The Austin Professional Landmen's Association (APLA) was formed in February 2007.   APLA’s mission is to promote the highest standards of performance for all land professionals, to advance their stature, and to encourage sound stewardship of energy and mineral resources.  APLA was organized for the purposes of fostering fellowship and facilitating networking opportunities among its members and members of the American Association of Professional Landmen (AAPL) and other similar professional or­ganizations and associations, providing quality educational opportunities pertinent to the land profession, promoting the land professional’s adherence to a code of ethics and standards of practice to which its members can aspire and by which they shall abide, promoting and inspiring professionalism among the membership, and impressing upon the members their roles as public relations representa­tives of the oil, gas and mineral industry.  APLA was formally recognized as an affiliated local association of the AAPL in March 2007.  Since then, APLA has enjoyed rapid growth.  APLA's dedicated group of 36 charter members has grown to well over 140 members (as of May 2010).  APLA was recognized for this growth at AAPL's 54th Annual Meeting and Conference held in Chicago in June 2008, receiving an award for the largest percentage growth of AAPL membership by a small association.  APLA is proud of its short but successful history, but we are not content to rest on these accomplishments.  APLA is dedicated to serving its members living and working in the greater Austin area, and we welcome your comments, suggestions and active participation as we continue our efforts to serve our members with excellence in education, outstanding networking opportunities and advancements in professionalism.  For information on joining APLA, please click here for our membership application.  Don't delay … join us today.