PLSO The Oregon Surveyor March April 2020

6 Vol. 43, No. 2 The Oregon Surveyor  | PLSO Volunteers Worth Their Weight in Gold From the PLSO Office Aimee McAuliffe PLSO Exec. Secretary Words cannot adequately express the gratitude that I and the Board wish to convey to Greg for his time, experience, energy, and love he has shared with PLSO and all of you. Thank you doesn’t feel big enough. R eally good volunteers are worth their weight in gold. You’ve proba - bly heard this more than a few time. Or at least once a year from me at the Annual Meeting in January in some form or the other, which makes it count even more, because that conference wouldn’t happen without volunteers. PLSO has gotten quite a bit done over the past few years and it is because of our members, who take the time to help navigate the ship, dip in an oar, or simply help swab the deck. (Swabbing is very important and often undervalued.) When you volunteer, you are making a commitment to share that most precious of resources—your time—to serve your professional community and, in turn, the public. The fruits of your labors make a tangible impact on both PLSO and the status of the land surveying profession itself. But perhaps it is the fact that you are willing to share your time and talent to lend a helping hand that makes the greatest difference in the lives of up and coming surveyors, as well as the lives of your fellowmembers withwhomyou have become friends. To all my volunteers, I say: You matter. You make a difference. Your willingness to share both your time and talent by vol- unteering speaks to both your strength and the quality of your character. You have earned the appreciation of your col- leagues and I most sincerely thank every one of you! I would also like to recognize one very special member, who has volunteered a great deal of his time serving as the edi- tor of The Oregon Surveyor magazine for the past nine years—that’s longer than a lot of people stay at paying jobs. Greg Crites has made a big impact on PLSO and this magazine over the years, both as our editor and as a provider of thought- ful ideas. Looking through the archives, it appears that The Oregon Surveyor started out as a way to share board minutes, etc. As technology changed and PLSO found less expensive ways to share information, the mission of the magazine started to change. Greg has worked hard at step- ping up the editorial content and, as a result, has won two awards fromNSPS in 2018 and 2019 for his own column, and The Oregon Surveyor won the NSPS “Best Society Magazine” in 2018 as well. Words cannot adequately express the gratitude that I and the Board wish to convey to Greg for his time, experience, energy, and love he has shared with PLSO and all of you. Thank you doesn’t feel big enough. As Greg prepares to enjoy more time with his family and checks off various bucket list items with his wife, he has shared his vision of where he’d love to see themaga- zine go in the future with the Board. Greg’s vision involves expanding and enhancing the content curation of each issue, which the Editorial Committee, with Brian Port- wood serving as Committee Chair, will strive to achieve in each forthcoming is- sue. If this sounds like an effort youmight be interested in joining, please let me know. We sincerely want to provide our membership with the broadest possible input, and we’d love to have your partic- ipation, so consider stepping forward to help make it happen. Other open positions that need our mem- bership’s attention include seats on the Board of Directors. Chapters with open- ings include Blue Mountain, Rogue River, South Central, and Southwest. If you want your area of the state to be fully represent- ed in decisions the Board makes steering our organization, then consider being that voice. If you’re not quite clear on their purpose, the Board of Directors ensure the fulfillment of the PLSO’s mission to its community and financial solvency by collectively directing the association’s af- fairs as per the By Laws and Operations