The Oregon January/February 2022 A publication of the Professional Land Surveyors of Oregon New Young Surveyor Chair.................. pg 9 2021 AwardWinners..............................pg 16 Pat Gaylord 2021 Surveyor of the Year
The Oregon Surveyor | Vol. 45, No. 1
Professional Land Surveyors of Oregon Executive Secretary Aimee McAuliffe PO Box 230548 Tigard, OR 97281 503-303-1472 Toll-free: 844-284-5496 execdirector@plso.org www.plso.org © 2022 LLM Publications Vol. 45, No. 1 January/February 2022 A publication of the Published by LLM Publications 503-445-2220 • 800-647-1511 www.llmpubs.com Advertising Ronnie Jacko, ronnie@llmpubs.com Design Benjamin Caulder, ben@llmpubs.com Professional Land Surveyors of Oregon Professional Land Surveyors of Oregon Editor Vanessa Salvia Publications Committee Tim Kent, Interim Chair Pat Gaylord Samantha Tanner Editorials From the PLSO Chair, by Jeremy Sherer, PLS 2 From the PLSO Office, by Aimee McAuliffe 4 From the Publications Committee, by Pat Gaylord, PLS 6 Featured Articles NSPS 2021 Excellence in Journalism Competition 10 NSPS Executive Director Tim Burch, by Vanessa Salvia 26 2022 Annual Conference Conference Wrap-up 12 Award Winners 16 Surveyor of the Year 18 Columns OrYSN Corner, by Brenton Griffin, PLS 9 The Lost Surveyor, by Pat Gaylord, PLS 22 On the Cover Pat Gaylord is standing on a corner in Winslow, Arizona, a place inspired by the Eagles song “Take It Easy.” Pat is 2021 Surveyor of the Year. Photo taken by his fiancé, Ann Schumacher. Contents The Oregon Surveyor is a publication of the Professional Land Surveyors of Oregon (PLSO). It is provided as a medium for the expression of individual opinions concerning topics relating to the Land Surveying profession. Address changes & business All notifications for changes of address, membership inquiries, and PLSO business correspondence should be directed to Aimee McAuliffe, PO Box 230548, Tigard, OR 97281; 503-303-1472; execdirector@plso.org. Editorial matters & contributions of material The Oregon Surveyor welcomes your articles, comments, and photos for publication. PLSO assumes no responsibility for statements expressed in this publication. Editorial matters should be directed to Vanessa Salvia, vsalvia@gmail.com. Advertising policy Advertising content and materials are subject to approval of the PLSO Board and LLM Publications. The publisher reserves the right to reject any advertising that simulates copy; material must be clearly marked as “Advertisement.” For advertising, contact: Ronnie Jacko, ronnie@llmpubs.com; 503-445-2234, 800-647-1511 x2234. @ORLandSurveyors The Oregon
2 The Oregon Surveyor | Vol. 45, No. 1 From the PLSO Chair MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR Take Off the Mask The Governess has ordered Oregonians to wear a mask, but there is a different kind of mask we are wearing. This mask doesn’t cover the face; it covers the reality of irrelevance with the mask of indifference. Indifference comes in many forms, but most surveyors will recognize the following types. The first type is consumerism. The consumer-member will come once per year to get PDH credits and catch up with friends, but not get involved. The second are the guardians of the “way things used to be,” but never grow. The nongrowth- members will be involved, but nothing changes for the better. The last type is the burnout. The burnout-members are actively engaged but exhausted after years of frustration. Every organization loves the first group because membership is the life-blood of our organization. However, it is the industrial producer-consumer model that encourages vice over the virtues of professionalism. The second group is the most dangerous; nothing changes under their watch. Their catchphrase is, “I don’t know, and I don’t care; all I want is my rocking chair.” These are self-appointed gatekeepers that prevent actual growth. The third group is the concern of this column. Frustration results fromnot achieving a goal or solving a problem, or to only to have it interrupted, disrupted, or discontinued after much effort. The cause of this type of indifference is unlike consumerism or a non-growth mindset; it is the frustration produced by a systemic problem. For instance, our organization has a goodmission, but novision. It has remarkable leaders but little power or time to execute a plan to its conclusion. It has excellent goals but fails toplan for succession. Solving systemic problems is accomplished through a clear, unifying vision, an energetic executive officer (President/CEO/Chair), and a leadership program for the rising generation. Before taking off themask of indifference, first, put on the glasses for good vision. PLSO has a mission and goals, but what we become when we reach the goal is unclear. Howdowe know if we completedour mission? Without a clear, unifying vision a mission with goals results in the sudden and brief success that is not repeated or repeatable. An example is clearly illustrated in the 2006 Strategic Plan. There was nothing wrong with the plan. It is an excellent, well-thought-out plan. However, after a few years of success, it withdrew into the abyss of irrelevance. Without a vision, goals become nothing more than an exercise in futility: the result is frustration and burnout. Conversely, our NSPS affiliate is an example of success, with a vision statement in the form of a creed. It states as follows: “As a professional surveyor, I dedicate my professional knowledge and skills to the advancement and betterment of human welfare.” Our organization does not have to follow the path toward irrelevance. We desire to promote, educate, and improve the profession of land surveying in the state of Oregon. We need a vision, an energetic executive, and a leadership succession plan to fulfill our mission. Jeremy Sherer, PLS PLSO Board Chair
