.
The
NSPS Board of Governor's (BOG) met March 17th and 18th
in Las Vegas, Nevada in conjunction with the ACSM-CLSA-NALS-WFPS Conference
and Exposition. The following are
highlights from the Board of Governor’s (BOG) meeting:
NSPS
Restructure Committee Interim Report: The committee met on
March 16th and 17th in Las Vegas. They reviewed the plan of the Restructure
Committee as presented at the March 2000 in Little Rock, Arkansas. There was considerable discussion about the
structure, size, and membership of the Board of Directors as proposed in the
plan. The committee also prepared a
proposal for a Vision and Mission Statement for NSPS to serve as a framework
for NSPS, and as guidance for the future committee proposals.
The
committee as a whole discussed and is proposing that the ACSM Reorganization
Plan, as prepared by the ACSM Sub-committee, will serve as the basis for an
official Ad Hoc ACSM Re-organization Committee.
The
committee determined the need to address the concerns and understanding of the
Restructure Plan as presented in the report.
The plan as proposed may be misunderstood. The plan is designed to provide a transitional method to move
from the structure we have today, to the structure as proposed. The Board of Governors will continue to
function as they do today. The change
as proposed provides a method for a state affiliate that has achieved full
membership within ACSM, to receive a seat and vote on the Board of Directors. The Area Directors will continue to
represent the states as they do today.
The size of the Board of Directors as proposed was also considered, but
the committee was not able to reach a consensus.
The
"Sliding Scale" as proposed by Nevada appears to provide an alternative
method for increased membership in ACSM.
This proposal, as discussed by the committee, received favorable consideration
and is a concept for future committee actions.
The
committee encourages the Board of Governors to support he NSPS Vision and
Mission Statements presented. The
Vision and Mission Statement is designed to provide the basis for future
discussions and directions.
Vision
of the NSPS for the 21st Century
Preamble:
The National Society of Professional Surveyors is the representative
voice of the Surveying profession at the national level. To further this position we are committed
to:
· Proactively
evaluating new developments and leading our profession accordingly to protect
the interests of the public in a rapidly changing world.
· Challenging,
encouraging and supporting our professionals and technicians, so that we may
all grow personally and professionally.
· Attracting
talented, motivated individuals to our profession and to our organization.
· Engaging
our existing liaisons and developing new liaisons with interested and related
organizations.
· Actively
supporting university-level surveying programs.
· Publishing
professional journals that reflect the scope of our profession and perpetuate a
dialogue about our future.
Vision:
The future success of NSPS is driven by our ability to develop and
maintain a dynamic organization to which surveying professionals and
technicians believe they must belong to further their professional and personal
goals.
Mission:
It is the Mission of NSPS to:
· Advance
the profession of surveying in furtherance of the public welfare, and in the
interests of those who use surveys and maps.
· Establish
a central source of reference for its members and the public.
· Be
collective voice of the profession on a national level.
· Contribute
to public education in the use of surveys and maps.
· Support
the further development of existing and future university-level surveying
programs.
· Support
a program of publications that will represent the profession and technical
interests of surveying.
· Lend
support and expertise to the Affiliate programs.
Background
Information and Conclusions: The NSPS Restructure
Committee affirmed the validity of the vision and mission as stated above. The committee also concluded that to truly
be the leading national organization of the profession, NSPS must represent all
or at least a majority of the professional surveyors of the affiliate
societies. To achieve the vision of
being the leading national organization, the membership of the organization
must be more broad–based than currently exists.
The
governing body of NSPS must reflect this representation. The current structure of our organization
can be more efficient at achieving the vision, mission, strategic goals, and
objectives that flow from them. As a
result the committee identified the following primary conclusion with regard to
membership and governance: To capture the energy of a new broad-based
membership, the governing body of the organization must be correspondingly
modified. This motion was passed by the
BOG.
Nominating
Committee: The
National Society of Professional Surveyors (NSPS) Nominating Committee shall
consist of the following seven (7) members: (1) the Immediate Past President of
NSPS; (2) the Immediate past Nominating Committee Chairman; (3) a NSPS Director
beginning the second year of a three year term who shall be elected from a
slate consisting of such second year directors by receiving a majority of votes
of the membership present at the annual (spring) meeting; (4) a Governor
elected by the Board of Governors at the BOG meeting prior to the annual
(spring) meeting and three (3) additional NSPS members who shall be nominated
from the floor and elected by a majority of the membership present at the
Annual Meeting of the Society. The
Nominating Committee will elect its own chairman. The Immediate past Nomination Committee Chairman may not serve
consecutive in that capacity. Members
of the Nomination Committee are ineligible for nomination. Motion Passed by the BOG.
