February 2012

What are we Leaving behind for the Future?

As my hair grays, and the reality that my fun productive days searching for boundary evidence that has not been discovered in decades are truly more behind me than those remaining, I pondered; what footprints am I leaving. Sure I know the value of estate planning; I have truly seen the destruction of families where proper care was not taken. The appropriate documents are drawn, signed and stored for that inevitable day that we all will face. I waste very little time thinking of my own demise, it is still decades away, but I do mediate on the future of the surveying industry, and on what I am doing to ensure a solid future for those who choose this path.

I write this blog having just completed an almost full day’s meeting with the NCSS Education Foundation’s Board of Directors. The meeting required the better part of a four hour round trip, but why?

During the 2010-2011 school term I found myself standing before high school math students and sharing surveying stories from my experience. Administering the Trig Star exam, grading the exams, reporting the results, returning to the schools to award the prizes, but why?

Last year I was invited to assist our Chapter President, David Whit, PLS, teaching basic surveying techniques to a local Boy Scout’s Troup enabling them to receive a Surveying Merit Badge. I found myself in a grass field teaching several young boys how to read a level rod and the concepts of differential leveling, and later in the classroom reducing notes and explaining applications for what they had just learned, but why?

As I draft this I have the registration form for the upcoming NCSS Convention lying on my desk. I have had it for weeks, I have given it much thought as to at what level I would participate. As a Professional Surveyor, and a member of NCSS may I just choose not to participate?

I sincerely trust that the answers to these simple questions are as easy for you as they are for me. I have a passion for surveying. I am committed to the truth that Professional Surveyors are an intrinsic part of every community in North Carolina and the profession must be maintained and strength as we move forward.

May I challenge those of us practicing today to leave behind more than dusty files and reproducible plats, and yes binary data?

January 2012

The New BEASURVEYOR Website

Well we start a new year here at NCSS Education Foundation, and we have some exciting happenings. We are hopeful that our fundraisers will be a success, allowing us to provide more assistance to the growing number of students in the Associate Degree Programs in the Community College System, as well as the students in the Bachelor Program at A&T university.

We have launched a complete remodel of BEASURVEYOR.COM where you can learn about the complete surveying industry. Once you are on BEASURVEYOR.COM you will have a vast amount of info that will help you make career decisions for your future. We plan to provide links to all the Colleges & Universities throughout the entire US. BEASURVEYOR.COM will also provide links and sell ad spots for Land Surveying companies, Equipment and Software vendors, along with other resource links in the future. Another neat feature of the BEASURVEYOR.COM site is we have made it easy for you to find any State Board of Licensure throughout the entire United States. So its a resource you will surely want to check out and bookmark for future reference.

We are striving each and every month to make the Land Surveying Profession more widely know throughout our communities and helping students achieve their goals through additional funding by helping them purchase books, tuition, and many other things in our struggling economy.

November 2011

North Carolina Society of Surveyors Education Foundation Donation Opportunities

Well, here we go. This is the first ever North Carolina Society of Surveyors Education Foundation blog and the first for me personally. Which can mean only one thing, it has got to get better after this. Being the first ever North Carolina Society of Surveyors Education Foundation blog I thought o would make this one count. The North Carolina Society of Surveyors Education Foundation is gearing up for another fundraising season. As most of you know, the North Carolina Society of Surveyors Education Foundation is the arm of the North Carolina Society of Surveyors that awards scholarships to students in land surveying or geomatics programs in North Carolina. The North Carolina Society of Surveyors Education Foundation has scholarships available to students in Community Colleges and four year Universities. The North Carolina Society of Surveyors Education Foundation would not be able to award any scholarships without the generous support of you, the surveying community. We once again need your help. Please look over the many different donation opportunities the North Carolina Society of Surveyors Education Foundation has available, pick one and help us out now.

Gun Fundraiser - check out the North Carolina Society of Surveyors Education Foundation website
Indian Beach Condo Fundraiser – check out the North Carolina Society of Surveyors Education Foundation website
50/50 Fundraiser – check out the North Carolina Society of Surveyors Education Foundation website
Website Advertising - $100 gets twelve month on the North Carolina Society of Surveyors Education Foundation website
Yearly Pledge - $100 per year, less than $9 a month
One time Donation – Donate on the North Carolina Society of Surveyors Education Foundation website

All of these options are or will be available soon on the North Carolina Society of Surveyors Education Foundation website. Dig deep folks, the North Carolina Society of Surveyors Education Foundation needs your help raising money in order to provide scholarships to students in land surveying or geomatics programs throughout North Carolina. Keep your eyes out for next months blog for one of the other directors of the North Carolina Society of Surveyors Education Foundation.

Chris Witherspoon, President

Director

December 2011

More than just Scholarships

After reading the November Blog, which contained lots of information about the North Carolina Society of Surveyors Education Foundation including information about scholarships and all of the fund raising events I was left with one thought. What else is there to say? Actually, after I thought about it for a while, there is a lot more to say.

Most people think of the North Carolina Society of Surveyors Education Foundation as strictly an organization that raises money for scholarships. It’s true that the North Carolina Society of Surveyors Education Foundation is a Non-Profit Charitable Organization that conducts fund raising events and awards scholarships. However the Foundation also conducts many other activities that are designed to promote the advancement of the surveying profession by recruiting high school students into the profession, by supporting community colleges and by helping to establish a Bachelor of Science in Geomatics program at North Carolina A & T.

The foundation board members promote careers in surveying by attending the North Carolina Math Teachers Conference and the North Carolina Science Teachers Conference. At these events, the foundation reaches out to high school teachers who may have students who would be interested in surveying as a career but were not aware of the educational programs and the scholarship opportunities.

The teacher conferences also provide an opportunity to promote the TrigStar Program Contest. The TrigStar Program Contest is an annual high school mathematics competition sponsored by the National Society of Professional Surveyors based on the practical application of Trigonometry. The program recognizes the best students from high schools throughout the nation.

Lastly, the North Carolina Society of Surveyors Education Foundation is looking to promote cooperation and communication between all of the surveying programs in North Carolina by facilitating a Community College/North Carolina A&T Forum. Look for more information on this event in future blogs.

Jim Davis, Director