![\"Flink](\"https:\/\/design.ncsu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/Flink-quote.jpg\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\nStriking a balance in the field of practice is something that Flink has been keenly aware of throughout his career as a landscape architect. \u201cWhen I graduated in 1982, there was a big recession, so it was tough for a couple of years to get my footing and realize what it would take to be an accomplished professional,\u201d Flink remembers, though his patience would eventually pay off. \u201cIn 1986, when I formed Greenways Incorporated, it was an amazing thing,\u201d he says, \u201cbecause I was able to catch a wave of interest in greenways, trails, and the outdoors \u2013 everything that I really wanted to do.\u201d The venture was not without its twists and turns, however. Flink vividly recalls a story from 1989 when two National Geographic writers on assignment to write about the burgeoning greenways movement arrived at his doorstep. They were \u201clooking for the grand old man of greenways,\u201d said Flink, and, since he was only in his late 20s at the time, he recalls with a chuckle, \u201cI was not him.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While working for the public interest has long been a source of inspiration for Flink, he readily admits that the challenges that come with leading one\u2019s own firm are distinct from his College of Design responsibilities. The daily reality of knowing how to effectively work with your client base is always present, as is the obligation that comes with balancing their expectations. \u201cClients are very different, since they have to worry about the bottom line,\u201d Flink describes, \u201cwhereas academia is about the process of learning and acquiring tools and knowing who you are as a designer.\u201d He considers his thoughts for a moment, weighing them carefully before continuing, \u201cIn the private sector, it\u2019s about the practical application,\u201d he says. \u201cYou have to be able to think and move fast and be very efficient with the way you\u2019re delivering design services.\u201d The unique seasoned experience that Flink brings as both a veteran business professional and design entrepreneur is what distinguishes his professional perspective as well as his contributions to the academic environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Though he would like to be able to devote more of his time to teaching, Flink\u2019s other professional commitments place significant constraints on his schedule. Currently, he is the Project Director for the Wolf River Conservancy\u2019s $40 million Greenway Project in Memphis, Tennessee<\/a>, which will occupy a major portion of his time extending into late 2018. The project grew out of Flink\u2019s involvement with the Walton Family Foundation\u2019s Razorback Regional Greenway in Northwest Arkansas<\/a>, a successful planning effort that led the Conservancy to seek him out to help realize its own decades-old vision. Flink is clearly excited about the Wolf River concept. \u201cIt\u2019s a fascinating project from a lot of different perspectives,\u201d he says. With some 20 miles of greenway trail extending from the Wolf River\u2019s intersection with the Mississippi River and downtown Memphis to Germantown, Tennessee, the Wolf River Greenway Project is notable, including a large amount of private funding supporting the cause. Among the exciting aspects of the project is the variety of communities and people the greenway will serve. \u201cWhat\u2019s really fascinating is where it goes,\u201d Flink points out, noting that the greenway will go \u201cthrough some neighborhoods in North Memphis that have historically been underserved from any sort of investment point of view.\u201d As he continues, it becomes apparent that Flink has thoughtfully considered the role his work in Memphis may have for the greater good of the community. \u201cThere are significant challenges in accomplishing the project, but the rewards are also very significant when it\u2019s done,\u201d he said. \u201cWe firmly believe that it will be a catalytic project and spur additional investment in neighborhoods and parts of the community that really need it.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n While the Wolf River Greenway will undoubtedly involve considerable work coordinating the design and construction issues that always come up on a project of this scale and complexity, \u201cI like to tell people that probably the least challenging aspect of this project is building the trail,\u201d Flink says with a broad smile. \u201cBecause there are so many other things we\u2019re taking on \u2013social issues, economic issues, health and wellness, safety and security \u2013 there are just so many other topics.\u201d He goes on, clearly energized by the scale and robustness of the effort, \u201cWe\u2019ve been challenged by the funder to look at the long-term engagement results of this, including job creation and business incubation.\u201d For Flink the project really becomes holistic, striving to \u201clift all the boats in these neighborhoods so we can have positive socio-economic benefit from this project. When you layer that into a project like this, it becomes about a lot more than just where we put the asphalt trail.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Reflecting on projects like Wolf River and his career as a whole, Flink is forthright and points out his own surprise about how it has all occurred. \u201cThe whole experience has just been amazing.\u201d Flink said. \u201cI always had this sense of my career as this sort of accidental tourist.\u201d He pauses a moment before continuing with a self-imposed question,\u201d You know, \u2018Did you have this specific plan?