“ Toxt h o s ew h oc a m eb e f o r exu s.”

Trees possess majestic beauty.They symbolize strength and endur-ance. Our reverence and affection fortrees predates written history. But whileour appreciation for trees is ageless,not so the knowledge required for theirproper care.

By the late 1800s, plant care hadbecome an established and rapidlygrowing profession. During that sameera, expanding industrialization and

urbanization were adding new stressesto trees, and the detrimental effectswere becoming apparent.

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Society of Arboriculture (ISA). Indeedthe history of modern arboriculture islargely the story of its development inthe twentieth century. And while such ah i s t o ry is not exclusively that of ISA a n dit’s predecessor organizations, there islittle of significance in arboriculturethat is not reflected in its publicationssince its inception in 1924.

The organization began as am a rriage of convenience between pro-g r e ssive commercial arborists and s c i e n t i s t s whose research concern e dtrees. Although tree care had beenpracticed by commercial companiesand individuals for years, the industrywas largely unregulated and unin-f o rmed. As for the scientists, theirknowledge of amenity trees and tree

U n f o r t u n a t e l y, scientific understand-ing of plant dysfunction and reliablei n f o rmation about plant care werescarce.

The turn of the century saw red flagsbeing raised by many of the moreaggressive plant care people. Somebegan their own research efforts andsome lectured to local audiences. Buteach of them realized it simply wasn’tenough. In 1901, John Davey, founderof the Davey Tree Expert Company,wrote The Tree Doctor. In the book’sintroduction, Mr. Davey observ e d :

The time has come when treeplanting and tree culturemust be studied in connec-tion with the physiology ofplant life. If this is not done,a calamity will befall theinhabitants of these fruitfulregions to an extent that nohuman mind can conceive.

Other plant care practitioners acrossNorth America and Europe wereexpressing similar sentiments.

It was not until 1924, however, thatmembers of the Connecticut Tr e eProtective Association convened ameeting that would plant the seed ofthe organization that would ultimatelyrevolutionize the tree care industry. Itwas this gathering that was to becomethe first of seventy-five annual confer-ences of the organization that hasevolved into today’s Intern a t i o n a l

The Tree Surgeon’s Clinic

19 20s

ture. An interesting footnote to theearly structure is that commercialarborists were ineligible to hold officebut were solely responsible for financ-ing the conferences.

The first appointed committee of theNational Shade Tree Conference wasthe publications committee, whose mis-sion was to prepare a set of meetingproceedings. Accordingly, its first pub-lication was the Annual Proceedings ofthe 1929 Conference in Brooklyn, NewYo r k .

In the early years, the people whopracticed arboriculture were typicallycalled tree experts or tree surgeons.The term tree surgeon actually reflect-ed some of the prominent practices ofthe time: cavity cleaning and filling,bark tracing, and pruning. The first use

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care was somewhat limited. There weremany demanding questions in horticul-ture, forestry, entomology, and path-ology concerning trees—issues thatrequired research for answers.

The Shade Tree Conference (STC)first met in 1924, in Stamford,Connecticut. W. E. Britton, along withFrancis A. Bartlett, president of TheF.A . Bartlett Tree Expert Company inStamford, were the two principal fig-ures in organizing the conference. Atthe invitation of Bartlett, some of themeetings were held on his ex p e r i m e n t a lf a rm north of Stamford.The conference openedwith about 36 partici-pants from seven statesand Washington, D.C.

Bartlett established aconference format com-bining paper presenta-tions with field demon-strations and trials. Thisprecedent became a reg-ular practice for laterconferences. Presenta-tions were made on avariety of topics includ-ing gypsy moth control,tree surgery, and woundhealing, and were limitedto five minutes each. Asignificant aspect of this

conference is that it united the DaveyTree Expert Company, The F.A. BartlettTree Expert Company, and severalsmaller commercial firms in the pursuitof a common goal.

