PLSO The Oregon Surveyor May/June 2021

2 The Oregon Surveyor | Vol. 44, No. 3 From the PLSO Chair Tim Fassbender, PLS PLSO Board Chair MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR An Emerging Crisis H ello all. As I write this, the weath- er is trying to make us think it is summer already. More than likely, Mother Nature will remind us who is in charge and turn down the temperatures and turn on the water faucet, which seems to be a typical Oregon weather pattern this time of year. Many of you are aware we have a po- tential crisis on our doorstep. We have a lack of licensed land surveyors coming into the profession to replace those who are ready to retire and leave the profes- sion. Now, some of you have heard me say that surveyors never really retire, they just take on fewer clients. Well, that might be true but still it doesn’t solve the issue of where our new surveyors are coming from. This subject has been in our mag- azine many times recently and has been discussed at Board of Directors meetings and in Chapters meetings. So, has any- one come up with a procedure or policy to fix this lack of licensed surveyor’s is - sue? I have not either. Recently, OSBEELS (Oregon State Board of Examining Engineers and Land Sur- veyors) has also begun discussing this issue. By the time you read this, we will have held our April 29 PLSO Board of Di- rectors meeting. In that meeting, Jason Barbee and Grant Earp will have given the board a presentation that outlines existing OSBEELS policies and pathways for licensure. OSBEELS is asking PLSO for input and suggestions on this subject that would help those who wish to become licensed land surveyors. After the April board meeting, your chapter presidents will be briefing you on the OSBEELS pre - sentation and asking you for input. Recent comments frommembers have suggested that PLSO is lacking in moving the pro- fession forward. Here is your chance to give your two cents for the betterment of the profession and show the rest of the states how to solve this problem. I’m sure many of you have very talented people working with you, and they would make great land surveyors. Ask themwhy they have not tried for their license. En- courage them to let you know the hurdles they seem to have and make it known we are here to help themcross those hurdles. Yes, college is a great way to start towards becoming a land surveyor, however, some don’t have the means to go that direction. If experience is your avenue to licensure, PLSO is here to help you obtain that goal. I will be encouraging more seminar and conference classes to aid in your studies to ready yourself for that opportunity to become a land surveyor. In my mind, it is an honor to be a licensed land surveyor. We have so many very tal- ented professional land surveyors in our profession here in Oregon, and we have them in PLSO. Just having the opportuni- ty to meet and talk to them has given me great insight into our profession over the years and using what they have taught us in our daily work is invaluable. Let us find those new surveyors and pass on our knowledge to them so they can keep the profession moving forward and become leaders themselves. x I’m sure many of you have very talented people working with you, and they would make great land surveyors.