September October 2017

3 Professional Land Surveyors of Oregon | www.plso.org From the Editor We are being forced to examine what we do, why we do it and how to “sell” the relevance of our profession to the consuming public. T he current hype in healthy food consumption has to do with not allowing any genetically modified products to pass over our lips. Though I agree that eating things with ingredi- ents you’ve never heard of or names you can’t pronounce may be a bit like playing roulette using a gun with only one bullet, but many cylinders, we know from personal experience that before any food or ingredient can be considered safe, it must have proven itself over a long history of human con- sumption with little or no ill effects, not to mention the blessing of the FDA. Technically speaking, I believe the term genetically modified is grossly misap- plied, as it seems to mean anything that has been produced in the lab- oratory via any process that alters a genetic sequence, whether by gene clipping, splicing or other “scientific” methods, a very narrow interpretation of “modification.” Doesn’t cross pollina- tion, inoculation, artificial insemination, isolation and other “mechanical” meth- ods used to obtain “desirable” product traits such as the color of fruit, how quick (or slow) to ripen, flavor, size, re- productive viability, and so on, fall under the umbrella of genetic modification? Perhaps the timelines are a bit longer, but isn’t the desired result what drives the process? Our economies dictate the importance of getting a product to market quickly, so it’s really about out- comes then, isn’t it? In this issue, we reveal that the PLSO is looking (seriously) at ways to define our profession that offers, at the very least, some product recognition (i.e. “re- branding”) on the part of the public. I think it’s safe to say that to do this, we must embrace other disciplines that have encroached on what we perceive as our provenance within the geospa- tial arena. Whether you agree with it or not, I believe this is a good thing. We are being forced to examine what we do, why we do it and how to “sell” the relevance of our profession to the con- suming public. Much like going to the Farmer’s Market, where there are now about 25 varieties of apples to choose from, some of which I’ve never heard of, the smart farmer has samples out for every curious passerby to taste and choose for themselves which apple meets their unique palatability require- ment. Some of this is what we need to do, though I freely admit it’s not that simple, but if you’re a sole proprietor- ship, I think you can see where I’m going with this. You have loyal clients. What made them loyal? What distinguished your work from that of your competi- tors to the point where the choice to use your services was pretty obvious? I know a good apple when I taste one! My wife and I are in the middle of going through the sale of our present home and a move to another city (in Oregon, of course) where the tax liabilities ar- en’t so severe and where we will still be within proximity of our children and grandchildren. Not being too far from medical facilities is also important, but these are considerations that a retired person such as myself find important. My wife wants to be in the heart of wine country, so we have a set of criteria that limit where we can go. The need to use a particular surveyor involves much the same decision sets, but then I have a leg up on the public when it comes to my knowledge of fellow professionals. In researching where I’d like to live, one of my search criteria has to be whether the property I’m interested in has been recently surveyed, and if so by whom? I can attest that this is not a criterion for most homebuyers. It should be, and that’s where our cross pollination comes in. Imagine my surprise when I stuck a copy of the assessor’s map, a legal de- scription and a copy of a recent survey under the nose of my real estate agent and incredulously they asked, “how did you get that?” Now of course, that question opened the door for a whole sermon on the where, why and where- fore of sites like ORMAP and county GIS departments via Oregon.gov. This is why rebranding is so important to us. Our first steps involve defining what it is we do, why that product is important, and letting other geospatial profession- als in on the game enough to be able to recognize where the tools are that can make their job easier in getting their client to a better understanding of what it is they’re looking for, why they need it, who should be involved in giving it to them, and what compo- nents will serve to meet their needs. We know we don’t live in a vacuum and anyone with a bit of Internet savvy can find out some pretty amazing things if they’ve got the time and proper direc- tion. As I’ve said before, introspection is part of the rebranding process, as is an honest evaluation of the value of services we provide to the public. This process should also shed light on the importance of working together with- in the geospatial sand box with fellow professionals to define our niche and the areas where our disciplines over- lap. After all, it’s in those regions where cross pollination occurs.