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Shout Out from Southwest Chapter APA

By Sam Rubin

The Southwest chapter of the Washington APA had a busy 2018, filled with educational events, social gatherings, and volunteer opportunities. This year the SW WA APA made a group effort to be more engaged in the organization and the greater southwest Washington community. One of the ways the chapter decided to be more involved in the community was to have a volunteer day for members to help with a Habitat for Humanity home build. The volunteer day was such a great success that another work day with Habitat for Humanity is being planned for Spring 2019.

SW WA APA also had several social gatherings that allowed a wide variety of planners to meet and connect. The annual Couve’ Cycle event and the Planners’ Happy Hour events were very successful, and these events are also being organized for 2019.

In addition to the volunteer and social events held in 2018, the chapter emphasized facilitating educational opportunities specifically catered towards topics and planning interests in southwest Washington. The Chapter conducted a survey of SW WA APA members to determine which topics members were most interested in learning about and then worked with state and local experts to develop a program and training schedule. The 2018 series of Planners’ Forums covered a wide variety of topics ranging from Adaptive Management and Critical Areas Monitoring to tips on how to develop successful grant applications. Kicking off 2019, the first Planners’ Forum (to be held in January) will emphasize planning law and ethics and will host a Superior Court Judge, Senior Deputy Prosecutor, and the City of Vancouver Community and Economic Development Director. Details on the events mentioned above, and more, will be provided to the SW WA APA members through upcoming newsletters, Facebook posts, and emails.