Your Monthly URISA News & Updates
GIS Hall of Fame and URISA Volunteer Recognition

URISA's GIS Hall of Fame honors persons and organizations that have made significant and original contributions to the development and application of GIS concepts, tools, or resources, or to the GIS profession. Check out the Story Map of current inductees and think about which legends are missing. May 1 is the due date for nominations.  

In addition, the due date for nominations for URISA service awards (volunteer recognition) is May 1. Who has been an outstanding URISA volunteer and deserves recognition? So many! Learn more and submit your nomination form today.  
Have you and your team improved the delivery and
qua lity of government services through the use of GIS?

Applications for 2018 URISA Exemplary Systems in Government Awards are due on or before June 4, 2018.  Submissions are invited in both Enterprise Systems and Single Process Systems categories. 

Check out the details and enjoy the great videos that were submitted by last year's winning systems  here .
Volunteer Opportunity: New Delivery Methods for Training
URISA has established a reputation and expectation for delivering quality educational offerings such as peer reviewed classroom workshops. In order to ensure that we continue to meet this expectation, we are seeking volunteers to be part of a small group of other interested URISA members who will be tasked with identifying new methods for delivering training to our members as well as the broader geospatial community. The group is anticipated to be active from May through October 2018.

Specific tasks:
  • Review existing URISA training materials and methods
  • Review training methods and fee structures of other organizations (e.g. self-directed online, webinar, etc.)
  • Identify delivery methods that URISA should consider adopting in order to better meet its mission
  • Identify technologies that should be considered for delivery of training (e.g. Zoom, Adobe Connect, GoToWebinar, etc)
  • Produce a report that identifies:
    • Recommendations for delivery methods
    • Recommendations for training technology
    • Recommendations for training cost and fee structures for training

If you are interested in being part of this workgroup, please fill out this form by May 7.
GIS Leadership Academy in Columbus and Salt Lake City

We had a fantastic GIS Leadership Academy in Columbus, Ohio a couple of weeks ago. Thanks to all who helped spread the word! 

GIS professionals from 15 states and 2 Canadian provinces joined us for five days of targeted GIS leadership and management training. 

We are so grateful to our outstanding faculty (Ashley Hitt, Carl Anderson, Brett Horr, Allen Ibaugh, and Rebecca Somers). Your dedication is second-to-none! 

Special thanks to the Ohio URISA Chapter for hosting a social on Thursday night. A great time was had by all! Check out the chapter's upcoming full-day of education on May 15 in Columbus. 

If you co uldn't make it to Columbus, be sure to check out the Salt Lake City event in late July. But don't wait too long as two-thirds of the available spots are already taken! Register today!

Program Details for GIS-Pro & CalGIS 2018

We're partnering with our four California URISA Chapters and the California Geographic Information Association to present GIS-Pro & CalGIS 2018 in Palm Springs in October.

The planning committee met in Palm Springs in March and again last week via conference call to put the finishing touches on the program and workshop offerings. 


GIS-Pro & CalGIS 2018 will feature workshops, a keynote address from Jack Dangermond, tons of educational sessions, an exhibition, and networking events. Plan to join us in October!
GIS/CAMA... Heading to Portland in 2019!

The URISA Oregon Chapter is busy this week with the GIS in Action Conference in Portland (hope it's going well!).

Next February, Portland will be the site of the 2019 GIS/CAMA Technologies Conference. 

Make plans to join us and share your good work with the attendees. The Call for Presentation and Workshop Proposals will be announced in May/June. 

Is GISP in your Future? 
URISA's Professional Education Committee recently hosted a very well-attended two-part virtual event for URISA members. The first part of the program discussed the reasons that the GISP credential is worth pursuing as well as what is involved in completing each part of the application. The second part  explored the topics that you need to be familiar with for each of the knowledge areas covered by the GISP exam.  

If you missed the webinar, you can access the presentation and one day of the recorded webinar here at your convenience. 

The content is being further fine-tuned and will be presented as a popular full-day workshop at GIS-Pro & CalGIS 2018 in Palm Springs in October and will likely also be available following the conference as a stand-alone workshop.

Note that the next testing window for the  GISCI Geospatial Core Technical Knowledge Exam®  as a part of the GISP Certification is scheduled for June 2-9, 2018.    Learn more
Industry & Chapter Events
Tons of events in April with Washington URISA and MAC-URISA events coming up in May.

We'll have a booth again at the Esri UC in San Diego and would love for members to stop by and talk to potential members when you're not busy at sessions, etc. URISA will be in booth 2412 with GISCI right next door in booth 2410. URISA's GISCorps has a kiosk right across the aisle in the Sustainable Community area.

Be sure to check out the online  Event Calendar  for information about events and activities. 
URISA Logo Apparel

Long sleeve, short sleeve, cardigans, and pullover fleece, check out the URISA Logo Store and stay warm this winter, in style! 

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