At the fourth conference, held inWashington, D.C., the most significantevent was the endorsement of the arti-cles of organization recommended by acommittee appointed at the 1926 con-ference. This action created theNational Shade Tree Conference(NSTC), marking the formal beginningof a new era in the history of arboricul-

Cavity filling was an important part of tree workin the 1920s and 1930s.

19 30s

of the word a r b o r i c u l t u r e in the pro-ceedings of the NSTC was by CharlesIrish in 1932, in his paper “Highlightsin the Early History of Arboriculture.”Irish noted that the term had been usedin England for more than 300 years.The use of arborist and arboriculturebecame popular in America in the1930s to differentiate tree care fromf o r e s t ry.

The Great Depression years in the1930s saw unemployment reach un-precedented levels, and the largest treecompanies, Davey and Bartlett, wereforced to lay off hundreds of worke r s .Many small companies were founded aslaid-off workers struggled to make a liv-ing. The Depression also precipitatedU.S. government programs such as theWorks Progress Administration (WPA )and the Civilian Conservation Corps(CCC). These programs often focusedon such activities as reforestation, treeclearing, and landscaping, providing afuture work force with tree-relatedskills. NSTC continued to meet andgrow throughout the 1930s with con-ference attendance reaching 412 inBoston in 1936.

During the same period, utility wireswere being strung all across NorthAmerica. A new niche in arboriculture

3

The issues were organized and pro-duced by Dr. Richard White in NewB runswick, New Jersey. Dr. Ephraim P.Felt of New York was the editor duringthe first two years of publication. Theearly issues of Arborist’s News w e r ecomposed primarily of abstracts ofnewly published papers on shade treecare, announcements from the leader-ship of the NSTC, and book reviews.

Lewis C. (Chad) Chadwick waselected NSTC editor in 1936, beginninghis long tenure as an officer in the orga-nization. After serving as editor for twoyears, he became executive secretary in

was born as Davey, Bartlett, and thenewly founded Asplundh Tree ExpertCompany all took on line-clearing con-tracts. Though Davey and Bartlett bothresisted this aspect of tree work at first,line clearance would become a majordivision of both companies, and theAsplundh Company would later be-come the largest arboricultural firm inthe world. The NSTC, however, wasslow to recognize line clearing as anintegral arboricultural practice.

The first NSTC monthly periodicalwas entitled Arborist’s News, whichbegan publication November 1, 1935.

Delegates of the Fourteenth Annual Shade Tree Confere n c egather for a photo at St. Louis in 1938.

B e f o re the advent of small, one-man chain sawsand aerial lifts, all tree work was perform e dm a n u a l l y. Fo r t u n a t e l y, the climbing gear andsaws have evolved to make tree climbing saferand more efficient.

Techniques for moving large trees was a major emphasis of arboriculture in the 1930s and 1940s.

1937, secretary-treasurer in 1939,executive director in 1963, and exe c u-tive director emeritus in 1969 until his

death in 1994. More than any otherindividual, Chadwick influenced thegrowth and direction of the Conferencein its transition from the NSTC to theISTC and ultimately to the ISA.

At its 1936 annual meeting, theNSTC approved a research project per-taining to lightning injury. At the time,no other organization or institution wasin a position to gather data over a peri-od of years from such wide geographi-cal sources. This project was a mile-stone in the history of the organizationin that it was the first sponsoredresearch project.

4

companies joined the war effort by volunteering their services for camou-flage duties and by registering theirequipment for possible service in firebrigades or transport. The leaders ofNSTC and the National ArboristAssociation (NAA), formed in 1938,advised arborists to lay in adequatesupplies of fertilizers, fungicides, andinsecticides. Conservation was alsocalled for. Waste from spraying had tobe reduced to a minimum; care and efficiency in every practice had to ber e v i e w e d .

The war provided one bright light fora r b o r i c u l t u r e — line clearance wasdeclared an imperative for national defense. Power for war industries wasessential; telegraph and telephone com-munication was vital, as was railroadand vehicular transportation for rapidThe NSTC was growing and

spreading at a rate the founders neverexpected. There was a need to formregional chapters to improve informa-tion exchange. In 1941, the NSTCdefined six geographical regions withinthe United States. The first chaptercreated was the Ohio Chapter in1942. It was joined that year by theWe s t e rn and Southern Chapters,which had begun as independent con-ferences. Soon other regions followedsuit by creating chapters.

