ASLA Honors Roger Milliken

Spartanburg, SC, July 27, 2007--Since its founding in 1899, the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) has conferred Honorary Membership upon only 111 individuals. This year, the ASLA Board of Trustees announced that Roger Milliken, chairman of Milliken & Company, joins this distinguished list.

"Honorary membership is among the highest honors the Society may bestow upon a non-landscape architect," said Patrick W. Caughey, FASLA, president of the ASLA. “It is reserved for those whose achievements are of national or international significance.”

Milliken was recognized for his environmental stewardship, which extends more than half a century. Under his direction, the Milliken & Company 600-acre headquarters campus became a noted arboretum and horticultural testing ground enjoyed as a community park throughout the year. He established the Noble Tree Foundation to provide an incentive for tree planting and landscaping.

His bumper sticker reads “Trees are the Answer.” Milliken’s life-long passion for environmental excellence is reflected in both the sustainable practices of Milliken & Company and the millions of trees planted in forests and his community. These efforts have been recognized with the National Arbor Day Foundation’s Fredrick Law Olmstead Award; the Southern Nursery Association’s Environmental Leadership Award and the Garden Club of America’s Frances K. Hutchinson Medal, among others. In addition he supports the Yale School of Forestry, and serves on the Brookgreen Garden’s Advisory Board.

“By example, contribution, and unending interest, Roger Milliken has set the bar for using the landscape to make better places to live,” said Richard C. Webel of Innocenti & Webel.  What is not widely recognized is his association with his contribution. Therein is the true magic and extraordinary value of his passion."

A third-generation chairman, Milliken’s visionary leadership has championed green principles for more than six decades. Spartanburg, South Carolina-based Milliken & Company has become one of the most environmentally respected textile and chemical manufacturers in the world. Since 1989, 10,000 companies have benchmarked Milliken & Company to understand how it implements sustainable change and improvement.