PLSO Oregon Surveyor JanFeb 2017

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Professional Land Surveyors of Oregon |
outgoing members of the Board of Directors. Time is
precious and I value what you have given to me and all
of us in this room.
When I first came to PLSO three years ago, I was told
about a few of the challenges that lay ahead of us.
One of those was financial stability. PLSO was slowly
making its way back to solid footing. I am happy to
say that in 2016, thanks to the success of last year’s
Conference and stable membership numbers, we are
just a little more comfortable. Each year starts with a
nervous projection. Financial Chair, Gary Johnston likes
to call me “conservative”. And yes, I would say that’s
true. It’s also a little selfish—I’d prefer to give good
news. And this year, I am happy to tell you that 2016
was financially a good year. Gary, will be following
me shortly to give our Year End Report. He works
with me every month to audit financial reports. It’s an
important job. One that, no matter how much I want
him to work with me forever, he has let me know that
he would like to think about transitioning someone
to take his place. So, if you are interested in this very
important position and know a thing or two about
I would like to personally congratulate Mr. Tony Brooks for
receiving the 2016 Surveyor of the Year Award. Not only
is it clear how much his professional colleagues respect
and admire him, but the amount of enthusiasm he has to
teach kids about surveying is outstanding. Oddly enough,
I could count on one hand the number of actual in-person
conversations I’ve had with Tony over the past three years.
However, I would need to include both hands and both my
feet as to the number of email chats about an idea he’s had,
times I’ve had to find a way to get him the booth, fliers, or
share the amount of times he’s promoted our profession on
behalf of us all. Thank you, Tony, for everything you do and
congratulations on being recognized by your peers.
budgets, please be sure to speak to him and Dave
Williams. Before Gary comes up, just a reminder that
our fiscal year ends on a standard calendar year, which
is halfway through our membership year, which ends
in June. Now, as it can be hard to make numbers and
budgets sound exciting, let’s make sure and give Gary
Johnston a warm welcome because he will also be
talking to you about the Auction dinner tonight as well.
Thank you everyone, for your membership and for
being here today.
From the PLSO Office / OrYSN Recap
OrYSN Conference Meetup Recap
W ow! That’s the first word that comes to mind
when I think about our first OrYSN Meetup event
held during the PLSO Conference on January 18.
The unofficial count of attendees was 68…68! Thank
you to everyone who showed up and supported our
efforts to launch this group off the ground! I would
like to thank our sponsor, Clark College, for providing
appetizers at the event. I would also like to thank
Hofland Survey Monuments, the PPI Group, and the
BLM for providing prizes for the evening as well.
Congratulations to Robert Ellis for winning the grand
prize, a commemorative brass cap inscribed with the
event details!
Our fearless leader since our unofficial inception in
March of 2015, Chris Glantz, has stepped down to
focus his attention on his Vice-Presidential duties
for the NSPS YSN. I have volunteered to take on the
Committee Chair role and lead efforts on behalf
of the OrYSN for 2017. Thank you, Chris, for all of
the dedication and energy you have volunteered to
launch the OrYSN!
While we have many ambitions for this group, a wise
PLSO member suggested we focus on just a few goals
for the year. With that in mind, we are going to focus
on the following three goals for 2017:
1.Networking: We want to focus on building our
professional networks both internal to PLSO and
externally. We plan to reach out to the student
groups at OSU, OIT, Umpqua Community College,
Chemeketa Community College, and Clark College
to ensure we as young surveyors are there for
support and advice. We also plan to network with
other young professional groups such as URISA,
ASPRS, ASCE and others.
2.Outreach: We plan to support the efforts of
others in PLSO and provide resources for outreach
events, career fairs, and other activities. We would
also like to do one volunteer activity this year.
3.Create a Succession Plan: The last of our goals is
to get a succession plan in place. The succession
plan will be accomplished by creating Vice-Chair
and Secretary positions on the committee.
I will be sending an email to those who attended and
signed up at the conference. If you are interested in
becoming a member or would like to be apprised
of upcoming happenings and events, feel free to
send a quick note to . Also,
be sure to check out our website at
Young-Surveyors.
By Kelly Miller, RLS, EIT