World War II had a tremendousimpact on the arboriculture industry.The labor force was decimated almosto v e rnight as young men left for militarys e rvice. Supplies and tools were scarce and gasoline was rationed. Tr e e

NSTC Banquet — Belle Isle, Michigan, 1940.

A field day demonstration of a multi-nozzles p r a y e r. Detroit, 1940.

Early chain saw demonstration at the 1949 NSTCc o n f e re n c e .

L. C. “Chad” ChadwickS e c re t a ry / Tre a s u rer — 1937–1963Executive Director — 1963–1969

19 40s

5

supply and transport. More than two-thirds of the remaining personnel inarboriculture would be perf o rming lineclearing work before the war ended.This had great significance on the sur-vival of many tree companies.

By the 1940s, P r o c e e d i n g s a n dArborist’s News had become respectedmeans of transferring the latest arbori-culture research findings into practice.Soon the organization would beginpublishing books and other nonserialpublications, the first being T r a n s -planting of Trees and Shrubs in the

Northeastern and North CentralUnited States. It was published in1943 in cooperation with the NationalArborist Association in bulletin form inresponse to a request from the Cam-ouflage Division of the Armed Fo r c e s .

In 1946, the NSTC marked two significant events in its history: theadoption of a Code of Ethics forArborists and the creation of a fund forresearch. The Code of Ethics was seenas an important step toward advancingarboriculture as a respected profession.The Memorial Research Fund was for-mally established on December 12,1946, with two thousand dollars trans-f e rred from the general fund of NSTC.This research fund represented a new

opportunity and anobligation for arboriststo sponsor at least partof the research fromwhich they were theprincipal beneficiaries.

In 1947, the NSTCadopted an officialemblem centered on agreen deciduous treewith a full crown andt runk enclosed by a cir-cle including the organi-zation name.

Membership growthwas stimulated throughchapter development,

with the NSTC exceeding one thousandmembers for the first time in 1948.

In 1949, executive secretaryChadwick took the occasion of theConference’s 25th anniversary toassess the state of the NSTC. In com-menting on certain strengths and weak-nesses, Chadwick saw great value inestablishment of chapters, noting theincrease in national membership withthe proliferation of additional state and

Educational sessions have always been a critical part of the ISA experience. Baltimore, 1949.

Following World War II, the well-dressed tree surgeon wore surplus military britches and high-lacingboots. Climbers used manila ropes, and a bowline on a bight served as a saddle until bosun’s seat andb a rrel stave saddles were intro d u c e d .

Trade shows were not typically held in such ornate halls.

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national meetings. He stated that thetwo principal publications of NSTC, theAnnual Proceedings of the NationalShade Tree Conference and theArborist’s News periodical, were theforemost sources of arborist literaturein the world.

In 1954, the Conference under-took a major project to produce a filmtitled Trees and Their Care. Time-lapse color photography had reached anew high in technology, and the obser-vations of plants as they grow becamev e ry popular. ISA began a seven-yearcampaign to raise twenty-five thousanddollars for the project. Produced byprominent nature photographer John

culture, the ISTC received an Award ofMerit from the American HorticulturalC o u n c i l .

In 1957, Shade Tree Evaluationwas published under the direction ofN o rman Armstrong. For the first time,the Conference was able to provide asound basis for evaluating trees. Thispublication has been revised and updat-ed eight times, and in 1992 the title was

changed to Guide forPlant Appraisal. TheCouncil of Tree andLandscape Appraisers( C T LA) authored laterrevisions. The Guidefor Plant Appraisal i sone of ISA’s flagshipp u b l i c a t i o n s .

Ott of Chicago, the film was shown forthe first time at the ISTC’s 1961 annu-al meeting in Minneapolis. For the pro-fessional efforts in producing a film ofsuch high quality and value to arbori-

Field Day at the 1958 NSTCc o n f e rence in Asheville,North Caro l i n a .

