January February 2018

2 The Oregon Surveyor | Vol. 41, No. 1 From the Editor Greg Crites, PLS Editor MESSAGE EDITOR FROM THE I t’s true. You missed another confer- ence and yes, I’d like to remind you of what you missed and the benefits of PLSO membership if you’ve let your membership lapse or have never joined us, but then, why should I? If you’re a practicing land surveyor, then I can as- sume you’re reasonably intelligent, so I shouldn’t need to browbeat you regard- ing the reasons why you haven’t chosen to participate in PLSO. I’ve already heard every excuse you can muster and none of them are justifiable (except maybe death or retirement) in my estimation. It’s been said that you owe it to your pro- fession to give back in like kind for the benefits you’ve accrued from licensure or even career participation. During the conference, I heard it said repeatedly how much those of us who’ve chosen this career enjoy it, but I also heard from allied professionals howmuch they have come to appreciate the enthusiasm sur- veyors seem to exude about their work. When I was working as a stock boy at a warehouse in downtown Portland during high school, I never heard one of my co- workers aspire to that as a career path, in fact, the few people I’ve remained in contact with who were coworkers at that establishment so many years ago never bring up that employment experience, except maybe to revisit the incompeten- cy of the management (low and behold, that firm is no longer in business)! I, for one, really appreciated having the conference in Salem because, now that I’m retired, I can attend on the cheap, driving to and from my home. Due also to being retired and no longer involved in PLSO committee work, I can attend enough conference sessions to meet my PDH (or CEU or CPD depending on how your state statutes characterize continuing education) requirements over the entire three days without fear of committee distractions or reprisal from OSBEELS for falsifying my PDH logs at renewal time. Retirement also seems to grant me the freedom to voice a subject which has been, like an earworm, play- ing in my head ever since we instituted PDH requirements for maintaining your license in Oregon so long ago. I must admit that I know a great num- ber of “practicing” land surveyors in this state, though not as many as I used to. There are too many of those individuals whom I’ve never seen at our conference, or for that matter, any other professional conference (and I’ve been to at least one conference in 12 western states during my previous tenure as WFPS delegate from Oregon). I’m wondering how you meet your PDH renewal requirements when simply working in this profession and possibly having a non-participatory membership in a professional societywon’t satisfy those requirements? Rhetorically speaking, are you not being quite truthful on your PDH logs when it comes time to renew your license? Attending our con- ference is by far the cheapest investment you can make toward advancing your career? Furthermore, if you are guilty of not satisfying your PDH requirements, how have you managed to avoid scrutiny and/or disciplinary action by OSBEELS? On a final note, did you happen to no- tice the PLSO award winners in this issue of the magazine? I would ask that you please extend your congratulations to each of them when you see them. They have been a great resource to me and a valuable addition to the quality of this magazine. Thank you!  x I also heard from allied professionals how much they have come to appreciate the enthusiasm surveyors seem to exude about their work.