FAIRFAX, VA Dewberry hires Dennis E. Pitts, RLA, ASLA, and Larry J. Ragland, RLA, ASLA, as Land Planners in the firm's Raleigh, North Carolina, office.

Pitts specializes in large-scale master planning and has been involved in more than 125 public and private school projects in North Carolina. He has 43 years of experience in project management, master planning, programming, site development, public outreach, construction administration, urban and streetscape design, and historic preservation.

As a member of the North Carolina Chapter American Society of Landscape Architects (NCASLA), Pitts served as chapter President, Chair of the newsletter, membership, and awards committees, and Member-at-Large and Member-at-Large for public relations on the executive committee. As President, he helped NCASLA earn the President's Cup Award for Outstanding Chapter Program. He helped create a standard licensing exam for the North Carolina Landscape Contractor's Registration Board and helped revise Cary's town code regarding the appearance and environmental protection of streetscape landscaping projects. Pitts received a Bachelor of Environmental Design in Landscape Architecture degree from North Carolina State University, where he volunteers as a student mentor. He currently sits on the Cary Visual Art's artist-in-residence steering committee and the Cary public art master plan steering committee.

Ragland specializes in environmental inventory and analysis, project management, and construction administration. Throughout his 42 years of experience, he has worked on dozens of K-12 schools, parks, office parks, industrial parks, shopping centers, processing centers, transportation facilities, car dealerships, water treatment facilities, cultural centers, and farmers markets throughout North Carolina.

As a member of NCASLA, Ragland received the President's Council Award for significant and sustained contributions to the profession. He served as chairman of the North Carolina Board of Landscape Architects and regional director of the Council of Landscape Architect Registration Boards. He received a Bachelor of Environmental Design in Landscape Architecture degree from North Carolina State University.