adopt the entire test. They would join two Canadian providences which have already done so.

GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS

April 25th was ASLA Advocacy Day in Washington, DC. All Chapter Trustees, Presidents and Presidents-elect in attendance met with their Senators and Congressmen/women to discuss issues important to ASLA and the profession of Landscape Architecture.

*** May 14 deadline *** Your Comments Are Needed! The Access Board has released for public comment proposed requirements for accessible shared-use paths used by pedestrians, bicyclists, and others for transportation or recreation. These requirements would supplement guidelines the board is developing for public rights-of-way that were previously made available for comment. The proposed supplemental provisions on shared-use paths are further described in a published notice that includes instructions for submitting comment. Also, please share your comments with ASLA by contacting Director Roxanne Blackwell.

PUBLIC RELATIONS AND COMMUNICATIONS

Juanita Shearer-Swink, FASLA, and FLASLA Past-President, will facilitate a Diversity Summit this summer. The goal of the summit is to bring together emerging Latino and African-American professionals to chart their courses into the profession and identify tactics for raising awareness and engagement among minority youth. It will be held July 12–14, 2013 in conjunction with the Public Awareness and Government Advocacy summits in Alexandria, Va. To nominate yourself or a colleague to participate in the Summit, visit LAND.

The Opportunities page on asla.org has been redeveloped for easier search and clearer navigation. The page, now called “RFQs and Opportunities” and found under the Professional Practice dropdown on the homepage, has been receiving an increasing number of posts and is one of the most visited pages on the site.