PLSO Oregon Surveyor January/February 2019

2 The Oregon Surveyor | Vol. 42, No. 1 From the Editor Greg Crites, PLS Editor MESSAGE EDITOR FROM THE Conferences have allowed me to network with my peers, both expanding my professional connections and broadening my education. The experiences I gained from them have afforded me a resource base of professional contacts that, like a backpack full of supplies, I’ve been able to lug along on my professional journey. A nother conference is behind us. I started attending them on a regular basis in 1985 after start- ing my own business, but I’m certain I have more than 40 conferences under my belt as I attended several during my 12 years working in the timber industry prior to that startup and more yet during my tenure as Oregon’s WFPS delegate. I have never regretted the experiences those gatherings have afforded me. Conferences have allowedme to network with my peers, both expanding my pro- fessional connections and broadeningmy education. The experiences I gained from them have afforded me a resource base of professional contacts that, like a back- pack full of supplies, I’ve been able to lug along on my professional journey. This self-same backpack has also been filled with experiences gained through working in the field and serving in various capac- ities on the PLSO board via committee assignments, board positions, and my two-year stint serving as chairman-elect and chair. During my career, the impor- tance of understanding the laws that regulate our profession and those that guide our decision-making processes became abundantly clear, as no profes- sional can operate in a vacuum. Over the past 10 years I’ve had the privilege of get- ting to know Brian Portwood, PLS, both at work and through my PLSO duties. I have come to know his scholarly ways and his dedication to the betterment of all of us who practice this profession. Brian shares his knowledge and passion for our chosen career, primarily through articles submitted for publication in pro- fessional journals. Considering the volume of writing he has published, imagine my surprise in learning of his willingness to prepare a book (or perhaps more than one, depending on interest) on case law relating to boundary surveying in Oregon. It has only been through getting to know Brian that I was immediately intrigued by his offer to not only publish such a book, but to donate the proceeds from the sale thereof to the PLSO scholarship fund. I had little doubt that he could do it and felt particularly proud that he would ask me to do an early review. The first volume of Brian’s efforts is now available for pur- chase through the PLSO website, either digitally or in hard copy. Brian and I agreed to let Scott Freshwa- ters and Charles (Chuck) Wiley prepare reviews of portions of this book which will appear over several upcoming issues of this magazine. They both were eager and gracious enough to accept such a task. I have seen Chuck’s draft of his first re- view and am confident that it will help to emphasize the value of Brian’s book as part of the library of any practicing pro- fessional. In case you’ve forgotten, it’s