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The Oregon Surveyor | Vol. 38, No. 3 4 From the PLSO Chair Busy, Busy, Busy „ John atcher, PLS; 2015 State Chair If you have any qualms about PLSO paying for a lobbyist to watch out for us in Salem, I hope to ease your mind in this small space. It was our lobbyist, Darrell Fuller, who alerted us to the BOLI Prevailing Wage issue, even though that issue is not one of legislation. It was our lobbyist who provided critical information about SB297-A and hydrographers’ attempt to register with OSBEELS, advising our legislative committee to reconsider its opposition and lay low for now. It is our lobbyist who attends Legislative Committee meetings, communicates regularly with PLSO (see his recent report on plso.org, “It’s Halime at the Capitol in Salem”), and presents a legislative workshop at the annual conference. Any legislative committee consisting of professionals who volunteer their time while working full time would nd it very dicult, if not impossible, to do the critical work of a lobbyist. I was on the committee to choose a lobbyist for PLSO a couple of years ago. e committee vetted three candidates and chose Darrell Fuller. It was a very good decision. Before I leave the subject of the legislative committee, I express my deep gratitude to and admiration for Dave Williams of the Central Chapter for stepping up to be committee chair. Williams has already shown engagement and leadership. e committee is in good hands with Williams at the helm and Fuller watching our backs. e PLSO board conducted a good meeting on April 18 in Eugene. One of the highlights for me was the report by Tim Brown on the Young Surveyors Network of Oregon (YSNO). If you remember, Amanda Askren of LSAW gave the keynote address at the PLSO conference on the subject of the Young Surveyors Network. And here we are, with YSNO already organized in Oregon! e group is chaired by Christopher Glantz of the Willamette Chapter, who also serves as the Oregon representative to the NSPS Young Surveyors program. At their rst meeting on March 27, YSNO decided to meet quarterly. e group’s action items include having a liaison from each chapter, creating mentorship and outreach programs, coordinating with other associations’ programs, marketing, and of course, social media. Our executive secretary, Aimee McAulie, oered to create a YSNO page on the PLSO website that YSNO can control. If this group really takes o, maybe I can retire a little earlier than planned! Seriously, I am keenly interested in how surveying in Oregon and PLSO will evolve in the hands of the upcoming generation. A comment made by Tim Kent aer Tim Brown’s report really hit home, however. College survey programs are dying, and they can’t be revived once they are dead. If we don’t funnel students into the last remaining programs, and soon, those programs will be gone for good. I saved this subject for last, but it is time to turn up the heat. I have kept the PLSO membership informed of the changes the board has made over the last couple of years in how the conference auction proceeds are being disbursed, and why those changes were made. is is a very touchy subject to some members, including former scholarship committee chairs. Traditionally, all the auction proceeds went toward scholarships—straight to the scholarship fund and sometimes straight to scholarships. In addition, the expenses related to the auctions were not deducted from the auction proceeds. at has changed. Starting with the 2014 conference, the auction was renamed the Scholarship and Outreach Auction. Other fundraising activities have been added, such as the bag-of-cash rae and the 50-50 auction. Now, a system has been set up whereby members can designate where their donated auction dollars go, and all undesignated auction proceeds are split between scholarships and outreach in a proportion approved by the board at the next board meeting. e board also decides whether the expenses come out of the auction proceeds or out of the conference budget. e motivation for this change is the ever-growing need to recruit young people into our profession, and hence the need for a robust outreach program, which requires a budget. One of the justications for the change is the healthy condition of the scholarship fund (over $260,000 in principle and counting). In 2014 the earnings from that fund allowed the Scholarship Committee to award $14,500 in scholarships. e board is oen reminded by PLSO members who teach in college survey programs that if there are no students, there will be no need for scholarships. e Education Goals & Action Committee is tasked with coming up with a creative and eective outreach program. I believe we have a committee chair equal to that task in PLSO Past Chair Lee Spurgeon. Spurgeon visualizes a comprehensive program that will provide a complete path into the Geomatics profession—a step by step journey. Currently, when a student at a job fair wanders by the PLSO booth, he/she has a brief conversation with a member, sees some hardware and picks up a brochure or two…it ends there. e idea behind Spurgeon’s vision is to create a » continues on page 6 »


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