Well I did just as I said I would. I did not camp out in the Boundary portion of the seminars. I branched out and attended mostly GIS stuff. I will confess it was eye opening to see what is available. Jack Avis opened my eyes the most and for that I am thankful. I remember Jack from the early days of APLS before he went to Texas. He was the most beneficial.
The Bylaws of APLS have changed and the Board of Directors is now mandated to become smaller. This in my opinion is a good thing. I never really understood why we sent 2 people from every chapter to the Director's meeting anyway. My father was the President APLS when the senatorial system went into effect. The bylaws also NOW allow electronic meetings. Now this was forward thinking 10 years ago. Old dogs die slow. The rest is pretty much the same.
This next part is targeted specifically at the surveying community in the Metro Phoenix area. Why is there only one chapter of APLS down there? Up here it is understandable a few surveyors in a large area means travel to the meetings. However down there; most of the in-state RLS's reside in the metro area. So why hasn't the East Valley formed up, West Valley, North Valley or the like. I would venture to guess that the surveyors in Payson and Globe would rather drive to Mesa than Show Low.
And where are the guys from Yuma? why do we never see them. Is it because of California being on the other side of the river?
Finally why is APLS turning people off? I understand that not everyone will be like minded. If it is stagnation at the chapter level then we need to get new chapters started that clear the baffles. APLS should be bringing people in not turning them away.
Also heard rumblings about the licensing fee should be raised. I agree with this. What I pay for 3 years in Arizona isn't 1/3 of the annual fee I pay in Texas. "That which we obtain to cheaply, We esteem to lightly..." If Arizona BTR does raise the fees then APLS needs to drop theirs. Just saying...
To the esteemed gentlemen I spent most of my free time cussing and discussing with (and you know who you are) I truly enjoyed the discussions. I especially like it when the conversations get real. I had fun and wish I could see you guys more often. Viva La SALSA..........
Dan, sad to say, but I can't afford to be an APLS member at this point - as I am the sole bread winner, working for half of what I used to be making, and until things turn around, which could be years mind you, I do not foresee being able to re-join anytime soon. I do understand that this does not mean that I am not able to attend meetings, but the conference - forget it... For now.
ReplyDeleteI think you're right. Something like that would most likely increase attendance and change the overall voice. The fact that people often hold back their thoughts in large groups because the big mouths run the show could go away.
ReplyDeleteI have been thinking for quite some time about starting a chapter for the small biz companies. There are a lot of good people that would like to belong but want to avoid the big company and government domination.
Just a thought.
You east side boys need to get organized.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your comments concerning the conference. I also attended most of the GIS presentations. They were lively, informative and more a discussion than a presentation. Rudy did a fine job putting it together. I agree that the cussing and discussing was most enlightening with only a single exception.
ReplyDeletePhoenix? Let em do whatever it is they do in that sinkhole.
The problem with membership takes place on many levels:
1. Hard times make us a bit more parsimonious, particularly when the benefits are arguable.
2. Some perceive that the current Board of APLS is obsessed with burdening the survey community with further "minimum" standards, mandatory educational requirements, by law revisions and the like. It is much like the current AZ legislature. No true conservative assembly believes that onerous regulation and legislation is to the benefit of the whole. If you attempt to control the inept and egregious violators with regulation and legislation, it always comes back in untold negatives to those who do good, sound work in the field. But it does serve as excellent fodder for the cynical among us.
3. Meetings are excruciatingly boring and life is short.
I thoroughly enjoy your blog and hope to see many more postings from you gents.