2 / 22
The Oregon Surveyor
|
Vol. 40, No. 1
2
W
ell, another conference is behind us! I was just going through some
archive material that Paul Galli graciously shared with me and I
stumbled upon a copy of the January-February, 1980 Oregon Surveyor,
“The Conference” issue. The conference was held in Corvallis on or about
the first week in December of 1979. What sparked my recollection was
photos of the lingerie show at the luncheon. Being a fairly conservative guy,
I remember how aghast I was at the public display of such attire. Victoria’s
Secret would scoff at such prudishness today. How things have changed!
Even more striking was the fact that I’ve now attended more than 40
conferences across the western U.S. During my tenure at Westfed, I
was able to attend conferences in Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii,
Montana, Utah and Washington. Though the venues always changed and
the technology exhibits are now far more sophisticated, the one overriding
constant taken from every one of them has been the ability to network
with my peers. Those connections are the things that have undergirded
my entire career and have afforded me some much needed assimilation
of knowledge. The enduring legacy of membership in an organization like
PLSO has been the professional connections and enduring friendships
that have resulted. I can unequivocally state that there are many practicing
professionals out there who could benefit from this professional affiliation
and I will never accept that they’re too busy to get involved. After all, if
you’re trying to grow an investment portfolio, it requires putting funds
into it in order to reap any benefits. The same is true of membership in
the PLSO.
As you peruse the pages of this magazine, you’ll run across photographs
of people whose paths you’ve crossed during your career. Those crossings
can immediately conjure a full spectrum of feelings. Now that I’m one of
the “old surveyor’s” in the organization, I derive great satisfaction from
those memories. Photos have a way of instantly stirring them without
having to be physically present at the encounter. I find a certain personal
satisfaction in reading the first issue of The Oregon Surveyor from
September, 1960 and immediately recognizing the author, Bertell Mason
Jr., PLS. I was also highly pleased to see Gene DiLoreto at the conference.
For those of you who don’t know, Gene was in attendance at the very first
organizational meeting of the PLSO, held on June 30, 1959! I am grateful to
have known Gene through my entire career. Think about all the changes
Gene has seen through his 58 years with this organization! Talk about
“living” history! I know Gene would have a few things to say about that!
By Greg Crites, PLS
From the Editor
From the Editor