The Member Organizations (MOs) of the American Congress on Surveying and Mapping (ACSM) have been working since the ACSM Congress meeting in San Diego in July, 2011 to develop a unified organization that would represent all geospatial professionals. Over the past four months many discussions have taken place to define membership categories, organizational structure, naming, and finances for the unified organization.
The National Society of Professional Surveyors (NSPS) has worked with the other MOs in an attempt to address their concerns relating to merging into one organization that represents not only surveyors but also fellow geospatial professionals in geodesy, GIS, mapping, photogrammetry, and other related fields.
NSPS and staff have been working with the ACSM accounting firm to obtain financial advice as to the best way of consolidating ACSM with the MOs without endangering the current non-profit status that each organization enjoys. Additionally, NSPS has hired an attorney to represent all parties in providing the necessary legal advice relating to our reorganization.
On November 10th, the presidents of NSPS, AAGS (American Association for Geodetic Surveying), and GLIS (Geographic and Land Information Society) and ACSM Executive Director Curt Sumner met via conference call to discuss some of the membership categories and organizational structure of the proposed unified organization. During the discussions the president of GLIS informed the other participants that GLIS was not interested in joining with the other two MOs at this time and stated that GLIS would handle its affairs beginning in 2012.
NSPS and AAGS agree to continue to work to develop a unified geospatial organization. AAGS has requested to join with NSPS in an affiliate status for 2012, as talks continue for the merging of the two organizations.
Both our legal and accounting council recommend that ACSM and NSPS be merged into a single entity by the end of 2011. The NSPS Board of Directors is working to achieve this goal and create an organizational structure that will represent surveyors, geodesists, mappers, geographic information specialists, and related professions.
Respectfully submitted,
William R. Coleman, PLS GISP
NSPS President