An early stump grinderdemonstration (top) and amistblower demonstration( b e l o w ) .

Chain saw exhibits were a popular feature ofearly trade shows.

An innovative way to demonstrate rope thro w i n gtechniques at an NSTC field day. Atlantic City,1 9 5 4 .

19 50s

Cover of the bro c h u re used for fundraising tofinance the 1954 movie pro j e c t .

7

I N T E R N ATIONAL SHADETREE CONFERENCE

The 1960s was a decade of changethroughout the world, and the NationalShade Tree Conference underwent sig-nificant transitions as well. In 1960,Canadian members petitioned theNSTC to change its name from Nationalto International. A substantial numberof Canadians felt misrepresented by thet e rm n a t i o n a l. Accordingly, the organi-zation became the International ShadeTree Conference (ISTC) in 1961.

D r. Paul E. Tilford retired as editor in1967 after 30 years of service. Noel B.Wysong of River Forest, Illinois, serv e din that capacity for the next two years.Chadwick retired as executive directorin 1969 to an emeritus status. TheE xecutive Committee then appointedD r. Eugene B. Himelick as an unpaid

In 1963, the Conferencecreated awards to recog-nize the service of its mem-bers. The Author’s Citationwas granted to authors forsustained excellence in thepublication of timely infor-mation pertaining to thefield of arboriculture. TheAward of Merit was de-signed to recognize merito-rious service in advancingthe principles, ideals, andpractices of arboriculture,and is the highest awardmade by the Society.

By 1964, it had becomeapparent that new actionhad to be initiated for thefuture of the ISTC because the heavyburden of work and responsibility forISTC could no longer be continued on apart-time basis. In recognition of hiscontributions, the Conference changedLewis Chadwick’s official status in 1966 from secretary-treasurer toexecutive director. Shh! A Whisper Chipper!

E v e ry commercial firm needsone of these!. Washington, D.C.,1 9 6 5 .

R i g h t - o f-way spraying by rail. Utility-re l a t e dissues became a significant portion of ISTC c o n f e rences in the 1960s.

Rotomist sprayer demonstration at an ISTC conference field day.

Opening cere m o n y, San Francisco, 1962.

19 60s

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executive director and Ervin C. (Cal)Bundy as full-time executive secretary.Because both resided in Urbana,Illinois, the official office was movedfrom Chadwick’s home in Columbus,Ohio.

As the new executive director,Himelick served as liaison between theISTC Executive Committee and theexecutive secretary, with authority todelegate responsibilities to the secre-t a ry as needed to oversee and direct thefunctions of the Conference. He alsos e rved as chairman of the program

THE RESEARCH TRUST

John Duling of Indiana along with O. J .Andersen of Texas, always strong advo-cates of research, proposed in 1972

committee for the annual conference.As executive secretary, Bundy wasresponsible for the overall managementof the organization.

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIAT I O N S

The origin and development of specialinterest groups, such as utility, com-mercial, and municipal arborists, beganwith discussion sessions at conferencesin the 1950s and 1960s. Beginning in1969, these groups were granted a rec-ognized status as special interest orga-nizations within the Conference. A newarticle of the Constitution in 1969 pro-vided for “associated special interestgroups” within the Conference. The termspecial interest group would later bechanged to professional affiliation.

Eugene B. HimelickExecutive Director — 1969–1979

ISTC used buses to transport delegates to the fieldday in Philadelphia, 1967.

Activities at the 1966c o n f e rence held inCleveland, Ohio.

“English Elm” plant-ed about 1850, one ofthe few trees left of ag roup lining theearly streets of the“ f o rest city. ”—Cleveland (top).

A ceremonial tre eplanting (bottom).

19 70s

9

the establishment of a tax-exe m p tMemorial Research Trust Fund.Funding for the Trust began in 1974.Between 1975 and 1998, the Tru s tfunded more than 250 research grantstotaling greater than one million dol-lars. Throughout its history, the Tru s thas funded ground-breaking researchin areas of tree management and main-tenance, planting, plant health, treefailure, soils, and environmental bene-fits of trees.

