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
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