3 Professional Land Surveyors of Oregon | www.plso.org From the PLSO Chair This creed shows itsmembers that a professional surveyor is someonewithknowledge and skills that makes humanity better. NSPS has achieved success nationally and has done a great job unifying our profession. In comparison, the proposed vision statement presented to the board and membership identified three areas: The quality of a member, the idea of a “good surveyor,” and “excellence” in our profession. The following vision statement is revised as follows: “Our vision is to achieve excellence in the art and science of the practice of surveying by building on those certain individual character traits that produce professional virtues.” To some, the statement is aplatitude. Agreeingon ideas suchas “excellence,” “character,” and “virtue” are challenging to achieve in a large organization; every member has their thoughts on the subject. It is better to leave some flexibility to allow chapters and the individual practitioner to supply the answers. However, even as a platitude, it provides us with a general direction as we plan for the leadership academy, including theEmerging LeadersMentorshipProgram. This year we will continue to work out the vision statement with our members. With glasses of good vision, the need for an energetic chief executive officer (i.e, chairmanship) becomes apparent. To stay relevant in a fast-paced and changing environment, the organization needs an executive to take advantage of opportunities or prepare us for threats. The present executive system includes the officers of our organization, which consists of the executive secretary, chair, chair-elect, and past-chair. The executive secretary is a paid position that manages the day-today activities of PLSO by performing such duties as are typical and other duties or functions as requested or directed by the board or the chair. The chair of the board is the chief executive officer, head of the corporation, andmanages the activities of the board of directors. The term for each chair to accomplish the organization’s mission, vision, goals, andobjectives is one year. This model presents a challenge for the chair and is unworkable to maintain continuity and stay current in our fast-paced environment. I amworking with the board of directors andour bylaws committee chair to find a solution to create a more stable and energetic leadership. Our organization is a non-profit, organized under a 501(C)6, and structured under ORS 65.371, requiring the officers to consist of a president, secretary, and a treasurer (see Chapter Formation under the bylaws).1 We need a robust updated leadership model that works with today’s fast-paced business settings. This year we aremaking changes to our bylaws, and part of the conversation will be to propose the creation of an electedpresident (the name is not relevant), whose term will be two years and limited to two successive terms. To be clear, I am working on proposing this to the board of directors, which requires abylawchange. All bylawchanges are discussed at the chapter level prior to the board voting to approve, amend, or reject any proposal. This is what I would like to see happen. I amalso open to hearing from others. With the mask off and a clear vision, we are in a position to bemore relevant as we promote, educate, and improve the surveying profession. The first step is preparing for future succession. Education through mentorship provides opportunities for growth relevant to the rising generation. Succession planning involves training toward a vision for those who will follow the ruling generation’s footsteps (i.e. the gray-haired surveyors). Last year the Practices Committee was commissioned to create a leadership program for emerging leaders. It is not a plan based on the consumer-producer model. Instead, it is one based on relationships through oneon-one and chapter involvement. It is a plan to educate young and aspiring surveyors toward a vision of excellence and what it is to be a good surveyor. Take off the mask. Our organization does not have to follow the path toward irrelevance. The hard work and frustrations of those who have poured their energy into this organization are not in vain. We do not lack good leadership. It is the external forces that cause frustration and burnout. We desire to promote, educate, and improve the profession of land surveying in the state of Oregon. We need a vision, an energetic executive, and a leadership succession plan to fulfill our mission. x 1: 65.371 Required officers. (1) A corporation must have a president, a secretary, a treasurer, and such other officers as are elected or appointed by the board of directors or by any other person as the articles of incorporation or bylaws may authorize, provided that the articles of incorporation or bylaws may designate other titles in lieu of president, secretary, and treasurer. (2) The bylaws or the board of directors shall delegate to one of the officers responsibility for preparing minutes of the board of directors’ meetings and membership meetings and for authenticating records of the Corporation. (3)(a) Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this subsection, the same individual may simultaneously hold more than one office in a corporation and an officer may be, but need not be, a member of the board of directors. (b) The same individual may not serve simultaneously as the president, secretary, and treasurer of a public benefit corporation. [1989 c.1010 §93; 1991 c.231 §7; 2019 c.174 §69] How to Send Us Your Work Please email the editor, Vanessa Salvia, at vsalvia@gmail.com with submissions. Your submission should be in .doc format. Please send images separately (not embedded in the document) and at the highest file size available (MB size range versus KB size range—larger sizes are encouraged). Please include the author’s name and email address or phone number for contact.
