NSPS Spring Meetings April 12-14, 2013
The six-month-old national campaign by the National Society of Professional Surveyors (NSPS) to include every licensed surveyor in the United States among its membership is exceeding all expectations, with 22 state societies on board.
“This is truly exciting,” exclaimed incoming NSPS President Lamar Evers, PSM. “We’ve already grown from under 3,000 members to well over 10,000 in this short amount of time, and I expect the other state societies to join in this effort to create a powerful national voice, with strong grassroots support, for professional surveyors.”
In addition to the NSPS leadership, about 10 Executive Directors and representatives from 48 state societies and the District of Columbia were in attendance. The overwhelming consensus was that NSPS has begun to turn the corner on an era of activism and a positive new image for the organization and surveyors as a whole. “We are thrilled with the start to this program” remarked NSPS Executive Director Curt Sumner.
Presentations by principals of the newly contracted communications company (Flatdog Media) and legislative affairs consultant (John M. Palatiello & Associates) highlighted the meeting.
“I hope that five or ten years from now we will be able to say we were there at the spring meeting in 2013 that served as the turning point for this proud profession,” said Flatdog Media President Neil Sandler. He outlined a communications effort that will embrace social media tools, a newly created blog, and print and e-editions of a monthly newsletter dubbed Dual Frequency, to open lines of communications between members of NSPS and leaders of the national organization, as well as providing a strong national voice for the profession.
John Palatiello outlined a legislative affairs program that will:
• serve as the voice, as well as the “eyes and ears of the surveying profession in Washington;”
• keep NSPS members informed of policy issues affecting the profession;
• create business opportunities for surveyors, and
• enhance the professional image of surveyors.
Palatiello also conducted a highly interactive open-forum strategic planning session designed to have everyone in attendance work towards a “common cause solution.” Participants helped identify strengths and weaknesses of NSPS and the profession of surveying, as well as opportunities and threats to the organization and the profession. Following a compilation of the comments, a strategic plan will be created for review and approval by the board and NSPS membership.
More information on NSPS’s Strategic Plan will be forthcoming.
FIG President CheeHai Teo addressed the NSPS spring meeting. He said that while these are exciting times for surveyors worldwide, surveyors in many other parts of the world are also being challenged to carve out their roles. The continuing evolution of the role of the surveyor is being defined and redefined in every quarter of the planet. But professional surveyors can have a huge impact in the improved sustainability of the planet, and the definition of land rights as third world nations redefine their laws with regards to land ownership.
During the NSPS general membership meeting which preceded the strategic planning exercise, NSPS approved a variety of bylaws changes associated with the 100% joint membership program, and the 2013 NSPS officers and directors were installed.
The NSPS Board of Governors met immediately after the strategic planning session. A report on this meeting will be available soon.
The first day of the three-day Spring Business meetings featured a variety of Committee meetings and a well-attended State Society Executives Forum. More than 20 NSPS governors and officers engaged in discussions with the state executives about the excitement, opportunities, and anxieties associated with the new joint membership program.
On the last day of the meetings the NSPS Board of Directors met in its new configuration which included Directors representing each of the 22 state societies that have signed the Memorandum of Understanding for the joint membership program. Outgoing President Bob Dahn presented a certificate of appreciation to each of the 22 new directors. Photos of each of these presentations can be viewed on the NSPS Facebook.
For more information contact: Trish Milburn, NSPS, at trisha.milburn@nsps.us.com; phone 240-439-4615, ext. 105