\u2019 No, I could never have envisioned it. In fact it\u2019s been an evolutionary journey.\u201d As he speaks, it\u2019s apparent that Flink is a landscape architect who has spent careful deliberate time considering his approach to the profession as well as what the future might bring for greenway design. \u201cThe one thing I\u2019ve tried to do with my company and with the whole notion of greenways is to enable it to continue to grow, expand, and change,\u201d he said. \u201cGreenway design can\u2019t continue to be what it was in the \u201870s, \u201880s, or \u201890s. It has to continue to morph and evolve, and that\u2019s what I think is so fantastic.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n This sense of growth and change also strikes a chord in Flink\u2019s outlook on professional practice and academic endeavors in general, stoking an idea of giving something back in a way that can bridge both worlds. It\u2019s a very strong notion for Flink and is, in fact, what has driven Chuck and his wife Marjorie to earmark a future multilevel estate gift to the College of Design that will support graduate landscape architecture student fellowships, a faculty endowment fund, and a landscape architecture departmental enhancement fund. For the couple, it\u2019s a chance to give back in a very direct way, to help NC State University and the College by giving future landscape architecture students and faculty a chance to succeed. \u201cWhen it comes to our gift to the College,\u201d Flink said in describing what he and his wife have planned, \u201cwe know that the economics now are very different than the days when we were in college and that both the faculty and the students need that support. It\u2019s really the motivation behind our deciding to make the gift to the University.\u201c<\/p>\n\n\n\n One thing about Chuck Flink\u2019s contributions to his profession is certain: the path to the future looks bright indeed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This is reprinted from the Desiglife magazine, Fall 2015 issue<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false,"raw":"\n\n\n\n\n As a youth, Chuck Flink, FASLA, PLA, [\u201982 BEDLA] was accustomed to spending a lot of time outside. \u201cI grew up in the outdoors; my Mom and Dad saw to that,\u201d Flink recalls. \u201cOur entire world was outside and we probably spent more time outdoors than we did indoors. We were out from sunup to sunset.\u201d With this sort of early enthusiasm and appreciation for outdoor activity, it\u2019s easy to understand how Flink could go on to establish a career as one of the leading recreational trail designers at work today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Though he\u2019s now renowned in the field of greenway design as a founder and principal at Greenways Incorporated, which is now affiliated with Alta Planning + Design, Flink remembers that at first it took a little time for him to learn how to navigate the profession. He recalls how, as a transfer undergraduate student from Missouri, he didn\u2019t immediately find his place in N.C. State University\u2019s landscape architecture studios. \u201cI came out of the Midwest and didn\u2019t really have a background in design at all, so the program definitely shaped me,\u201d Flink said, his voice brightening at the recollection of when things began to click. \u201cThe College of Design was so influential. It\u2019s one of the reasons I feel so strongly about the educational experience.\u201d In particular, the tutelage he received from faculty members Lewis Clark and Randy Hester paved the way for Flink to develop his own voice in design which he now shares with others through his teaching in the Landscape Architecture Department each spring semester. \u201cI\u2019m fortunate to be able to teach here and work with students, which is a great joy for me,\u201d he said. \u201cYou have a chance to give them that confidence and the tools to solve problems. It\u2019s a very rewarding thing for me to be involved with helping them.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Striking a balance in the field of practice is something that Flink has been keenly aware of throughout his career as a landscape architect. \u201cWhen I graduated in 1982, there was a big recession, so it was tough for a couple of years to get my footing and realize what it would take to be an accomplished professional,\u201d Flink remembers, though his patience would eventually pay off. \u201cIn 1986, when I formed Greenways Incorporated, it was an amazing thing,\u201d he says, \u201cbecause I was able to catch a wave of interest in greenways, trails, and the outdoors \u2013 everything that I really wanted to do.\u201d The venture was not without its twists and turns, however. Flink vividly recalls a story from 1989 when two National Geographic writers on assignment to write about the burgeoning greenways movement arrived at his doorstep. They were \u201clooking for the grand old man of greenways,\u201d said Flink, and, since he was only in his late 20s at the time, he recalls with a chuckle, \u201cI was not him.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n While working for the public interest has long been a source of inspiration for Flink, he readily admits that the challenges that come with leading one\u2019s own firm are distinct from his College of Design responsibilities. The daily reality of knowing how to effectively work with your client base is always present, as is the obligation that comes with balancing their expectations. \u201cClients are very different, since they have to worry about the bottom line,\u201d Flink describes, \u201cwhereas academia is about the process of learning and acquiring tools and knowing who you are as a designer.