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News & Views
editor
Ilse Genovese
ilse.genovese@acsm.net
FROM
THE NSPS PRESIDENT
CONFERENCE ROUND-UP
NSPS INSURANCE PROGRAM
STUDENT COMPETITION
TECH BITS
BOOK CLUB
MARK YOUR CALENDAR
WE WANT
YOUR FEEDBACK
NSPS Board
John D. Matonich (president), A. Wayne Harrison
(president-elect), William R. Coleman
(vice president), John R. Fenn (secretary/treasurer), Patrick J. Beehler
(immediate past president), Patrick A. Smith (chair, Board of Governors),
J. Anthony Cavell (secretary, Board of Governors), Directors: Robert Dahn
(Area 1), Lewis H. Conley (Area 2), Joe H. Baird (Area 3), Wayne Hebert (Area
4), Jan S. Fokens (Area 5), Richard J. Barr (Area 6), Jeffrey B. Jones (Area
7),
Henry Kuehlem (Area 8),
Carl C. de Baca (Area 9), Timothy A. Kent (Area 10)
www.nspsmo.org
NSPS
6 Montgomery Village Av..
Suite 403
Gaithersburg,
MD 20879
TEL 240.632.9716
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From the NSPS
president
First, let me say
what an incredible honor it is to have been selected to serve as your NSPS President
for the coming year. I have had the good fortune to be able to meet many
surveyors from across the country and know how much I am looking forward to
being able to represent you along with our dedicated staff nationally. I see
the need even more so today to continue to work together to enhance our
programs and positions as your national surveying organization. I plan to do
whatever we can to compliment the fantastic state affiliates we have and do
everything possible to minimize or eliminate any conflict. This is a critical
time in our profession and together I know we can enhance the work we do as
well as raise the awareness of the general public to our contribution to
their wellbeing. I look forward to this effort and know I can count on all
the members of NSPS to be a significant part of our success.— John Matonich, NSPS president
s h
o r t t a k e s
Conference round-up
The
ACSM-MARLS-UCLS-WFPS meeting in Salt
Lake City, Utah,
followed the pattern of our recent meetings; a good deal was accomplished,
and the weather was extremely cooperative despite the timing of the
meeting. Both the Awards and the ACSM Communications and Public
Relations committees had lively, productive discussions on a range of topics,
some of which are of direct concern to NSPS members. A new effort to make the
Awards Program more exciting and so more inviting to participation is one of
them. As you may have noticed, the 2008 Awards program received considerable
attention in the previous issues of the News
& Views, thanks largely to Dawn James, MO administrator.
A decision was made in Salt Lake
City to give the program, as well as the winners of
the awards, more substantial coverage through the ACSM Bulletin. Think about this opportunity when you
send in your nominations; information about the nominee, his or her college
and study track, and any other pertinent material, if attached, will most
certainly be used in the Bulletin’s
forthcoming Education column. The main issue coming out from the CPRC is a
recommendation to proceed with a review of ACSM and MO outreach
strategies. Another communication-related issue is the decision to
distribute the News & Views
to State Executives. This will be done via a separate e-blast for this issue;
it is hoped that once the move to a new data management platform has been
completed, the mailing to the State Executives will be incorporated with the
mailing to members. Those interested in submitting to future NSPS Journalism
Award contests, be advised that the judges are working on a new set of
publication categories and criteria to judge each category. Watch this space
in July – August. These were but a few issues from Salt Lake City; more
below—Ilse
Genovese, ACSM Communications Director
NSPS insurance
program
It seems that the
news regarding the comprehensive and innovative Insurance Program designed
for the members of NSPS still
isn’t reaching everyone. The phrase, “Pays to Belong to NSPS,” really is true. You
just have to check it out. Our top-notched insurance program for businesses
and individual members includes General Liability, Property, Automobile,
Professional Liability, D & O Liability, Surveying Equipment, Umbrella,
Workers’ Compensation, plus an additional avenue for personal lines and
Health insurance for members and their employees.
Be sure to contact the NSPS Exclusive Agent Lisa Isom with Assurance Risk Managers
in Aurora, Colorado; 888-454-9562 or 888-672-5325
2009
NSPS Surveying Student Competition
THE RESULTS FROM SALT LAKE
CITY ARE IN!
1ST
PLACE – Ferris State University
2ND PLACE
– Michigan
Technological University
3RD PLACE
– Oregon Institute of Technology
This year’s
theme for the competition was “Calculating Devices and Methods for
Surveyors—Past to Present.” The field exercise was comprised of
vernier readings, slide rule and log table calculations, and readings of the
subtense bar. According to Chief Judge Steve Gould, “the students were
sweating like it was a final exam. In the end, the slide rule won the
battle, and the students, like the rest of us [judges], hope to never use a
slide rule or log table again!” [To
see photos of the competitors in action, follow this link: http://acsmannual.winkflash.com.
Code: slc2009.]
2010 Surveying
Student Competition Announced!
Theme:
Forensic Surveying Related to Accident Scenes
The competing teams
will be expected to do a reconstruction survey of an actual accident scene in
advance of arrival in Phoenix
in April, 2010, for the ACSM Annual Conference. The teams are expected
to work with a police department to survey the scene of an accident and then
with an attorney to prepare exhibits for use in court. Once in Phoenix, they will be
required to present the project to judges and conference audiences orally.
Note also that the NSPS Education Committee will be hosting a day-long
workshop session on forensic surveying at the conference. For more
information, visit: http://www.nspsmo.org/news_events/competitions.shtml.
y o u r e p o r
t
Strother inducted into the Hall of Fame
Congratulations to
George Strother, NSPS Governor from Alaska,
who was recently recognized by the Alaska Surveying and Mapping Conference
with induction into the Hall of Fame! Way to go, George!
