PLSO The Oregon Surveyor May June 2020

Professional Land Surveyors of Oregon |  www.plso.org 9 Member Spotlight time. He contacted me to offer the sum - mer job. From the first day of the job, he made me feel like I was contributing, al- though I have developed a suspicion I wasn’t. I was involved with drafting civ- il plans and survey maps, researching at the county courthouse, helping with survey fieldwork, and a wide variety of other tasks. Through both the job shad- ow and the summer job, Greg worked hard to show me the wide variety of di- rections a civil engineering degree can go. He did that with no expectation of a personal ‘return on investment.’ The re- sult was that I realized how much more interesting land development is com- pared to structural engineering. I now mentor others as a way of paying it for- ward and honoring the investment Greg made in me.” Her father, John Minor, is also a land sur- veyor, which also had a clear influence on her career choice and volunteerism. “My poor mom gets to listen to a lot of ‘shop talk’ during family gatherings, but it has been invaluable for me to have him as a resource,” says Clough. “He has an- swered countless ‘why,’ how,’ and ‘what would you do’ questions for me so many times over the years.” Clough says she learned to value volun- teerism fromboth her parents. Her father has been active in PLSO for years and has received Surveyor of the Year and Life Membership awards. Her mother volunteered with her school and extra- curricular activities, and continued to do so even after she left home. Clough met her husband, Adam, at OSU in the civil engineering program. “He’s now a licensed structural engineer and, after 17 years of marriage, and a 13-year- old daughter, Jessica, he’s still my best friend,” Clough says. Jessica has surely benefitted from hav - ing such an involved parent. Clough led Jessica’s Destination Imagination team to 18th place at the 2019 Global Finals out of 43 teams that made it that far. This year they took first by a wide margin at their first competition, but sadly, the rest of the competition season has been can- celled due to the current health concerns. Clough has had a long-time interest in powerlifting, and in addition to being a volunteer “powerlifter,” so to speak, she also is a certified powerlifting coach through the United States Powerlifting Association. Before discovering power- lifting, Clough raced triathlons, and even encouraged and coordinated triathlon teams of PLSO members. Over time, injuries and lack of enough training time precipitated a transition from triathlons to CrossFit. Eventual- ly she realized that she most enjoyed the heavy weights but not the speed re- quired for CrossFit, so she transitioned again to powerlifting. Although she has taken first place in her category at both powerlifting meets she has competed in, competition is not her goal. Her motiva- tion is the clear head from a session at the gym, and showing her daughter that if you enjoy something you should do it, regardless of stereotypes. Clough and her family are “suckers for an- imals,” especially rescues, she says. “We currently have two cats, a bearded drag- on, and five cockatiels,” she says. “We have had as many as 27 cockatiels and 18 para- keets at one time. We routinely bring home stray cats from the side of the road, get them healthy and find homes for them.” Having so many and so much variety of animals in the house can be a challenge. They have had to train the cats to not jump at the birds; although that wasn’t an issue with the bearded dragon, who will sneak up and jump on the cats! Clough’s healthy respect for keeping her mind and body fit, the importance of vol - unteering, and the need to further the profession and support those following in her footsteps made her a perfect choice for the OSBEELS board, which runs from March 6, 2020, to June 30, 2023, with the possibility of a second 4-year term. As anOSBEELSmember, Clough is looking forward to giving back to the community, and surely the community is looking for- ward to having someone so dedicated. “My intent is to take a few months to lis- ten to the board’s conversations and then start contributing a voice to those where it seems surveying input is most needed,” she says. “One of the things the board is currently trying to accomplish, which I am excitedabout, isdevelopingbetter outreach with the professional community, much as PLSO is trying to do with the public in general. I am excited for the opportunity to carry forward the efforts of those who have helped the profession in the past.”  x Adam, Jessica, and Renee Clough (with photobombers behind them) at Cape Agulhas in South Africa (the actual southernmost point of the continent) in August 2019.