4 The Oregon Surveyor | Vol. 45, No. 1 The Continued Importance of Community From the PLSO Office Aimee McAuliffe PLSO Exec. Secretary I t’s no secret that the past two and a half years have been an exhausting marathon. While many facets of our personal lives have been put on hold, our professional lives have kept up at an unrelenting pace. Everyone has had to make decisions on how to move forward within the realities of where we are right now, and the conference is no different. We had around 400 people registered for the conference, with a fairly split even attendance between in-person and virtual attendees. While scheduling a hybrid-event has its own challenges, with costs we don’t usually factor into the budget, it’s an important benefit to continually provide quality professional development hours. With that said, despite its added measures and relative discomforts, being together in-person has no replacement. The attendance at the conference showed us the continued importance of community. Despite the momentary hiatus the world outside of surveying has experienced, PLSO’s assets continue tobe strong. I firmly believe this is because we quickly adapted to fit the continuing education needs of our community. Looking at the 2021 end of year financials, we saved money on expenses like travel and catering and the virtual conference performed very well. Because of this we were able to do three important things. One, we added to our money market reserves, per our financial reserve policy put in place post recession. Two, we set aside funds for the Leadership Academy Project, which is intended to help create emerging leaders in the profession that will ideally volunteer their time and expertise on the board of directors. Three, we were able tomaintain existing scholarship levels and budget for COVID assistance to fund teaching remote geomatic labs so students may continue to work towards their degrees and enter our workforce, where they are desperately needed. While I know many of you are successful businesspeople, I will briefly explain how PLSO operates. Each year the board works off two budgets. One is the balance sheet, which keeps them up to date on what is in the bank. As of December 31, 2021, our end of year financials totaled $336,505.27, splitting between $112,516.44 in the reserve money market fund and $223,988.83 in checking for our annual operating budget, which is the second budget the board works with when directing projects for the year. The annual operating budget is the projected net income for the year between revenue and operating expenses. Pre-2021 conference, with no idea what to expect for the year, the board approved to be in the red by $28,535. A reminder—in the red does not mean we are bouncing checks. It means we wouldn’t cover that amount with 2021 projected income. Our actuals ended with a net profit of $44,571.91, which includes line items for leadership and labs that will carry over for this year. On Tuesday, the 2022 board of directors approved its annual operating budget to be in the red by $18,880.00. This is the amount being held for both projects from 2021, essentially meaning that, for 2022, PLSO plans on breaking even at the end of the year. As you well know, budgets are a projection and the actual living finances are reported to the board of directors Despite the momentary hiatus the world outside of surveying has experienced, PLSO’s assets continue to be strong. I firmly believe this is because we quickly adapted to fit the continuing education needs of our community.
5 Professional Land Surveyors of Oregon | www.plso.org From the PLSO Office at each meeting for decisions to be made appropriately when they arise. As we continue to move through these times, it’s important to remember that PLSO is a member-driven association. I’m certain I say this every year, and that’s because it’s true. These past two years have proven just how true it is. If there isn’t volunteer leadership or committee chairs to take on projects, they don’t happen. As the keeper of the archives, it is inspiring to see familiar names in the minutes throughout the years, but as of January 21, 2022, PLSO has 580 members throughout the state. We need your ideas and expertise. Since starting as your executive secretary a little over eight years ago, I have worked with many of you, and that includes my friend Pat Gaylord from David Evans & Associates, who I am beyond happy to congratulate on winning Land Surveyor of the Year. He has been a guiding light to me in PLSO goals, and stepping in when needed. I know he’s exhausted (mostly just frommy email quantity) and so while we still want him around all the time, I am willing to give him time to rest. So, while Pat rests, I ask that everyone here today think about stepping forward to building our community. And with that said, I am happy to note that we’ve had three people step up into PLSO projects. Brenton Griffen from Rogers Surveying will now be leading the Oregon Young Surveyors group and, just as I was writing this, two former Oregon Tech students that used to volunteer for us each year announced they are joining the auction committee. Thank you to Cole Davis andMarcus Helm from Cascade Timber Consulting. I also want to thank the outgoing board members for their time this past year, and we can all thank Tim Fassbender and Jeremy Sherer for maintaining the leadership of the board during a time when everyone is so busy. While they lead in different ways, they both believe so much in the capabilities of this association, and I appreciate both immensely. Lastly, I would like to remind people that our t-shirts on sale in the PLSO online store are raising money for outreach efforts promoting the profession to high school students. While the details of the how, why, and potential partners are still to be discussed and approved by the board of directors, the goal is to create a video to be streamed through social media to high school age students, their teachers, and counselors. Net proceeds go to fund this project. If you haven’t purchased one yet, they are on sale for $15 for members. The front says “Eat. Sleep. Survey. Repeat.” with the logo on the back. And that, I think, prettymuch sums up the past few years. x
6 The Oregon Surveyor | Vol. 45, No. 1 From the Publications Committee Pat Gaylord, PLS PUBLICATIONS COMMITTEE FROM THE FIELD NOTES Over the last year, submissions from our members dwindled and we need your help. While reprints are fine occasionally, we want to be a magazine written by Oregon surveyors about Oregon topics and experiences. A Call for Content To paraphrase the words of Uncle Sam, The Oregon Surveyor wants you! The Oregon Surveyor has repeatedly been an award-winning magazine (see more about our recent journalism award on page 10) providing you with diverse content on a wide variety of surveying topics. It is a constant challenge to keep the material fresh, interesting, and above all, local. Over the last year, submissions from our members dwindled and we need your help. As you may have noticed, our most recent publications relied more heavily on reprinted materials from around the country. While those are fine occasionally, we want to be a magazine written by Oregon surveyors about Oregon topics and experiences. Every single person reading this has a story to tell. Here are some ideas. • Everyone has a story from their career. Greg Crites, Chuck Witten (2021 Article of the Year), Mike Berry (2020 Article of the Year), and many others have provided great stories of their past experiences. • Are you a legal scholar or have a particular case study to share? Brian Portwood provided many great articles in this category and it would be great to have more. • Are you a specialist in a particular area of surveying? Articles on vertical construction, hydrographic surveying, UAV/UAS surveying, photogrammetry, and more are all great content for those of us who never do these things. • Are you a poet or a story teller? Check out some of the great stories written by Lee Spurgeon over the years and share your own. • Maybe you just have something to get off your chest about the future of the profession. These need to be written in a professional manner and hopefully provide solutions, not written in a way that calls people out or is just complaining. Check out the reprint in the November/December 2021 issue entitled “Poachers.” • Do you have a friend in another industry who has a story to tell? Samantha Tanner has done a great job recruiting some of those folks to write for us. Those articles included satire, trips around the world, and utility locating. • How did you get into surveying? One thing we have learned more about recently is that there are many paths to surveying, and there are many skills that people use in other careers that translate to surveying. Tell us how you got started and how your skills transferred to surveying. • Member Spotlight: we need your suggestions! A name, why they should be spotlighted, and how to contact them is all we need. Vanessa will do the rest. Members can be spotlighted for any reason. It does not have to be surveying related. Maybe they do great things outside of surveying, have an interesting career, saved a life, or whatever else it might be. Let’s learn about our peers!
