The Oregon Surveyor July/August 2018

Professional Land Surveyors of Oregon | www.plso.org 5 From the PLSO Chairman WestFed meeting and any results from these efforts. Along the lines of our participation in other organizations and how PLSO serves you, what do you want to see from PLSO in the next 3–5 years? Developing a course of action for updating our Strategic Plan is on the agenda for fall BOD meetings. Make sure your voice is heard, so that your representatives come with plenty of ideas for what we might want to ac- complish. Developing these ideas now is a key component to successfully devel- oping a plan for the future. On a more positive note, our own efforts to educate the public and our representa- tives continue. On behalf of NSPS, Darrell Fuller and I met with Congressman Kurt Schrader twice since our last issue of the Oregon Surveyor. Our first meeting was a 45 minute presentation on 3DEP Mapping, Lidar, drones and the value of consistent survey data as an investment in national infrastructure. Next we met with him at his farm in Canby, Oregon at a political meet and greet. Our atten- dance was funded by NSPS and allowed us to continue the conversation about this topic before he headed back to Washington DC. Although brief, I believe both meetings were very successful and theCongressmanseemed to take a sincere inter- est in the possibilities of this technology and the cost sav- ings that could be realized. We hope to continue this conversa- tion with other members of the Oregon dele- gation in the comingmonths. To further that effort, if any of you have a per- sonal connection with Peter DeFazio please let us know if you would be will- ing to assist or attend a meeting with us. Quality Based Selection re- mains at the forefront of this summer’s activities and PLSO has become a valuable player in the architecture and engineering workgroup’s meeting with our state representatives. The first meeting between the two groups took place on May 15 and good progress was made in understanding both groups concerns. The next meeting is this Thurs- day (July 19) and is the first meeting where solutions will begin to be discussed in ear- nest. There is still a long way to go on this topic, but based on the May meeting the possibilities to meet in the middle and maintain a workable form of QBS look encouraging. I think this effort will be one of the bright spots of PLSO’s efforts this year by making important connections with legislators and jurisdictions as well as forging new partnerships with other groups of AEC professionals in our state. If politics and unlicensed practice aren’t enough to get you involved in PLSO there are a few other opportunities to consider. As always The Oregon Surveyor is always looking for material to include here for your fellow surveyors reading pleasure. If writing frightens you just sit down at the computer and start typing a story, a job experience or something you want others to learn. You may find that your creativity takes hold and it’s easier than you think. The worst that could happen is that you relive one of your own sto- ries or maybe you learn something new while researching your idea. The flip side is that if you’re happy with your creation and submit it then we all benefit from your efforts. Don’t worry if you feel your writing skills are a little rusty, the editori- al team will help you polish it up before publication. PLSO is also in the process of working to expand our photo library for print and digital materials. If you enjoy photogra- phy then get out there on a job site and create some great images of people and places. Make sure your camera or phone is set to the highest resolution setting be- fore snapping your masterpiece. If crew people or clients are in the photos make sure they will consent to their image be- ing used in PLSO materials. Submit all photos to Aimee for future use. If you want to wade a little deeper into the pool another statewide position has come open. Please be sure and thank Gary Anderson for his many years of contribu- tions to PLSO and most recently his long run as MembershipChair. Gary desires to step down and is willing tomen- tor his replacement. Thank youGary for your dedicated service to PLSO! Contact Gary directly or con- tact Pat Gaylord if you are inter- ested in taking on this import- ant position. In closing, the PLSO Logo will so on be available for member use in a digital format. Stay tuned for news on its release and guidelines for its use. Be careful out there this summer and re- member to stop and have some fun in the midst of all that work. x