Two ROWE principals to serve as presidents
Flint, Michigan—Two ROWE Professional
Services Company principals were named presidents of national and state
societies of professional surveyors this month. As reported in a previous News & Views, President and CEO John Matonich, PS, was installed as president of the
National Society of Professional Surveyors (NSPS), headquartered in Washington, DC,
on February 21. Director of Surveying Paul Brown, PS, was installed as
president of the 900-member Michigan Society of Professional Surveyors
(MSPS), headquartered in Lansing,
MI, on February 12. Both
organizations encourage high standards of ethical and professional behavior,
promote public confidence in the profession, monitor relevant laws, and
support new methods of surveying.
Matonich
joined ROWE in 1981 as a project surveyor and engineer; he has been a
licensed professional surveyor for 23 years. He is currently licensed in Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin. Matonich
served as chief operating officer from 1992 to 1999, was promoted to
president in 1997, and chief executive officer in 2001.
Brown joined ROWE in 1977; he has been a licensed professional surveyor for
21 years. He was named vice president and principal in 1996. His MSPS term
ends in February 2010.
About ROWE: Founded in 1962 and based in Flint, ROWE is one of Michigan’s
leading professional consulting firms with offices in Michigan
and South Carolina.
The company provides civil engineering, land surveying, aerial photography
and mapping, landscape architecture, community planning and land development
services.
Matt Vernon elected President of CLSA
Camarillo, CA—Matthew J. Vernon, P.L.S., Senior Associate of
RBF Consulting, was installed as State President of the California Land
Surveyors Association (CLSA) in February of this year. He will serve in this
capacity for one year. Vernon
was chosen for the position because of his exemplary leadership efforts. As
State President, he will be responsible for promoting and enhancing the
profession of land surveying. Vernon
continues to hold the position of Governor to the National Society of
Professional Surveyors (NSPS) and is a Past-President of the Channel Islands
Chapter of CLSA. "Matt is a recognized leader in the surveying
field," commented Darin Johnson, Senior Vice President and RBF Consulting
Camarillo Office Manager, "His commitment to leading as a professional
in his field and his entrepreneurial spirit are taking our state to new
levels."
About CLSA: CLSA advances the interests of the profession of Land
Surveying, to maintain the highest possible standards of professional ethics
and practice, to encourage uniformity of practices and procedures, and foster
public faith in and understanding of Land Surveyors and their work. CLSA
represents Land Surveyors, in public or private practice, whether they are
employees or proprietors. For additional information visit http://www.californiasurveyors.org.
About RBF: RBF Consulting is ranked as one of the nation's leading
civil engineering, planning and surveying consulting firms and is
consistently recognized among the top firms to work for. RBF provides
consulting services for planning, design and construction to public agencies,
organizations and private sector clients, contributing expertise to projects
throughout the United
States and internationally. The firm
maintains 15 offices located in Sacramento, Monterey Bay,
Oakland, San Jose,
Walnut Creek, Camarillo,
Carlsbad, Irvine,
Ontario, Palm
Desert, San
Diego, and Temecula, California; Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona; and Las Vegas, Nevada.
For additional information visit www.RBF.com.
techBits
Tech
Bit 3: Finding Cheap Hotels
and Cars
ITA Software’s site
is good for finding a good airfare,
what about hotels and rental cars? Which site
has the best
“deals”? If you
don’t have time to visit several sites and compare their rates, try
Kayak (http://www.kayak.com). It is a meta-search engine, which means
it searches
other sites
and presents
all the results
in one place.
When you click on the deal
you like, you are taken to the
best site
to book it.Travel is expensive;
saving money on it goes to your bottom line
(or stays in your pocket).
Tech Bit 4: A Website
Finder Dashboard
Ninety percent of
what I need
to know I can find with Google.
More and more
great information is on Wikipedia. What about business
information? CEO Express (http://www.ceoexpress.com/default.asp)
is a portal of links to other
business information websites.
Almost any resource you might think of is on that one main page.
A premium version
(currently $29 a year) allows you to customize
your home page. Even if you think you know where to
go, check this out.
I’ve discovered new resources just scanning the
lists of options. It’s like
having a business web librarian make
you a list of sites you should
visit. Knowledge is power, here’s
a jump start.
Gregg Marshall, CPMR, CSP, is a
speaker, author and consultant. He can be reached by e-mail at gmarshall@repconnection.com, or
visit his website at http://www.repconnection.com.
Events calendar
2009 ACSM Fall Meetings: These
meetings will take place at the Gaithersburg Holiday Inn. Once the room
block has been set up, we will be in touch with the booking code.
Because this is a new location for our fall meetings, staff has already begun
pulling together information on restaurants and tourist attractions in the Gaithersburg area and
nearby. Please keep an eye out for this information to arrive in your
mailbox soon.
Tentative
Fall Meeting Dates:
Wednesday, September 23 (Lobby
Day Prep Meeting) to Monday, September 28,
2009 (ACSM Congress Meeting).
Book Corner
Have you ever thought, “wow, this is a great book,” and
felt like sharing in the experience with others or recommending the book to friends
and colleagues? Here is your chance. We’ll kick off this new section of
News & Views with pointers
to reviews published in the February issue of the ACSM Bulletin.
Readers looking to learn more about tools for geospatial analysis might enjoy
reading Paul Young’s review of Geospatial Analysis: A Comprehensive Guide to Principles,
Techniques and Software Tools by Michael Goodchild and Paul
Longley on page 23. History buffs are likely to be intrigued by a book
entitled Placing
History: How Maps, Spatial Data, and GIS are Changing Historical Scholarship,
edited by Anne Kelly Knowles and Amy Hillier. This book was reviewed by Jon
Douglas on page 32.
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