Two annual functions became tradi-tional events to add revenues to theResearch Trust funds. The first event ofnote was the Tour des Trees, a week-long bicycle tour that finished at theannual conference field day. The sec-ond event was a golf outing, held theday before the ISA field day. These twoevents, along with chapter fundraisingactivities, permitted the Trust to fundover $125,000 in research each yearbetween 1995 and 1998. The Trust alsoestablished an endowment fund in1994 that grew to $125,000 in 1999.

An early Ve rm e e rstump grinder onexhibit in 1970.

Riders in the annual Tour des Trees Research Trust fundraiser. Seattle to Oakland, 1992.

L.C. Chadwick with past presidents, 1970. Left to right on the back row: L.C. Chadwick, Keith Davey,F reeman Pa rr, Homer Jacobs, F. E. Martin, George S. La n g f o rd, Spence Davis, Jr., H.C. Wilson. Fro n trow: Noel Wysong, Al Meserve, D.S. Welch, Richard Campana, Ray Hirt, O.J. Andersen.

MILESTONES OF THE 1970S

The 50th anniversary of the Confer-ence in 1974 was marked by the cre-ation of a new professional journal. Dr.Dan Neely, ISTC editor since 1970, wasappointed editor of the Journal ofA r b o r i c u l t u r e in January 1975, andArborist’s News was discontinued.

In 1975 and again in 1987 ISA, incooperation with NAA, initiated abicentennial tree recognition programto commemorate the United StatesDeclaration of Independence in 1776and the signing of the Constitution in1 7 8 7 .

The goal was to locate treesknown to have been living “wit-nesses” to these historic events.Once located, each tree was tobe marked with a bronze plaquedesignating it as a duly recog-nized bicentennial tree. The pro-gram was initiated in October1 9 7 5 by planting an A m e r -ican elm on the White Housegrounds in Washington, D.C.The elm was a scion of the JohnQuincy Adams elm destroyed byDutch elm disease.

I N T E R N ATIONAL SOCIETYOF ARBORICULT U R E

The organization that began as aconference in 1924 became theI n t e rnational Society of Arboricultureon January 1, 1976. This name change,along with the creation of the newJournal of Arboriculture, gave theSociety a new professional status. Anew constitution and bylaws for thenewly created ISA were also approved.

Also in 1976, ISA executive directorEugene Himelick initiated the firstI n t e rnational Tree Climbing Jamboreeat the annual conference held in St.Louis, Missouri. The goal of the event

1 0

Truck displays and demonstrations have longbeen a part of field day events. St. Louis, 1976.

ISA staff and helpers working the conference re g-istration table. St. Louis, 1976.

Officers of the International Shade Tree Conference are examining the first issue of the Journal ofA r b o r i c u l t u re as it comes off the press. Left to right are John Z Duling, President; Dr. Dan Neely, Editor;and Dr. E. B. Himelick, Executive Dire c t o r.

Bob McConnell and Hyland Johnsdedicate a bicentennial tree, 1976.

50th Anniversary Conference. Atlanta, 1975.

was to demonstrate skills; however,safety in tree work was an essentialcomponent of the competition. Thefirst World Champion Tree Climber (in1976) was Tom Gosnell of SantaBarbara, Californ i a .

In 1978, ISA president YvonFo u rnier of Quebec initiated a newseries of annual awards to stimulatechapter competition in striving forexcellence and achievement in fulfillingISA goals. Known as the annual BannerAwards, each chapter received a larges i l ken banner for display at its meetingsthat identified the chapter and year oforigin. Citations were awarded to chap-ters in six categories: membershipincrease, special projects, quality ofn e w s l e t t e r, attendance at annual meet-ings, presidency of ISA, and hosting the

1 1

ISA annual meeting within the chapterarea. Each citation was to be affixed tothe chapter’s banner. The first bannerswere awarded at the ISA annual confer-ence in Quebec in 1979.

