The Texas Surveyor - January 2022 - Magazine - Page 5
From The President
Heather L. Sides, RPLS
R
Heather Sides,
RPLS #5997
ecently, a high school student
interviewed me and asked what
was my favorite part of my
job. My answer: I am always learning.
I think that is actually very common
for surveyors. Who else would have
a career that is so broad, has so much
technology advancements, is dependent
on history, mathematics, law, and the
physical sciences? We are a curious
bunch of people. So, when I reflect
on the second part of our current
strategic plan, “More Surveyors, Better
Surveyors, Our Surveyors”, there are so
many options for us to become better.
There is a never-ending opportunity to learn something new in
surveying. If you have ever participated in the Course Development
class that TSPS puts on in the summer, you will understand just
how diverse our interests are. Just within the Texas surveyors who
attend, there are experts in astronomy, working sketches, preparing
field notes, exam preparation, mathematics, and surveying of
railroads. What is so remarkable to me is that these same experts
are willing and able to share their love of those topics with others.
Our Course and Speaker Development classes are designed to
encourage and train surveyors who are interested in a topic to be
able to present those topics and share their knowledge with other
surveyors. The Course Development class helps create the course
outline, provide valuable feedback to the course developers, and
constructive criticism to make the content of the course valuable
to the participants. The Speaker Development class helps train and
refine public speaking skills so the information that the speaker
possesses can be disseminated to the learners. But not just for
instructors, this course helps many overcome the fear of speaking
to groups. Personally, I found the Speaker Development class
enabled me to grow from a stiff lecturer to a personable speaker
with a wicked sense of humor (and who doesn’t love that in an
instructor?).
Upcoming in February is our long awaited Symposium. This is a
smaller meeting than Convention, and the friendships, mentorships,
education, and networking opportunities are truly profound
experiences. Because of COVID, we were forced to postpone
Symposium last year. However, the Chapter 10 Symposium team
has remained faithful and has re-welcomed all of us to join them in
Odessa. My favorite part of Symposium is that it is taught by us,
TSPS surveyors.
Every one of my mentors has expressed the importance of learning
from multiple surveyors. Each surveyor has different experiences,
and each has a unique perspective of their craft. We have different
industries, different locations, different sized companies, and
different roles within those companies. No surveyor is the same
and every day is different.
The Texas Surveyor | January 2022
Within TSPS, there are certain
individuals who have taken
their interest in a topic and have
made a significant contribution to
our society because they decided
to “dig in”. I would like to take a
moment to thank some of those
people here. They understand
the importance of being Better
Surveyors.
Shawn Billings for his commitment to the 2022 Datums (or
whatever they will end up calling it!). His interest in this subject
ended up being a lifetime passion. We will certainly be leaning on
his expertise as he educates us all on the future of “NATRF2022,
IFVM, NAPG2022, Geoid 2022, and a cadre of other important
acronyms that will become part of a knowledgeable surveyor’s
vocabulary.” (those are his words, I’m not that smart… yet.)
Josh Leamons for his commitment to the revisions of the Standards.
This has been a many-year project and I believe is finally finished.
Josh’s wordsmithing and commitment to understandable language
is not something we are all capable of pulling off. As other members
have moved on and off this committee, Josh has been the force to
keep it all consistent and clean. The other committee members,
the surveyors who use these standards, and the oxford comma all
appreciate you.
Jib Ahmad and Stan Piper for their commitment to the Certified
Survey Technician (CST) program. By establishing consistent and
regular testing locations and proctoring, they have enabled many
individuals to advance in their careers and prove their knowledge
in their surveying skills. Both Stan and Jib are passionate about
education, and they have transformed that passion into actual
actions to benefit others.
Finally, but not in the least, thank you to the upcoming Symposium
instructors:
Connor Brown*
Paul Carey*
Aaron Ferguson*
Jason Jernigan*
Josh Leamons*
Cameron Lowe
Shane Neally*
Mark Neugebauer*
Michel Newton*
Timothy “Andy” Nold
Bill O’Hara*
Stan Piper*
James Redmon*
David Rolbiecki*
Heather Welch-Westfall
* multiple year presenters
Many of the individuals are instructors year after year. All of
the instructors freely give their time and talents to prepare these
courses and present to Texas surveyors and paraprofessionals.
They are absolutely committed to making Better Surveyors, so
they have my highest regard. ■
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