7 Professional Land Surveyors of Oregon | www.plso.org From the Publications Committee Bottom line is, we need your input. The ideal article would be approximately 1,000 words (I’ve already written 334 at this point!) and be complemented with high-resolution photos, diagrams, etc. Shorter articles are fine. Longer ones may need to be published in two parts or wait an issue or two until we have room for them, but they will get published. If you have stage fright about writing don’t worry about it. Practice makes perfect and if that doesn’t work we have a great publications committee and editor, Vanessa Salvia, to help out. Email her at vsalvia@gmail.com if you have ideas you aren’t sure how to polish into an article. Cover Photography I’ve been providing cover photography for many years. This was a combination of my passion for photography and the need for content that wasn’t being submitted. We want other people to share their own photos! This is a great opportunity for your field crews or anyone else to get involved. We need high resolution photos which follow the guidelines below: • Photos within Oregon that include landscapes, cool surveying photos, surveying history, etc. • Photos should not promote a particular company with logos, trucks, etc. They need to be generic. • Photos with people who are recognizable should have a photo release from the person in the photo. Now the Detailed Stuff • Cell phone photos can work fine! Many of the covers you’ve seen in the last few years were taken with a cell phone. • Any photo needs to be high resolution (See example to the right) The size ratio of 16:9 or 4:3 is best because of the shape of our magazine. No matter which ratio you choose, the photo should be at the highest resolution (MP) allowed by your camera for that size ratio. • Keep in mind photos will be cropped to a 9-inch wide x 12-inch high cover size. Vertical photos work best. Landscape photos often don’t crop very well and you lose a lot of detail when you try and make it fit vertically. • Your subject needs to fit on that 9x12 page when it is published. Look up the Rule of Thirds for photography and keep this in mind in your compositions. • Don’t put anything important at the top of your image! We need this space for The Oregon Surveyor banner. In fact, having some sky or something of a fairly even color scheme in this space works really well to allow for flexibility for publication, but is not necessary as often some Photoshop magic can add to a sky or other feature in a pinch. You’ve now taken the perfect cover photo. When you email that photo to the publications committee it is very important that you send it at full resolution. Do not let your email program compress or reduce the image size or we will be contacting you to resubmit. This is often tricky for people, but sometimes there is a checkbox that asks if you want to send at original size, or a smaller size. If that happens, send at original size, or full resolution. Need help with editing your work? No problem. Send us the raw image you captured and we’ll assist with getting it sized correctly for the cover. The committee looks forward to your photo submissions. It would be great to have enough to choose from that it becomes a competition of sorts. Keep in mind we can only publish five cover photos per year, so it might take a bit for your photo to show up, but we will do our best! x Resolution example.
8 The Oregon Surveyor | Vol. 45, No. 1 Saved for full page ad
9 Professional Land Surveyors of Oregon | www.plso.org OrYSN Corner Meet the New Chair Meet the new “chair” (or whatever we are calling it these days). In the ever-changing state of affairs world in which we currently live in, the Oregon Young Surveyors Network has experienced the same uncertainty. With members either aging out or moving on to bigger and better things, the young surveyor’s organization has been left with a lapse in structure and in leadership. Since I was interested in getting more involved in the organization this year, as my career and personal life have recently found a mellow plateau to prance around in for a while, I made the mistake of reaching out to Aimee McAuliffe to see what, if any, young surveyor events were planned for this year’s annual conference. After a couple non-comprehensive email exchanges with her in the fray of the week leading up to the conference, I was able to deduce that I had just been “voluntold” to be the new frontrunner of the organization. I was told phrases such as “the organization could be whatever you want it to be” and “take it and run with it,” and that is what I am going to try and do this coming year. My goal for the young surveyors is the same goal I have for all surveyors: do what you love, love what you do, but have some fun and encourage others along the way. As Dr. Richard Elgin said at the 2017 PLSO conference, “Surveying is a disease, and once you get surveying in your blood there is no known cure to man to get it out.” Anyone reading this wouldn’t be reading this if they didn’t enjoy what they do and if they weren’t infected with the “disease.” Similarly, I too have been infected and I hope to be able to spread that joy and passion to others however I can. The young surveyor network is working on developing a couple of different group events this year. We are asking any and all young surveyors, employers of young surveyors, and anyonewho knows a young surveyor or anyone else who wants to be involved to please reach out to me. I will get you roped into the loop of what is being planned for this year. You will be seeing me pop up in this publication every now and again so it best be time to introduce who I am. My name is Brenton Griffin, and I am an alcoh...delete, delete... and I am a surveyor, OR LS93754, proud member of the PLSO Blue Mountain Chapter, and I have been infected with the disease. Please reach me at bgriffin@rogers surveying.com and join me in spreading the passion for this profession, your wealth of knowledge, and your surveying expertise to the up and comers. x My goal for the young surveyors is the same goal I have for all surveyors: do what you love, love what you do, but have some fun and encourage others along the way. Photo of Brenton Griffin taken in Franklin County, Washington, overlooking the Snake River. Brenton apologizes that the photo is not taken in Oregon and he promises to work on getting one that represents his state. By Brenton Griffin, PLS OrYSN Corner