NSPS
Awards and Map/Plat Judges: To
accept Governors' Cook, Jefferson and Charlier as NSPS Awards Judges, and
Governors’ Ray and Garlitz as NSPS Map/Plat Judges. Motion Passed by the BOG.
Life
Membership Presentation: John Fenn was presented with a Life
Membership Award for his generous donation of $5,000 to the NSPS Foundation,
Inc.
Student
Competition: The NSPS Board of Governors affirms the "Surveying
Student Competition" and encourages the NSPS Board of Directors to implement
by Spring 2002 the plan to be submitted by the Education Committee. Motion Passed by the BOG.
Nevada
Sliding Scale: The NSPS Board of Governors recommends to the NSPS
Board of Directors and the ACSM Board of Direction that all state affiliates be
allowed to adopt a “Sliding Scale” for ACSM / NSPS membership dues similar to
that adopted for Nevada. Motion passed
by the BOG.
Dues
Service Fees: The
NSPS Board of Governors recommends to the NSPS Board of Directors and the ACSM
Board of Direction that state affiliates by allowed to retain a “Service Fee”
for collecting ACSM / NSPS membership dues on a “Sliding Scale” program similar
to that adopted by the Nevada Association of Land Surveyors. Motion passed by
the BOG.
Surveying
Software Review: The
NSPS Board of Governors recommends to the NSPS Board of Directors and the ACSM
Board of Direction that a Bulletin Board be added to the ACSM / NSPS Website to
alert the surveying community to issues related to software and hardware.
Motion Passed by the BOG.
Trig-Star: Governor Chagnon reported
that there are currently 26 states participating in the Trig-Star program.
Blacklisting
Is Back: Once again the Federal Government is proposing
regulations which would allow their agencies to blacklist contractors (those
who enter into agreements with the Federal Government by executing a contract)
who the agencies feel do not comply with various regulations. The ACSM / NSPS Joint Governmental Affairs
Committee is on record as being opposed to the proposed regulations for two
reasons. The first reason being that
there is no provision in the proposed regulations for “due process,” which
means that a contracting officer could blacklist a contractor for a perceived
violation and the contractor would have no recourse. The second reason for the opposition is that there are
regulations currently in place which allows federal agencies to deal (or not to
deal) with contractors who violate the law.
NSPS
President Report: Tommy Brooks reported that the number one
priority for NSPS continues to be Government Affairs and representing surveyors
nationally with respect to HUD Standards, FEMA Mapping, ALTA Survey Standards,
Government Contract Bundeling, USGS Mapping and interfacing with NGS.
NSPS
Treasure Report: Jon Abenroth reported that with recent dues
income NSPS had $315,000 in cash and with the ACSM Note of $56,000 the year end
net worth of NSPS was $371,000.
ACSM
Executive Director Report: Curt Sumner reported that the auditors
suggest a staff person be added with accounting expertise. The ACSM Bulletin is back on schedule. ACSM needs to renegotiate a new contract
with NICET. The CST program is becoming
very successful and an important service to surveying technicians. The ACSM E-store continues to be successful
on the ACSM Website. AAGS is working on
incorporating. New membership brochures
are completed and ready for distribution.
FEMA insurers are wanting to change certificates, ACSM and FEMA are
opposing the changes. Nominations will
be done earlier now that the By-Law changes have passed. New licensing and the Model Law issues are
urgent and must be addressed quickly.
ACSM/NSPS/NALS
Joint Membership Status:
Question 4 on the State ballot passed paving the way for joint
membership between ACSM, NSPS and NALS.
Curt Sumner, Executive Director of ACSM and I have put together a letter
to be mailed out to promote the joint membership opportunity. NALS Central Office should have the letters
out in the mail soon.
ACSM
Conferences: Gary
Kent reported that the Conference Committee will be recommending to the ACSM
Board of Direction that the 2003 Spring Meeting be held in Phoenix, Arizona and
the 2004 Spring Meeting be held in Nashville, Tennessee.
NGS
Report: Ed
McKay, Director of NGS, reported that the FBN HARN Re-observation effort has
been suspended due to budget cuts. NGS
will be contracting out more surveying and mapping for height modernization
(the report for which has never officially been released). Information on subcontracting will be
available on the ACSM website. In
addition, Mr. McKay reported that without budget increases the NGS will not
exist in 7 to 10 years and urged for support to keep the NGS alive.
Lamar
Evers was elected Chairman of the Board of Directors and Joe Baird was elected
Secretary.
Words
of Wisdom from Jerry Goodson, Immediate Past Chairman of the Board of
Governors: When you are involved in a volunteer organization, you are always
getting more than what you paid for.
If
you have any questions, comments or concerns regarding any of the issues
presented in this report please forward them to me and I will do my best to get
the answer for you or represent your opinion at the next meeting. You can reach me by email at BKJefferson@TriStateLtd.com.