PLSO The Oregon Surveyor November/December 2021

2 The Oregon Surveyor | Vol. 44, No. 6 From the PLSO Chair MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR M any of you may know that, along with being a land surveyor, I’ve spent most of my life working on a farm raising mint and now grass seed. I remember when noon time came during the summer months, whether I was land surveying or working on the farm, I would try to be by a radio to listen to the broad- cast of Paul Harvey and the “Rest of the Story.” One broadcast he read to us was a speech he had given to the 1978 Fu- ture Farmers of America convention. It struck me deeply, and years later, I read it again and saw how it fit us land survey - ors too. So, I took Mr. Harvey’s speech and modified it some to fit our situation. I have always admired the surveyors in our state and how professional you are in private and public life. It’s a great honor to represent all of you in PLSO and I hope the following captures how all of us feel about our profession: And on the ninth day, God looked down on his planned paradise and said, “I need a mapmaker.” So, Godmadea LandSurveyor. God said, “I need somebody willing to get up before dawn, answer emails, work all day in the field, come back to the office and answer more emails, eat supper, and then go to town and stay past midnight at a meeting of the planning commission.” So, God made a land surveyor. “I need somebodywith arms strong enough to rustle open a manhole cover and yet gentle enough to hold the hand of an el- derly widow and console her. Somebody to tame cantankerous software, come back to the office hungry, have to wait for lunch until tech support picks up the phone to solve the latest computer prob- lem, and then tell tech support howmuch they are appreciated—and mean it.” So, God made a land surveyor. God said, “I need somebody willing to sit up all night at a planning commission meeting with a client with their project. And watch it argued over then die by a three to two vote. Then grit their teeth and say, ‘Maybe next time.’ I need some- body who can wade through thick, wet brush, repair a tripod leg with duct tape, who can make friends with the angriest neighbor. And who, while cutting endless old-growth blackberry vines, poison oak, wading through knee deepmud, andwork- ing amongst heavy machinery, will finish their 40-hour week by Tuesday evening, and then put in another 70 hours by Sat- urday.” So, God made a land surveyor. God had to have somebody willing to stake out a subdivision for construction at double speed to appease the contractor and yet stop and answer the cellphone to help a fellow surveyor with an issue they need help with. So, God made a land surveyor. God said, “I need somebody strong enough to clear brush and dig in rocky soils and still not find that corner, yet gentle enough to pet the dogs and visit with the clients’ kids, who will stop their work and answer all the questions people ask.” It had to be somebody who does not give up on finding that corner. Somebody to research, study, plan, recon, analyze, go back out and look again, and look even further then head home to take the kids to soccer practice and bring themhome later. Somebody who would hold a fami- ly together with soft, strong bonds of sharing, who would laugh and then sigh, and then reply, with smiling eyes, when their child says they want to spend their life doing what you do. So, God made a land surveyor. x And on the ninth day, God looked down on his planned paradise and said, “I need a mapmaker.” So, God made a land surveyor. Tim Fassbender, PLS PLSO Board Chair