10 The Oregon Surveyor | Vol. 45, No. 1 Featured Article NSPS 2021 Excellence in Journalism Competition Each year, the National Society of Professional Surveyors holds a journalism competition and bestows winners for entries submitted from January to December as well as a Public Relations Award. The winners were announced in late 2021. The PLSO’s The Oregon Surveyor won the award for Best State Society Magazine! We received a plaque acknowledging this award, which was sent to the PLSO headquarters office. According to the NSPS website, the purpose of this contest is to encourage high-quality publications and content by NSPS affiliates. The contest is judged by a committee established by the chair of the NSPS board of directors, and it is open to newsletters, magazines, and content in either published between January and December of the previous year. The criteria of an award-winning magazine is to have “content geared toward the needs of the primary audience and having a greater proportion of bylined technical articles and articles with information which may be relevant to state society members related to national developments in the field of surveying and mapping.” Desirable examples of content include news reports and news items related to state society business, by-lined surveying articles with state-wide appeal contributed by members, and reprints of surveying and surveying-related articles from national magazines. x Best State Society Newsletter New Hampshire Land Surveyors Association The TBM, Newsletter of the NHLSA November, 2020 Best Original Feature Article Vermont Society of Land Surveyors “The Search for the County Road” by Paul Hannan Summer, 2020 Best Editorial New Hampshire Land Surveyors Association “Acknowledging the Importance of Paraprofessionals in Land Surveying” by Paul Doberstein 2021 Winners Best State Society Magazine Professional Land Surveyors of Oregon The Oregon Surveyor May/June 2020 issue
11 Professional Land Surveyors of Oregon | www.plso.org
12 The Oregon Surveyor | Vol. 45, No. 1 2022 Annual Conference Wrapping Up the 2022 Conference By Jered McGrath, PLSO Conference Committee Chair Thank you members, non-members, guests, and consummate supporters of the Professional Land Surveyors of Oregon for helping to make our 2022 Annual Conference happen. This year’s hybrid conference has now concluded in-person, but there is much more online activity still happening. Recorded sessions have been loaded into the Whova platform for everyone to watch, and will be available through April. An easy way to see which ones were recorded is to login to Whova, go to “Agenda” at the top (where it says “Filter By Tracks”), and make sure to only have the “Recorded” box checked. Overall, PLSO hosted over more than 400 attendees, which was nearly split between the traditional onsite conference and the virtual option. Nomatter what option you participated in, the conference committee thanks you for choosing us to help with your continuing education. It is an important event to the PLSO community and we are happy to continue that tradition. The conference provided a great line-up of speakers that were streaming live, recorded, and in-person only. If you were not able to see a presentation in Salem, be sure to check out the “Documents’’ section of the Whova app, as many of the speakers provided reference material on their topics. Those speakers that provided handouts are all loaded into the system and you can easily export themall at once onto your computer. Both in-person and virtual attendees were provided the opportunity to go over boundaryquestions and concerns fromour national speaker John Stahl, discuss NSPS updates with the newly elected executive director of NSPS TimBurch, and see what is coming in the near future from the NGS with regards to updated datums and reference frames from retired Chief Geodetic Surveyor Dave Doyle. The in-person event allowed us to hold the traditional Vendor Social on Wednesday night, the Scholarship Auction Dinner on Thursday evening, and revitalize the Young Surveyors Networkwith an in-person gathering of 20 or more people led by the new chair Brenton Griffin. Many of the student members participating in the conference were “bombarded,” or rather “presented,” with futureemployment opportunities from attendees in the industry. If you are looking for summer help or future employees fromthe surveying school students, it’s best to reach out as fast as you can. I believe this year’s conference was a great success for the majority of the attendees. I loved the ability to be able to discuss all matters of surveying and our industry in person with some long-unseen friends and to be able to carry those same topics online to discuss the finer points with attendees across the country. The community boards are still open for discussion so please check in on the app and ask those burning boundary questions or post interesting articles and photos with fellow attendees. From all of us on the conference committee, we thank you again for making this year’s conference a great memorable experience and we look forward to building upon this in the future. x
13 Professional Land Surveyors of Oregon | www.plso.org 2022 Annual Conference Scholarship Chair Daren Cone and an Oregon Tech student volunteer getting ready to auction off the Annual Bag of Cash that is collected throughout the event. The winning bidder receives all cash in the bag. The total could be $200 or $2,000. Nobody knows! This year’s bag had quite the competition going, eventually being won by Greg Wilson for $1,575. Thank you Greg! Jeremy Sherer thanks those 2021 outgoing board members present at the meeting. Pictured is Kent Baker, John Minor, and Dave Krumbein. Mosier Locke was the 2022 Scholarship Raffle winner. This year’s prize was a .44 Magnum Henry Big Boy Classic. Attendees bidding in person and via phone for the silent auction to help raise money for 2022 scholarship and outreach funds. Auction Committee member Marcus Helm was assisting the auctioneer see all bidders.
14 The Oregon Surveyor | Vol. 45, No. 1 2022 Annual Conference Attendees and vendors networking in the Vendor Reception in the lower gallery on Wednesday. Royce Hill, land surveying technical expert with the Bureau of Land Management in Portland, presenting Closing Corners in Wonderland. Expert John Stahl presenting The Role of the First Land Surveyor – Facts and Fallacies. Baseline booth reps James Flack, Violet Campbell, and Steven Deutsch. 2022 Chairman of the Board Jeremy Sherer discusses his goals for the year at the Annual Membership Meeting. Dan Nelson announced Pat Gaylord as 2021 Surveyor of the Year at the Thursday lunch. PLSO is currently selling t-shirts summing up the past few years of surveying to raise money for promoting the profession to high school students, their teachers, and counselors.
