17 Professional Land Surveyors of Oregon | www.plso.org Member Spotlight subpoenas and informed another family member that they were suing them over a piece of land, and they did it during Thanksgiving dinner. The attorney helped prepare their expert witness by helping themwith their demeanor, who to look at, who to address responses to, and things like that. “In order to be a good expert witness, you have to be able to tell a good story,” he says. “When you can tell a story that goes back into history, and you do the detective work and you can explain it, you are infinitely more persuasive to a judge and a jury.” Spurgeon says that his membership in the PLSO helped a lot too. He was state chair for two years and has served as a chapter president and is currently the head of the education and outreach committee. “When you’re in a court setting and you testify that you are a member of the PLSO, it adds a certain amount of authenticity and credibility to what you’re saying in court,” he says. “It makes you much more believable. And being the chair of the PLSO gives you a lot of credibility. If you’re in court against someone who isn’t a member of the PLSO, you have a big advantage.” Having to take the past two years essentially off due to COVID left Spurgeon with plenty of time to reflect on the future of the profession. Spurgeon says the profession needs to change direction, and quickly, in order to survive. He says the notion that you have to go to college or you’re a failure is “a load of crap.” He says there is a perception that young people need a college degree rather than learning a trade and that’s just not true. Also, he says, the message about the profession of surveying hasn’t been getting out in the right way. “We have to stop trying to sell surveying as a math-based profession,” he asserts. “We have computers and data collectors that will do the math for us. And if you are thinking about surveying and resolving boundaries as a math exercise, you’re going to be a terrible surveyor. What I look for when I hire surveyors are people who are going to be excellent detectives.” He would like to attract new surveyors to the profession by telling them they are historical land detectives, dealing with forensic evidence about who owned property or where the old fence lines are that have fallen down. I want to get away from the math model because it just turns people off.” That conversation is one for the board of directors and chapter representatives, but Spurgeon is hopeful that the change in course can be made in time. In the meantime, he will continue writing his surveying-related articles which he enjoys doing, and running his business, Township Surveys, in Oregon City since 2011. Spurgeon considers himself to be truly blessed to be a surveyor. Each day when he goes to work, he says the only thing he is sure about is that his day will be unique, interesting, and that no day will be like any other day. Each day brings new challenges, new opportunities, and new puzzles which require new solutions, and new chances to learn and grow. Lee Spurgeon, in the middle, briefing crew members Bob Epstein and Steven Monterrosa.
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