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Surveyors Week Resolution Adopted in
NYS Senate and Assembly
The New York State Senate and Assembly adopted resolutions in honor
of National Surveyors Week to recognize Surveyors Week in the State of
New York! Thank you to our sponsors, Senator Stavisky and
Assemblymember Hyndman, for your support!
Did you seek a proclamation or resolution with your local town or
city? Let us know so we can share the news!

Surveying Merit Badge Achievement
Alan Snyder, LS, Survey Department Manager at Passero Associates in
Rochester, NY shared the following after helping out a group of local
scouts achieve their Surveying Merit Badge.
“In celebration of National Surveyors week, I was approached by
members of my company, active in the local Lima Boy Scouts of America
Troop, to teach the merit badge for surveying. I had been approached
years ago by a friend to teach the badge, but it never materialized. I was
glad to have the opportunity to introduce the subject to a group of young
adults that may not otherwise ever have the opportunity to hear about
our profession. While talking with my equipment rep, he brought up a
discouraging statistic, out of 138 available badges the land surveying
merit badge is the fourth least awarded, only ahead of journalism,
drafting and bugling.
We met at Mendon Ponds Park with a group of seven teenaged Scouts –
five boys and two girls. To start things off, I asked what their perception
of land surveying was. Most of them didn’t have much of an idea about
land surveying, while a handful had a general understanding of the
topic. A lengthy discussion was had about different types of surveys and
their purposes. With examples of the different types of surveys laid out
on the picnic tables, they appeared to understand the different
applications and their need and importance.
The course structure is outlined by the Boy Scouts and includes
traversing, leveling and drafting a 5-sided lot. It was a slow start with a
group of teenagers that had never seen a total station or used a scale
before, but they started to get the hang of things as the day progressed.
The program has made efforts to modernize with the incorporation of
GPS and discussions on drones, scanning and other modern technology.
By the end of the day, all seven Scouts had completed the merit badge
requirements. They gained practical experience with key surveying tools
and learned how surveyors use these tools to measure, map, and
manage land. My ending question for the group was “after all that you
have seen today, who wants to be a land surveyor?” One of the girls
looked at me with wide eyes and let out a long “noooo”. Hopefully, the
thought might cross one of their minds someday that this might be a
rewarding profession to become a part of. I would encourage anyone
with a desire to introduce surveying to the next generation to look into
volunteering their time towards this program before it becomes #138.”

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EMPIRE STATE SURVEYOR / VOL. 61 • NO 3 / 2025 • MAY/JUNE 17