\u201d He considers his thoughts for a moment, weighing them carefully before continuing, \u201cIn the private sector, it\u2019s about the practical application,\u201d he says. \u201cYou have to be able to think and move fast and be very efficient with the way you\u2019re delivering design services.\u201d The unique seasoned experience that Flink brings as both a veteran business professional and design entrepreneur is what distinguishes his professional perspective as well as his contributions to the academic environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Though he would like to be able to devote more of his time to teaching, Flink\u2019s other professional commitments place significant constraints on his schedule. Currently, he is the Project Director for the Wolf River Conservancy\u2019s $40 million Greenway Project in Memphis, Tennessee<\/a>, which will occupy a major portion of his time extending into late 2018. The project grew out of Flink\u2019s involvement with the Walton Family Foundation\u2019s Razorback Regional Greenway in Northwest Arkansas<\/a>, a successful planning effort that led the Conservancy to seek him out to help realize its own decades-old vision. Flink is clearly excited about the Wolf River concept. \u201cIt\u2019s a fascinating project from a lot of different perspectives,\u201d he says. With some 20 miles of greenway trail extending from the Wolf River\u2019s intersection with the Mississippi River and downtown Memphis to Germantown, Tennessee, the Wolf River Greenway Project is notable, including a large amount of private funding supporting the cause. Among the exciting aspects of the project is the variety of communities and people the greenway will serve. \u201cWhat\u2019s really fascinating is where it goes,\u201d Flink points out, noting that the greenway will go \u201cthrough some neighborhoods in North Memphis that have historically been underserved from any sort of investment point of view.\u201d As he continues, it becomes apparent that Flink has thoughtfully considered the role his work in Memphis may have for the greater good of the community. \u201cThere are significant challenges in accomplishing the project, but the rewards are also very significant when it\u2019s done,\u201d he said. \u201cWe firmly believe that it will be a catalytic project and spur additional investment in neighborhoods and parts of the community that really need it.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n While the Wolf River Greenway will undoubtedly involve considerable work coordinating the design and construction issues that always come up on a project of this scale and complexity, \u201cI like to tell people that probably the least challenging aspect of this project is building the trail,\u201d Flink says with a broad smile. \u201cBecause there are so many other things we\u2019re taking on \u2013social issues, economic issues, health and wellness, safety and security \u2013 there are just so many other topics.\u201d He goes on, clearly energized by the scale and robustness of the effort, \u201cWe\u2019ve been challenged by the funder to look at the long-term engagement results of this, including job creation and business incubation.\u201d For Flink the project really becomes holistic, striving to \u201clift all the boats in these neighborhoods so we can have positive socio-economic benefit from this project. When you layer that into a project like this, it becomes about a lot more than just where we put the asphalt trail.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Reflecting on projects like Wolf River and his career as a whole, Flink is forthright and points out his own surprise about how it has all occurred. \u201cThe whole experience has just been amazing.\u201d Flink said. \u201cI always had this sense of my career as this sort of accidental tourist.\u201d He pauses a moment before continuing with a self-imposed question,\u201d You know, \u2018Did you have this specific plan?\u2019 No, I could never have envisioned it. In fact it\u2019s been an evolutionary journey.\u201d As he speaks, it\u2019s apparent that Flink is a landscape architect who has spent careful deliberate time considering his approach to the profession as well as what the future might bring for greenway design. \u201cThe one thing I\u2019ve tried to do with my company and with the whole notion of greenways is to enable it to continue to grow, expand, and change,\u201d he said. \u201cGreenway design can\u2019t continue to be what it was in the \u201870s, \u201880s, or \u201890s. It has to continue to morph and evolve, and that\u2019s what I think is so fantastic.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n This sense of growth and change also strikes a chord in Flink\u2019s outlook on professional practice and academic endeavors in general, stoking an idea of giving something back in a way that can bridge both worlds. It\u2019s a very strong notion for Flink and is, in fact, what has driven Chuck and his wife Marjorie to earmark a future multilevel estate gift to the College of Design that will support graduate landscape architecture student fellowships, a faculty endowment fund, and a landscape architecture departmental enhancement fund. For the couple, it\u2019s a chance to give back in a very direct way, to help NC State University and the College by giving future landscape architecture students and faculty a chance to succeed. \u201cWhen it comes to our gift to the College,\u201d Flink said in describing what he and his wife have planned, \u201cwe know that the economics now are very different than the days when we were in college and that both the faculty and the students need that support. It\u2019s really the motivation behind our deciding to make the gift to the University.\u201c<\/p>\n\n\n\n One thing about Chuck Flink\u2019s contributions to his profession is certain: the path to the future looks bright indeed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n