15 Professional Land Surveyors of Oregon | www.plso.org ADVERTISING RATES STARTING AT $275! Professional Listings Attendees partaking in the appetizer buffet as the Vendor Reception begins. Festus Obijiofor chatting with Jon Moritz of Adkins Engineering & Surveying. TopoDot discussing their product with Rhonda and Russell Dodge. PLSO and OrYSN Committee Chair Brenton Griffin hosted the Young Surveyors Meetup on Wednesday night, where newer professionals in the field gave advice to current Oregon Tech students.
16 The Oregon Surveyor | Vol. 45, No. 1 2022 Annual Conference According to Webster’s Dictionary, the definition of community that fits PLSO is “a feeling of fellowship with others, as a result of sharing common attitudes, interests, and goals.” Goals is an important word. Since 1959, the goals of the association have been wrapped up into its mission statement: “The mission of the Professional Land Surveyors of Oregon, a not-for-profit statewide professional organization, is to unite all licensed Land Surveyors in the State of Oregon: • To promote legislation and educational programs to improve the professional status of Oregon Land Surveyors; and • To advance the profession of Land Surveying by promoting high standards of practice and ethical conduct, holding paramount the interests of the public.” We think this year’s award winners have had a hand in participating and improving our community throughout the years. Volunteers are a special type of person, and we’re especially excited to celebrate all three men. Please join us by thanking them for their time and sending congratulations for being honored this year! CONGRATULATIONS 2021 Award Winners Recognized By Dan Nelson, PLS and Aimee McAuliffe Article of the Year Chuck Whitten “A Trail Less Traveled” While the history of the land and its settlers is a cornerstone of our profession (pun intended), there occasionally comes an article that combines extensive research while also painting a picture of the landscape. A part of history himself, having been a surveyor for more than 50 years, the author describes the story of his father coming across a perfect tree scribe in 1983 which was dated August 9, 1906. His father managed to save that scribe from the impending logging of the area and a fantastic photo was included in the article. With a memory like a steel trap, Chuck recalled reading about the expedition that was the origin of this scribe while in the library at Oregon State University in 1967. Now 54 years after he first read about it, and 115 years after that expedition, he was able to entertain us with his article from the September/October edition of The Oregon Surveyor. Read it online at: https://www.associationpublications.com/ flipbook/plso/2021/SeptOct/14/index.html
17 Professional Land Surveyors of Oregon | www.plso.org 2022 Annual Conference Life Member Dave Wellman Surveyor of the Year Pat Gaylord Dave Wellman is a pro’s pro, being licensed in Oregon, Washington, Hawaii, and Maine. The way Dave carries himself as a surveyor and his attention to detail cannot be questioned. D. Wellman Surveying LLC was established in 1999. As a member of PLSO since 1994, Dave has served as Midwest Chapter President twice. He’s been key in organizing many workshops over the years, as well as being a regular attendee of monthly chapter meetings. He has published articles in Professional Surveyor Magazine, GIM International, and three articles in The Oregon Surveyor. “I was just starting out in the surveying profession before moving to Eugene,” Awards Chair Dan Nelson stated at the conference, “and picked up a copy of Point of Beginning Magazine. I read on about a surveyor from Eugene who had traveled to Easter Island to provide 3D scanning of the famous statues. Not knowing anyone from the area, I didn’t think much more about it until I attended my first Midwest Chapter meeting almost a decade later. It was there I met a surveyor who was always willing to join me at career fairs, provide valuable advice to a young surveyor, and eventually become someone I refer to as my friend. I was pleased to see this nomination arrive in my inbox.” Surveyor of the Year is a special award meant to honor someone who has represented PLSO and our community well. Only written nominations endorsed by five members in good standing were considered for the board of directors to vote on the recipient. Minimum requirements include: 1) Be a Corporate Member of PLSO for five or more years; 2) Have a demonstrated history of high competence, integrity, and professionalism; 3) Assisted qualified and interested people in advancement within the profession; and 4) Career-long service to the profession. There aren’t many individuals here who can say they grew up in the PLSO community. Having been born into the surveying community, Pat Gaylord has shown his pride in our organization and our profession his entire career. Serving as board chair (twice), previously awarded Surveyor of the Year, and volunteering on numerous committees, he has given his time whenever and wherever PLSO has needed it. Under Pat’s guidance as publications committee chair, The Oregon Surveyor was awarded the Excellence in Journalism State Society Magazine honor while continuing to provide cover photos and Lost Surveyor articles in his “spare” time. Instead of taking a much-deserved break from volunteering while stepping down as publications committee chair, he instead stepped up as our NSPS liaison, representing Oregon on the national level. Pat continues to go above and beyond the call of duty and we couldn’t have a more deserving recipient of this year’s award. x Dan Nelson announced Pat Gaylord as 2021 Surveyor of the Year at the Thursday lunch.
