PLSO The Oregon Surveyor May June 2020

Professional Land Surveyors of Oregon |  www.plso.org 3 From the PLSO Chairman assignment, and has resulted in a strug- gle between what the committee does and how it fits with the rest of the orga - nization, its purpose, and its aims. We are also looking into how each commit- tee is meeting or not meeting its vision. Again, the difficulty lies in not knowing the aims, or the destination of our society. In the final analysis, it’s difficult to see how the committees work together toward a common aim, or vision. We need a clear vision that tells us where we are going. So, what does it mean that the mission is the train and the vision is the ticket? “Mission” is our purpose and reason for existence, and “Vision” relates to the possibilities of what we and society can become. Vision is broader than purpose and provides a clear picture of the ideal end-state. For our society, that end state is a clear picture of “what a good sur- veyor looks like,” and “excellence in the profession,” i.e. “doing it right.” Our com- mittee chairs agree that our vision must be concrete, universal, easily understood, and achievable. It must be grounded in objective truth, seek the common good, with an intentional duty toward others. After the 2020 annual conference in Port- land, we created a steering committee to look into expanding the charter of our Practice Committee and to propose a vision for our organization. The vision is based on the idea of a “Good Survey- or” and “Excellence in our Profession.” A good surveyor is one who is grounded in moral character and ethical behavior, fo- cused on excellence, with a sense of duty to society. Good character in a surveyor includes honesty, courage, and humil- ity, and is accomplished through right actions, skilled living, and accountability through support of members. Excellence is “doing it right,” which includes com- mon sense and the capacity of rational thought, competency in theory, practi- cal skills, reasoning, and expression, as well as knowledge of new technologies, current events, and laws that affect the profession. It is the mastery of the art and science of survey. Excellence is accom- plished through pre- and post-educational studies, including leadership and men- torship programs. The organization’s destination is accom- plished through the love of objective truth and the need to fulfill our created purpose to do good. The duty of a survey- or includes a duty to one’s self through prudence, a duty toward its profession- al organization through benevolence and fellowship, and a civic duty to do Jus- tice. So where is our ticket? Shaun Fidler is the committee chair for the Steering Committee, and he has been working on a vision statement for our organiza- tion. Each chapter has or will receive a few vision statement options for discus- sion. We can go anywhere and become what we want to become. The train con- ductor is asking to see our ticket. What is our destination?  x