PLSO Oregon Surveyor Nov/Dec 2019

7 Professional Land Surveyors of Oregon | www.plso.org From the PLSO Office • Served as public liaison for ques- tions regarding Right-of-Entry, professional recommendations and more. If you aren’t up to date in the online Find a Surveyor Directory, you should probably check out how you show up to the public, login and make any changes necessary. If you aren’t listed, then you need to login and check the box that tells the site to list you in the public directory. All members are in the Member Directory, which is found in the Members Only section of the website. • Several Chapters held interesting meetings with lively discussions, including Blue Mountain Chapter’s Annual Workshop. All provided more opportunities for PDH’s. I hope more people participate in their local chapter meetings in the coming year. • Our Legislative Committee and Lobbyist, Darrell Fuller, had a productive year as well. It included working as part of the design professional coalition in Salem during the session to save QBS and to protect land surveyor inter- ests, sending a large and diverse delegation of land surveyors to Washington, DC, as part of the NSPS Legislative Conference, advocating for Tim Fassbender’s application for a gubernatorial appointment to serve as one of the PLS’s on OSBEELS, and ensuring PLSO was a stakeholder in the process as OSBEELS hired a new administrator. • The PLSO Board and I worked on continuing relationships with OSBEELS and welcomed our new OSBEELS Administrator Jason Barbee. You will learn more about Mr. Barbee further on in this edition of the magazine. We hope to see him at the conference this coming year! • Creation of an Anti-Harassment and Discrimination Policy, which was discussed at all chapter loca- tions prior to the Board voting. It was a lengthy year-long process full of research, debates, lawyers and insurance underwriters. The past few years have been politically and culturally divisive regarding this topic. However, it’s important to be proactive when bringing people together across the state. This policy is set up to protect all members, as well as our associ- ation, and foster a positive and welcoming professional environ- ment, which will enable PLSO to continue to flourish well into the future. • Various members got together to discuss the direction PLSO should take for the next three years and how it can be implemented in a Strategic Plan. The meeting notes have been dispersed to your Chapter Presidents for discussion at your local chapter meeting and will be approved for moving forward (with or without possible changes) in the new year. Our coming year is The Year of the Rat in Chinese culture. Now, if you’re not up on the zodiac, you might not think this sounds very auspicious. However, rats are considered a sign of wealth and pros- perity. They are clever, tricky, and tactical animals, with many ideas, keen vision and remarkable problem-solving skills. I don’t know about you, but that sounds like a good sign for a great year. What bet- ter way to begin such a year than at the 2020 PLSO Conference, January 22–24,. at the Sheraton Portland Airport Hotel? Our conference is the best place to get to know land surveyors throughout the entire state, earn professional develop- ment hours and support the future of our professional community. The committee is working hard at creat- ing an interesting and fun event for us all to get together! I’m always so grate- ful to this amazing group of volunteers. Our faithful Committee Chair, Jered Mc- Grath, works especially hard at bringing varied and quality programming for at- tendees to receive up to 18 PDH’s. If you see himwalking through the Conference halls, be sure to take a moment to tell him how much his time is valued to all of us in this professional community. He is a good example of how import- ant volunteering is, demonstrating how one person can make an impact on their community. Throughout this issue you’ll read arti- cles by featured speakers at the 2020 Conference. They’re all very different, just like your interests and needs when you register for the conference. Registra- tion is open, so be sure to register before December 31 to take advantage of Early Bird Pricing! Go to plso.org/conference. If you can’t attend this year, but still want to support our Education & Outreach ef- forts, be sure to buy a Scholarship Fund Raffle Ticket online. The winner will get to take a party of four on a 104-mile riv- er boat jet tour up the Rogue River out of Gold Beach. You don’t need to be at the 2020 Auction to win. Follow the links from plso.org/conference. Once again, Happy Holidays! Cheers to all of you that make up this great pro- fessional community. I look forward to seeing you in January!  x