18 The Oregon Surveyor | Vol. 45, No. 1 2022 Annual Conference SOT YS U R V E Y O R O F T H E Y E A R Pat Gaylord, PLS 2021 The Surveyor of the Year award is the opportunity to recognize a member of the professional community that stood out among the crowd for their contribution to PLSO and the profession. We can’t think of someone who deserves Surveyor of the Year more. Pat Gaylord was born into the land surveying profession and pretty much raised in the PLSO community as a kid, ultimately becoming a student member in 1987. He has been chairman of the board twice and has been recognized for his involvement on many occasions, including Surveyor of the Year in 2006. He was awarded the Article of the Year and the Bright Idea Award in 2018. And yet, he has continued to volunteer his valuable time whenever PLSO has needed him. Since stepping up for his second term as State Chairman in 2018, he has continued to serve as the Chairman of the Rebranding Task Force, Publications Committee Chair, NSPS State Liaison, and the PLSO/ACEC Task Force charged with finding ways to create more land surveyors. Under the Publications Committee Chair, Pat reorganized the committee and its job description, leading to The Oregon Surveyor winning the Excellence in Journalism Best State Society Magazine for the May/June 2020 issue. He did this on top of continually donating photos for the cover and writing articles in addition to his Lost Surveyor column. After he stepped down as the Publications Chair (while remaining on the committee) he stepped up to take Bob Neathamer’s place as the NSPS Oregon State Director, where he hit the ground running attending the Spring Meeting at the capitol. He has continually supported our lobbyist Darrell Fuller when meeting state representatives in this role as well. Meanwhile, he has partnered with Steve Townsend and ACEC this year to collaborate on how to address the surveyor shortage in the Oregon workforce. We can’t think of someone who deserves Surveyor of the Year more. Submitted by: 1. Tim Verney, Pioneer Chapter President 2. Jered McGrath, Pioneer Chapter President-Elect 3. Brady McGarry, Pioneer Chapter Secretary 4. Erric Jones, PLSO Member 5. Tim Kent, PLSO Member Thank you Pat, for all you’ve done for the profession! We asked Pat to answer a few questions about his career.
19 Professional Land Surveyors of Oregon | www.plso.org 2022 Annual Conference How long have you been a member of PLSO and when did you first get started in the profession? I became a student member of PLSO in 1987. If it counts as “my start in the profession,” I startedpainting survey stakes formy dad in the driveway when I was seven or eight years old for a nickel a stake. I know he could have bought them that way, but it wasmy first opportunity to learn towork. I got pretty goodat it andquickly learned that the faster I painted themore nickels I got! I began hand drawing surveys and plats and worked summers in the field through high school before heading off to Oregon State University. I learned to write efficiently in block lettering by the time I was a freshman because I couldn’t work if I couldn’t write neatly for field notes and plats. Who has served as your main inspiration during your career? My father. My parents taughtmemy values of honesty, integrity, and commitment. My dad taught me a large part of what I know about surveying, corner recovery, and evaluation of evidence. I’mblessed thatmy age group is one of the last that pulled a chain (tape), drew on a drafting board, and now flies drones, laser scans, and everything else. Having a hands-on understanding of how things used to be done makes me a better surveyor every day andmy dad gets all the credit for that. What is your proudest moment as a surveyor so far? Surveyor of the Year definitely ranks up there. I think theproudestmoments though are when I followmy gut and find that obscure information that makes everything clear on a survey. That’s what makes me happiest to be a surveyor. Knowing I did my best to seek out every tidbit of information to get it right. What is your professional elevator speech for hiring a land surveyor? Even though we all should have one, I really don’t. It just depends on the situation. Explain the position you hold at David Evans and Associates. I am the Market Leader for Geomatics in Oregon. I’m heavily focused on business development, however, my title is a bit of a fancyway of saying I’mamanager, mentor, marketer, recruiter, leader, andon topof all that I still get to be a surveyor andmanage a project or two. It was a challenge changing jobs in the middle of COVID, but I’m extremely happy I chose DEA and I’m excited to go to work every day. How do you keep your team motivated during these crazy times? DEA provides a ton of creative support to people tohelpwithmotivation, so fortunately it’s not all on me. Everyone is motivated by something different, so on the most basic level I try to be sure to thank people and to congratulate them on great work. Since we’re all working remotely, when things go wrong, I try to be thoughtful in my approach to solve it and keep people motivated. Hopefully I don’t experience another pandemic in my career... What has been the most interesting project you’ve worked on? One that I’ve beenworking on for over two years now and I hope someday I can share with everyone. What difference has PLSOmade in your career? PLSO has opened so many doors for me for jobs, clients, andmost importantly professional relationships around the state. Because I chose to be active and involved, I have friendships across the state and now the country that I never would have had. In addition, the PLSO conferences have provided me with in-depth education on so many subjects that would have been difficult to get anywhere else. Even after so many years of conference seminars I can always find new tidbits of information or topics that provoke new ideas. We have a great conference committee! What advice would you give to people just starting their career right now? Get involvedwithprofessional organizations like the Young Surveyors Network, PLSO, andNSPS! Don’t just sit on the sidelines, but helpout atwhatever level of commitment is right for you. The relationships youdevelop will last your entire career and provide opportunities you might never imagine. The exchange of ideas is something you won’t find anywhere else. What volunteer position would provide the most benefit for someone just starting out? Any committee that you have a passion (or at least an interest) about the topic. Just get in and get your feet wet with a group you can learn from. What are you seeing as trends in the profession right now? I think the same two trends as everyone else: the seemingly rapid decline of available surveyors at all levels of the profession and the overwhelming surge of new technology. Hopefully we can find a way to improve recruiting using the technology and capitalize on all the diversity this profession has to offer. What are ways each member can help promote surveying as a profession to younger generations? PLSOand others have been discussing this for years and we haven’t found the magic answer to refill our ranks. I currently think we need to spend more time using technology than telling them stories. YouTube is great! They can learn much more from a well-made five-minute video than from me talking for half an hour, and there are some really good videos out there. That video then leads to questions and a more focused conversationwith them. Surveying is difficult to convey in conversation with a kid, but if you can put it in perspective with a video, photos, or, best of all, a day in the continuesT 21 Questions for 2021 Surveyor of the Year Interview