A movie camera documents the introduction of new, lightweight chain saws in Philadelphia, 1977. Noticethe chain saw protective pantyhose and steel-toed high heels.

Chapter Banner Awards on display at the 1978c o n f e re n c e .

The new ISA display is unveiled following the name change to Intern a t i o n a lSociety of Arboriculture in 1976.

The aerial rescue event at the first ISA Jambore ein 1976.

A full-time executive director posi-tion was created in 1979, and the posi-tion of executive secretary was elimi-nated. Cal Bundy, the executive secre-t a ry, was appointed as the first full-timeexecutive director. Gene Himelick wasappointed executive director emeritusand was asked to serve as advisor forone year. The 1970s saw rapid growthof the Society, with membership top-ping 3,000 professionals by the end ofthe decade.

by the end of 1989.A significant innovation to ISA’s rela-

tionship with its own chapters came in1989 when the first Chapter Lead-ership Workshop was held at ISA head-quarters. The purpose was to train thevolunteer leaders in how to effectivelyadminister their chapter and local pro-grams as well as to give leaders anopportunity to learn more of the work-ings of the Society. The workshop be-came an annual training event hostedby ISA officers and staff.

I N T E R N ATIONAL TREECLIMBING CHAMPIONSHIP

The 1980s was a difficult period for theoriginators and backers of the jam-boree. In 1980, the jamboree had beentemporarily discontinued because oflack of insurance liability coverage. Itwas reinstated in 1981, but the same

1 2

By vote of its members, the ISABoard of Governors was terminated asthe governing body of the Society in1985. By the same action, its responsi-bilities as organizational and corporateauthority of ISA were transferred to theISA Board of Directors, and the duty ofthe Board of Governors to elect boardmembers was transferred to affiliatedchapters of ISA.

William P. Kruidenier succeeded CalBundy as executive director on July 1,1987 in the midst of an era of visionand expansion for ISA. Growth of theorganization was creating a need formore office space, and in 1988 ISA’ sheadquarters offices were moved from

the lower level office of a downtownUrbana shopping mall to an historicGreek Revival cottage in Urbana’s LealPark. The wood-frame cottage builtabout 1856, was located in a two-acrepark and surrounded appropriately by200-year-old trees.

S T R ATEGIC PLANNING

In 1988, ISA approved its first strategicplan, Blueprint for Action. This six-year plan, along with its succeeding six-year strategic plan, ISA 2000, set thestage for rapid expansion of ISA intoarborist certification, nonserial publica-tion development, and public educationefforts that would fuel the growth of thetree care profession, professionaldevelopment, and public education. Areflection of the Society’s momentumin that era can be measured in growthof its membership, which topped 5,000

I S A’s headquartersin Leal Pa r k ,Urbana, Illinois.

Delegates were welcomed to To ro n t oin 1978 with a larg efloral display.

E rvin C. “Cal” BundyExecutive Secre t a ry — 1969–1979Executive Director — 1979–1986

19 80s

problem occurred in 1987, this timecausing a two-year period when no jam-boree was held. Despite the insuranceproblem, ISA was committed to contin-ue the annual jamboree. In May 1989,the Executive Committee approved anew insurance program that allowedthe jamboree to occur during the annu-al conference in St. Charles, Illinois.With the liability issues addressed, thejamboree continued to grow andbecome more international in scope,eventually changing its name to theI n t e rnational Tree Climbing Cham-pionship (ITCC) in 1997.

1 3

By 1998, more than 900 contestantsfrom 16 countries were participating inITCC events. The competition broughttogether the world’s best climbers todisplay their skills along with the latestin climbing techniques and equipment.From its humble beginnings, the ITCChad grown to prominence in the 1990sand had a tremendous impact onimproving tree care and climbing tech-niques for the practicing arborist. As anexample of the visibility the ITCC gavethe profession, in 1998, the ITCC wasfeatured on the European network,S k y -T V, and was shown in 123 countries.

ISA ChapterLeadership Wo r k s h o p ,Champaign, Illinois.

