APA-IL News BLAST! President's Greeting

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November/December Illinois Planning News, Edition 88 Paula Freeze, Editor

	President's Greeting By Karen Stonehouse, AICP, APA-IL President

11/15/07
The last two months have been a whirlwind of APA activity. They went something like this:

September
In late September, I traveled to Washington D.C. to meet with other APA Chapter Presidents and leadership of APA and AICP. We learned about lobbying limitations – what we can and can’t do as a 501©(3), received updates on the Chapters'/Professional Development Officers' role in AICP Certification Maintenance procedures, attended the Chapter Presidents Committee (CPC) business meeting, and met with CPC Committees (I am on the Professional Development Committee) about items in the 2008-09 CPC Strategic Plan. The CPC Strategic Plan is an implementation document with actions to implement our APA Development Plan (https://www.planning.org/developmentplan/

I ate lunch and read meeting materials one day at this nice outdoor café in Washington D.C.

Much of the time in D.C. was spent in working sessions like this.

October (NATIONAL COMMUNITY PLANNING MONTH)
In early October, the new APA Great Places in America (Great Streets and Great Neighborhoods) were announced (see planning.org). The designations were bestowed upon two great places in Illinois! Twenty designations were made nationwide. West Urbana, between the UIUC campus and Downtown Urbana, is a delightful array of old homes and community uses along tree- and porch-dominated brick streets. I was so pleased to hear of this well-deserved honor for Urbana! I lived in the neighborhood in the mid-80s as a student (my rent was $90 per month), biking through the brick streets from Diana Foods with friends and a basket full of groceries and a big jug of wine.

North Michigan Avenue in Chicago is a famously great street, one I got to know as a kid and then again when I worked on a plan for Streeterville a few years ago. On October 15, the Greater North Michigan Avenue Association held a press conference/celebration to announce the designation. It was a festive event, attended by APA reps including Executive Director/CEO Paul Farmer; APA Region IV Director Bruce Knight, who made a presentation for APA; and Illinois PDO Roseann O’Laughlin, and I. The nomination event was mentioned in the October 16 Sun-Times! Nice work by the Greater North Michigan Avenue Association putting that together. Congratulations!

The annual APA-IL conference in Peoria was the highlight of October, drawing attendance of 232 people (177 were members of APA)! The IL Chapter of ASLA joined us in putting on the conference this year for the first time. The conference planning committee was masterfully led by Ben Vyverberg and Craig Hullinger, with participation from a fantastic, enthusiastic group of folks from Peoria and around the State.

Thank you, 2007 Annual Conference Committee – We appreciate you!

TJ Blakeman
Ross Black
Ben Carlisle
Angela Clark
Nikolas Davis
John Donovan
Paula Freeze
Steve Friedman
Stephanie Grayson
Craig Hullinger
Mark Koplin
Allison Laff
Gene Lear
Jeanne Lindwall

Maggie Martino
Hubert Morgan
Nicole Nutter
Jon Oliphant
John Paige
Rachael Parker
Michael Schwarz
Delbert Skimerhorn
Kim Smith
Suzanne Thorsen
Mike Van Mill
Ann Viger (ASLA)
Ben Vyverberg
Jason Zawila

Please, thank these folks – and the presenters and speakers who dedicated their time -- when you see them. Our annual conference may be the most important service our Chapter provides, and the “behind the scenes” work is critical to its success.

Think about what we can do in the coming years to make this conference even more useful for our membership. Your ideas are always welcome. Most of all, your involvement in next year’s conference is needed to make it a well-rounded event. If you have not been on a conference planning committee, it’s your turn to take part. We have 1500 members in the Chapter now, and if 1 or 2 in a hundred volunteer to help, that will be a good start! We need a variety of people and perspectives from all over the State. Send me an email at president@ilapa.org.

APA-IL/ASLA-IL 2007 conference reception in Peoria.

The Illinois Chapter sponsored two nominations for FAICP this year. We will be working on formalizing the process for nominations for 2009, anticipating an increase in requested nomination assistance. The preparation of the nomination materials takes a good deal of time and effort. Look for more information in early 2009. Thanks to everyone who prepared, reviewed, and wrote letters of support for this year’s nominations.

A few weeks after our Chapter conference, I went to the Upper Midwest Regional Conference in Dubuque, Iowa. Dubuque is really hopping with activity right now, rediscovering its lovely riverfront (my photo below does not do it justice) and enjoying a hip Downtown scene. More than 50 people from Illinois were there – I was quite impressed. (The attendees, mostly from IA, WI, IL, and MN, totaled over 250).


The Mighty Mississippi from the Dubuque shoreline.	At the Upper Midwest conference reception at the Aquarium in Dubuque: Gale Price, Matt Flynn, me, and Bruce Knight – we were all coworkers in the 90’s in Champaign.

As usual, I spent a good deal of time meeting and talking with folks, but I did manage to get to some excellent sessions. This conference, along with our recent Chapter conference in Peoria, is a great model for future committees to build on. Both were successful in branching out to accommodate more attendees and implement new Certification Maintenance procedures.

November
One last APA road trip for the year: our Chapter Board meeting was held in Champaign on November 9. Look for meeting minutes (exciting!) and updates on the web site.

Have a joyful and safe holiday season!

Karen Stonehouse, AICP
Independent Planning Consultant
Phone: 773-983-9836
Fax: 773-283-2050
president@ilapa.org