20 The Oregon Surveyor | Vol. 45, No. 1 2022 Annual Conference field, then it starts to come into focus.When we dohave a conversationwe really should focus on the cool technology we have and how surveyors contributed to the technology everyone uses everyday like their cell phone GPS or driving apps and lead that into conversations about property lines, history, construction, and more. I truly believe that first and foremost, every member needs to bring their staff (all of them) to their local chaptermeetings and to the PLSOConference. Yes, it’s a financial commitment, but canwe afford not to?We need our technicians at the great seminars that our conferences offer. Where else is a young person going to be introduced to the ideas that John Stahl, Jeff Lucas, and so many of our own Oregon surveyors present at these conferences? They will benefit and so will your business! I think Tim Kent said it best whenhe said, “Youngpeople are the best source to recruit young people.” If our technicians are inspired they will tell their friends about what they do. What made you decide to become the Oregon Director for NSPS? I just truly love surveying and I strongly believe you have to give back as a professional. I’ve done somuch in PLSO that I was looking for something new. I’ve always had an interest in the law and, to a lesser degree, politics, soNSPS seemed like a perfect next step for me. I had a great experience with NSPS folks from around the country teaching the Surveying Merit Badge at the 2010 Scout Jamboree. That was really my first introduction to volunteering at the national level and I still maintain contact with the folks I worked with. Even though I’ve only been to one in-person “Day on the Hill” with NSPS, I was fascinated by the process in Washington D.C. I think every surveyor should attend this event once in their career. With all of that, being able to act on PLSO’s behalf at the national level is an exciting new challenge. I appreciate the trust that is put inmewith this position and just as I’ve done inmy state positions, I’ll domy best to represent PLSO’s interests in every decision. What are ways PLSO and NSPS could better partner for the benefit of its members? I’mstill figuring this out at themoment. Oregon has done a great job partnering with NSPS on legislative issues, but at the very top of my list is how to partner in recruiting new surveyors and expanding workforce development. I look forward to working with our new executive director TimBurch and exploring this question. What skills do you think recent graduates need to learn for their first full-time employer the most? I think this really depends on the job. I think timemanagement, people skills, and good filemanagement and documentation skills cover every job in the field or office. Most employers realize that new graduates are just getting started and are going to teach thespecificsofwhat theyneed.Anygraduate that can bring solid skills in CAD, technology, and software can probably teach their employer something! What professional project have you learned the most from? A few years ago I did a project on Siletz Bay which required really digging into how to correctly survey off of tide gauges and the lawwith regards to high water lines on the Oregon Coast. It really stretched the limits of my knowledge with regards to riparian boundaries, floodplains, and case law. I had to do some serious research tomake sure I wasn’t out in left field with my answers. Those answers would ultimately define the building setbacks on a very tight piece of property. I learned a lot and I know it made me a better surveyor in those areas. How can we partner better with high schools? I truly wish I had the answer to this, but as much as people may not want to hear it, I am convinced it’s not Trig Star. I think we need to build relationships with the career counselors and with teachers who are in specialty areas like engineering, building, and technology and then make presentations to those students who already have a mindset that might match up with surveying. Math was a large part of our history, but with data collectors and computers it is not who we are. We are made up of history, law, technology, data management, measurements, really cool gadgets, and in today’s worldmath is probably last on the list. We need to sell high school students on the breadth of what we do so they can find the niche that excites them about us. How do you get ideas for your Lost Surveyor articles in The Oregon Surveyor magazine? I rely heavily on the Oregon Book of Geographic Names to domy initial research, but cell phones and the internet have made it so much easier to find information on the fly. Most of my ideas come from trips I take, sometimes from suggestions of other surveyors. But mostly I spend a lot of time randomly googling names on a map. An average article takes a good part of two days by the time I identify the subject, research it, photograph it, and write it. I’ve personally visited nearly every location I’ve written about which has made some great road trips. What is your favorite road trip you’ve been on? I can’t pick one. I have many great memories of trips with each of my sons when they were little. In recent years, there have been some epic ones. My fiancé and I once drove to Crescent City, California, just to have dinner on the pier. We found two Lost Surveyors and a couple cover photos on that one! Last winter we drove to Oklahoma to spend two weeks of COVID with my son and daughter-in-law. That covered nine states, a couple national parks, and about 4,000 miles. Anything on your travel bucket list you and (fiancé) Ann want to do together? Our first trip to Europe (specifically Paris) is high on the list whenever the pandemic and travel concerns lessen. What do you like to do in your free time? Prettymuch anything outdoors, road trips, hiking, photography, writing, and cooking. Gaylord’s Tri-Tip Recipe Marinate your tri-tip roast in a sealable 1-gallon freezer bag. I use Yoshida’s Teriyaki because it’s thicker and more sweet. Using your hands, press the air out of the bag, making sure the steak is coated. I also like to inject the teriyaki into the cut. Place in the fridge to marinate for 4 to 6 hours. When ready to grill, coat each side of the steak with coarse coffee grounds for a nice crust—I use Folgers. Add your choice of wood to the barbecue for great smoke flavor and then cook slow and low until you reach perfection, basting with teriyaki near the end. I recommend keeping the temperature at 225 to 230 and cooking to a core temperature of 130 to 140. Take it off the grill to rest for 10 to 15minutes. Slicing against the grainmakes it more tender, while cutting with the grainmakes it more chewy. Open a beer and enjoy! x continuedT
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