The Intern a t i o n a lTree Climbing

Championship, afavorite feature of an

ISA confere n c e .

William P. Kru i d e n i e rExecutive Director — 1987–Pre s e n t

ISA established “families” of publica-tions targeted to meet the needs of itsprofessional affiliations. While manypublications serve multidisciplinaryneeds, the ISA arboricultural familiesincluded commercial, utility, municipal,and research/education. The Societyalso produced a variety of youth educa-tion and public relations materialsavailable in book, brochure, or pressrelease formats. A number of the publi-cations have CEU workbooks and testsavailable for use by Certified Arborists.

By the mid 1990s, ISA became anoutstanding resource for the latestarboricultural information. The Societywas constantly producing new educa-tional materials to keep members cur-rent with the latest professional prac-tices. By 1998, ISA had establisheditself as the publishing house for scien-tific and applied information on the

care and management of urban trees,with more than 90 selections of books,brochures, videos, audiocassettes, pub-lic relations and public education mate-rials. In 1998, sales of ISA books,videos, and public information materi-als exceeded US$700,000, comparedto sales of less than $50,000 annuallyin 1989.

In the late 1990s, with certification

ARBORIST CERT I F I C AT I O N

In 1992, ISA launched an unprece-dented program of Arborist Certi-fication on an international scale. Thegoal was to raise the level of profes-sionalism in arboriculture by educatingthe providers of tree care services. Theprogram tested and certified an individ-ual’s knowledge in the field of arbori-culture and attested to a generallyaccepted level of knowledge.

The ISA Arborist Certification pro-gram has been successful on severallevels. Tree care providers gained a bet-ter understanding of tree biology andthe effects of various maintenancepractices, and the result has been anoticeable improvement in tree carepractices in North America. Certificationhas also added to the professionalismwithin the tree care industry. The pro-gram was also successful for ISA as awhole. Membership in Canada and theUnited States increased dramaticallyfrom the program’s inception in 1992.Demand for, and sales of books, tapes,and other educational materials

1 4

increased to the point where ISA wasproducing four major nonserial booksper year. The recertification require-ment to accumulate 30 continuing edu-cation units (CEUs) in a three-yearperiod increased attendance at meet-ings, seminars, and workshops as chap-ters worked to fulfill the local “need” fore d u c a t i o n .

In 1998, Arborist Certification wasalso offered through the United King-dom/Ireland Chapter. In addition, morethan 40 arborists representing othercountries became ISA CertifiedArborists. By 1999, the number ofCertified Arborists exceeded 10,500,and more than 250 exams were offeredannually through ISA chapters.

A reflection of the Society’s growthcan be seen in growth of the member-ship, which topped 5,000 by the end of1989; 6,000 by 1992; 7,000 by 1994;8,000 by 1995; 9,000by 1996, 10,000 by1997; and 11,000 by1998. Much of thisgrowth reflects thedevelopment and imple-mentation of the ISAarborist certificationp r o g r a m .

E D U C ATION ANDT R A I N I N G

In 1992, the Journal ofA r b o r i c u l t u r e b e c a m ebimonthly and there wasa rebirth of A r b o r i s tN e w s (note the changein spelling)—a greatlyex p a n ded and improvedbimonthly magazine. TheSociety removed theaddendum pages fromthe J o u r n a l, thus enhancing its valueas a refereed scientific publication.Arborist News added several new pop-ular features including CEU articles,which offered credits for recertifica-tion. In 1996, Dr. Neely retired after 25years as editor and Dr. Robert Miller ofWisconsin was appointed.

With the increased focus on publica-tion development through the 1990s,

19 90s

Some of ISA’s many educational pro d u c t s .

I N T E R N AT I O N A L I Z AT I O N

In addition to the exponential growth inmembership and educational pro-grams, the 1990s will be rememberedfor the internationalization of ISA. ISAexperienced continued chapter ex p a n-sion, with twelve chapters forming out-side North America. Eight chapterswere added in Europe, as well as oneeach in Brazil, Mexico, Australia, andNew Zealand. The Society, in 1998, heldits annual conference outside the NorthAmerican continent for the first time.More than 1,200 delegates from 36countries attended this conference inB i rmingham, England.

