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Development provision for the 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (see
page 4 of GAC Report) 2. Monument Preservation (see page 5 of GAC Report and
3. Occupational Licensing (see page 9 of the GAC Report). It is our hope that we
will exceed last year’s participation of 70 attendees from 42 States attending 125
meetings on Capitol Hill.
Membership- A report was circulated with Membership counts for each State
from 2017 to present. Forty one of the fifty States have shown a decline in
membership in the past year. New York has the fourth largest membership at
723, trailing California with 791 members, North Carolina with 821, and Texas
with 872. A new membership category “Active Military Member” has been added
to the NSPS bylaws to permit any Active-duty military, reserve, or National guard
individual working in a survey related field who is not eligible for regular
membership to be a non-voting member of NSPS.
Strategic Planning- A draft strategic plan outline was circulated for review and
comment including the Vision, Mission, and Strategy. Four major strategic
focuses have been outlined, with appropriate committees and action items listed.
This is to be discussed and reviewed by the Directors over the next few months
and adopted at the Spring 2025 meeting.
CCC Disk at Cabin atop Sandia Mountain on Turquoise Trail
After a long day of meetings, we all enjoyed a buffet dinner followed by
surveying trivia Tuesday night. Gary Kent was our trivia host and although we
were all dismayed to learn how little we know about surveying, we had a great
time collaborating with our table partners to develop answers.
Our Board of Directors meeting reconvened Wednesday morning with Officer
reports, awards and recognitions, and nominations. Rick received the award for
the CST Director with the most new Certified Survey Technicians in the state, and
was awarded a fine bottle of bourbon. I am very pleased to announce I was
nominated for the position of Treasurer, along with Tommy Brooks from
Alabama. No matter who wins, there will a Brooks as the next NSPS treasurer!
The current treasurer Bob Miller is running for Vice-President, as well as
Alabama Director Jeff Clendenning.
Due to our growth in the number of attendees, the venue has changed for the
Spring meeting which will be held March 17th through 21st at the Hotel Silver
Spring in Silver Spring Maryland. The Student Competition will be held March
18th and 19th with the awards luncheon on the 20th. Day on the Hill will be
March 18th, and business meeting March 19th through 21st. Anyone interested
in attending as a guest and/or joining us for the Day on the Hill, please reach out
to me as we would love the company! That includes any Young Professionals who
City of Albuquerque Survey Control marker
are a great asset in assisting with the Student Competition.
After saying farewell to our friends and colleagues, Rick and I enjoyed a few
more days enjoying the sites of New Mexico. We were especially intrigued by the
transits with polar bears photo found in the Artic Highways exhibition at the
Institute of American Indians Arts Museum of Contemporary Native Arts and
pleased to learn they allowed photography within the museum. Hiking was great,
and the foliage was a vibrant yellow. We enjoyed the same summer like
temperatures in New Mexico that New York was enjoying at the same time, and
we were glad to be able to hike the Sandia Mountains in warmth and sunshine as
they were covered in a foot of snow the following week.
As always, I want to say thank you for the opportunity to represent the New
York State Association of Professional Land Surveyors at the NSPS meetings as it
is a very rewarding experience. The NSPS website is full of great information, but
if you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to me any time!
Respectfully submitted, Patti Brooks

EMPIRE STATE SURVEYOR / VOL. 61 • NO 1 2025 • JANUARY/FEBRUARY 15