The Oregon Surveyor | Vol. 38, No. 6 6 FROM THE PLSO CTHEAXIRT Accomplishments „ John atcher, PLS; 2015 State Chair This column summarizes the activities and accomplishments of PLSO in 2015 as they relate to the four initiatives of the Strategic Plan: Membership Education and Outreach Advance Legislative Agenda Fiscal Responsibility Membership Membership Committee Chair: Gary Anderson As of the beginning of November, total membership stood at 476. is includes all ve categories of member - ship. With 496 renewed as of this time last year, we stand at 96% of the 2014–2015 cycle. e Membership Committee, chaired by Gary Anderson, has been active and engaged in 2015 and has held meetings by teleconference on a regular basis. In the eort to encourage and increase member renewals, chapter leaders were tasked with contacting non-renewed members by phone. Updated non-renewal lists, sorted by chapters, were prepared and sent out by the PLSO oce. Phone calls are just one piece of a campaign that also includes web, email and direct mail. e Membership Committee continues to develop incentives and perks for members. A current PLSO program to benet members and their families is a prescription drug card and discount purchasing card to Oce Depot. Both cards are downloadable from the PLSO website. e drug discount can be as high as 75% and averages around 30%. It can be used as your primary plan and/or be used for drugs not covered by your insurance. Oce Depot discounts are received online and in the store. It also includes printing services. For members located in more rural areas or not near an Oce Depot, the website oers free shipping for orders over $50. Additional programs are being researched. Automatic membership in NSPS gives members discounts on insurance programs, car rentals and tire & wheel purchases. e PLSO website is always improv - ing. Some of the newer features are pages for job listings and equipment sales; Find a Surveyor; e Oregon Surveyor in digital format; Member Resources e-binder; and chapter pages. Initiative: Recruit and retain Associate Members. is initiative needs to go to the top of the list, given the aging of the surveying community. Associates are the future professionals and the future leaders who will take PLSO through the 21st century. I believe 2016 should be a year of focusing on and developing this initiative. A great starting place is the nascent Young Surveyors of Oregon. Education and Outreach Education and Outreach Committee Chair: Lee Spurgeon TrigStar continues to be a program to get the word out to young people about a cool career opportunity. In 2015, PLSO members proctored the TrigStar test in nine schools. e Oregon state test winner was Zhongxu “Zac” Chen from Valley Catholic High School in Beaverton. In 2015, various members participated in outreach activities. Umpqua Chapter members attended Explore Engineering and Surveying Evening in Roseburg; Pioneer members represented PLSO in the NW Youth Careers Expo; Willamette Chapter served at a handful of career fairs and 4H events. PLSO is leading the eort to name a new park in the Tualatin Valley Parks & Recreation District (TVPRD) aer William Ives, the original GLO surveyor who surveyed the Willamette Baseline and established a quarter corner lying on the south boundary of the park. e corner in question is the quarter corner common to Section 34, T.1N., R.1W. and Section 3, T.1S., R.1W, set June 15, 1851. TwiST: e ve-day TwiST Program, given annually in June at Clark College, instructs teachers about geospatial technology and gives them knowledge and tools to take back into the classroom and teach young students. In 2015, PLSO sponsored three Oregon Teachers. NCEES again oered a matching grant to fund half of the teachers’ expenses, allowing PLSO and the other participating state societies to sponsor teachers at a bargain rate. Outreach and Scholarship Auction: e 2015 auction netted $7,414. By vote of the PLSO Board, the $2,135 that was designated for scholarships was deposited into the OCF fund, and the remaining $5,279 was applied to the Education & Outreach budget. e OCF scholarship fund holds more than a quarter million dollars and produced $12,160 in dividends available for scholarships. $12,000 was awarded in scholarships in 2015. Scholarship Chair is Ben Stacy. Initiative: Promote Survey Programs in area colleges. I am sad to report that the survey program at Clark College has been cut. Current students will be able to nish their studies, but no new students will be taken in, and the program will
PLSO Issue 6 2015 Nov Dec
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