A European office was opened inLondon in 1997. The Board ofDirectors determined it was critical toestablish an office in Europe to bettermeet and serve the needs of the grow-ing European membership. Wi t h i neighteen months of opening this newoffice, membership had grown fromjust over 600 to more than 1,000European members.

ISA ON THE INTERNET

In 1995, the Executive Committeeapproved contracting with theUniversity of Illinois to establish an ISAhome page on the Internet. The sitewas established in 1995 with a focus onPlant Heath Care information, a “chatpage” for tree workers, and generali n f o rmation on ISA and its various programs. There were over 1,000 visitors to the page in the early months,and use grew to over 140,000 visits permonth in 1999. The page has been continually expanded to include in-f o rmation on the Research Tru s t ,annual conference, International Tr e eClimbing Championship, publications,and much more. ISA’s home page canbe found at www. i s a - a r b o r. c o m .

for tree workers in development, ISAbegan to focus more on training treecare personnel and produced a series of14 training videos and workbooks cov-ering climbing techniques, equipment,and chain saw use and safety.

In 1992, due to continued rapidgrowth, ISA’s headquarters moved fromUrbana to the nearby community of

1 5

S a v o y, Illinois. At that time, it wasthought that ISA would take years tooutgrow this facility. But with the addedgrowth following the implementation ofthe certification program and anexpanded staff of eighteen, theE xecutive Committee in 1998 foundthe need to move to a 15,000-square-foot facility in Champaign, Illinois.

I S A’s headquarters in Savoy, Illinois, 1992–1998.

I S A’s current headquarters in Champaign, Illinois.

ISA Staff, 1999

C O N F E R E N C E

ISA began as a tree care conference in1924 and has continued to grow fromthose roots through the decades. Whatstarted as educational presentations atthe Bartlett Estate has come full circlewith the 1999 75th AnniversaryConference at the same site. The ques-tions were asked at the first conferenceled to research that changed the waywe practice arboriculture. Through the

years, the original concept of research-based tree care has expanded, and themore questions we answered, the morequestions we uncovered. The profes-sion became more diverse and ISAbroadened its scope to meet the vary-ing needs. It united the various facets— the workers, the researchers, thesuppliers, and the consultants — in acommon mission of caring for trees inthe best way we know how.

The “Shade Tree Conference” ismore than an edu-cational seminar. Itbrings people to-gether from all overthe world, to sharenew ideas, tech-niques, equipment,and problems inneed of solutions. Itfosters a synergy,combining the ener-gy of the workers inthe trees with theknowledge of thescientists in the lab-oratories. It is a cel-

ebration of people who share the sameinterests and a reunion of those whosolved yesterday’s problems. The ISAconference has built lasting friendshipsand lifelong memories.

ISA has a rich history that includes ametamorphosis from its fledglingbeginnings to the grand organization

Lifelong friendships develop at ISA conferences — friendships with roots in common interests and common goals.

A long-time ISA conference tradition — BobMcConnell and his pipes at opening cere m o n i e s .

As the saying goes,

“Mighty oaksfrom little

acorns grow. ”

Text by Dr. Richard Campana and ISA Staff.

Past Presidents—1998. Back row (L. to R.) Ken Ottman, Richard Harr i s ,Frank Santamour, John Moran, Don Ham, Dick Abbott. Front row (L. toR.) Bill Kruidenier (Executive Director), La rry Hall, Jim Kielbaso, Sharo nL i l l y, Ken Meyer.

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that it is today. Throughout it all, onething has remained the same: the dedi-cation of the professionals who create,organize, and administer the many pro-grams from which we all benefit. As ISAenters the next millennium, the offi-cers, Board of Directors, committeechairs, staff, and many volunteers sharea common vision for the future of theorganization: to foster research andeducation for the care and preserv a t i o nof trees.