Spring Weekend Experience Taking Shape

The Spring Weekend Experience program for South Beach, Florida May 14-16 is shaping up nicely! Save the date for this outstanding experience.

Tentative plans, which of course of are subject to change, include opening dinner at our host hotel The National. Our speakers that evening will be Lewis Goodkin, President of Goodkin Research and Michael Cannon, President of AREEA and Managing Director of Integra Realty Resources will provide an overview of Miami.

Saturday we will begin our mobile workshop with a walk from our hotel down Lincoln Road, one of the hottest streets in America. Our tour will be lead by Christine Burdick,President of Tampa Downtown Partnership (former Director of Lincoln Road redevelopment) and Randall Robinson, of Miami Beach Community Development Corporation.

We will then proceed by motor coach to Allison Island where we will visit a new development called Aqua -- a new concept in "tropical urbanism" by DACRA. Newsweek recently featured this development and its developer Craig Robbins who will give us a tour . The 8.5-acre private island was master-planned by Duany-Plater Zybeck and features a combination of mid-rise and single-family homes. The developer has selected several architectural firms to design different buildings within the development.

A visit to Arquitonica's offices will cap off the morning. Bernado Fort-Brescia, FAIA, the co-founding principal of the firm, will show us their latest projects. Founded in 1977, Arquitonica is world famous for being at the front lines of avant-garde design.

At lunch Saturday, we will hear from Coral Gables Development Director, Cathy Swanson who will give us an overview of Coral Gables and then we will proceed to Merrick Village,one of the outstanding mixed-use developments in the country for a tour.

Lead by Jon DeVries, we will then proceed to Calle Ocho (8th Street) the heart of the Latin community for an afternoon Cuban coffee break. We will then complete our bus tour by visiting the new performing arts center that Cesar Pelli has designed for a possible hard-hat tour. Nancy Leibman, Director of the Urban Environment League will show us what changes will happen because of this new center.

Later that evening we will have dinner at the famous Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables.

Our host hotel will be the four-star National Hotel on Collins Avenue. This elegantly restored Art Deco landmark is on the ocean and in the heart of South Beach. For more information on our hotel, visit their website at www.Nationalhotel.com. More program information and registration materials will be available by the middle of March.

Letter from the President:

Larry Lund

This should be another exciting year for Lambda Alpha International as we continue to bring more programs and services to our members. We ask you to participate in making this an organization that is both personally rewarding and credit to your community.

We have set the schedule for the next two years of Weekend Experiences. Besides the Spring Weekend Experience this May 14-15 in South Beach, Florida, we will meet again November 11-14, 2004 in Sacramento-Napa Valley for another exciting program. In the following spring, we will visit Boston and then Chicago in the fall of 2005 for the 36th Biennial Congress to celebrate Lambda Alpha International’s 75th Diamond Anniversary.

Many of you have already received your invoices for this year and others will be receiving them soon through your Chapter. These invoices include both your International and local chapter dues along with a voluntary contribution of $25 for the Land Economics Foundation. For some members this has created some confusion. To maintain your status as an active member of Lambda Alpha you must pay both the local and the International portion of the invoice. We have made payment easier this year, in addition to being able to pay for your dues with a credit card; we have enhanced this feature and now offer online credit card payment through our website.

We also ask that you take this opportunity when visiting our website to check and update your personal profile in the Membership Directory. Remember, you get to the Membership Directory by using your e-mail address and the password LAI. In addition to making sure that we have your correct mail and e-mail address, be sure that you have placed our e-mail address in your safe list on your computer, so you will continue to receive the monthly Online KeyNotes.

LAI has enhanced the profile information available on the web. We now have a section for your company, organization, or university's website address. In turn, we ask that you provide links from your website to 209.224.198.102. You can now customize your personal profile by allowing for a narrative personal description, we now have a section that will allow other members know if you are available as a speaker or resource person.

Soon you will be seeing a redesigned website that will make information more transparent and we will be expanding the features available through our site.

Lots more is happening and we will continue with exciting new changes in the February Online KeyNotes. But in the meantime, please e-mail me your comments on how we can improve our services.

Best regards,

Larry
LarryLund@LAI.org



Chapter News: 

Baltimore Chapter

The Baltimore Chapter President, Dr. Andrew Lemer announced that it will host a symposium "Technology, Smart Growth, and Future Form of the Baltimore Region" Thursday, April 29th from 9:30 am until 4:30 pm at Johns Hopkins University Downtown Center. This important symposium will directly follow the American Planning Association's national conference in Washington, D.C.

The symposium will feature international prominence and among others will include Michael Joroff, of MIT's School of Architecture and Urban Planning, and Robert Stacey, Executive Director of 1000 Friends of Oregon.

The Lambda Alpha Economics Foundation is one of the sponsors of this event and the Baltimore Chapter would like to invite all our members to attend. However, they are limiting participation to about 150. More information will be available in the February Online KeyNotes.

Chicago-Ely Chapter

Jon DeVries, the new President of the Chicago-Ely Chapter announced that the Third Annual Ely Board Retreat was held at Donna Pugh's "retreat center" in Bridgman, Michigan. Ten Ely Chapter board members attended the weekend strategic planning sessions. These annual retreats have been an excellent way for the board to review the past year and plan for the future.

Jack Bevash a member of the San Diego Chapter succumbed to leukemia on December 22, 2003. Jack was the founder and president of Jack Bevash Associates, 8950 Villa La Jolla Dr., Suite 2220, La Jolla, CA 92037. We are all saddened by Jack's passing. He was a fine gentleman, who was generous and contributed nobly to the chapter and to the community.

William B. Rick, a man of vision and compassion, who founded Rick Engineering Co., died in his home on January 6, 2004. Bill was a well-known member of the Chapter and a pillar of the community who was admired, and loved by all. Although he retired several years ago, he remained active in LAI and the community. He contributed enormously to the quality of life in San Diego and to its economic health. He will be sorely missed.

Chicago-Ely Member Thomas H Coulter, 92 died December 17, 2003. Tom was a Canadian and competed in the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. He also played hockey in the NHL for the Chicago Blackhawks, working his way through graduate school at the University of Chicago. He played on the Blackhawks with his brother Art, who is in the Hockey Hall of Fame. Tom later became the CEO of the Chicago Chamber of Commerce and Industry in 1954 a position he held for 27 years. He was initiated into Lambda Alpha International in 1969.