The Board had a very productive quarterly board meeting on June 21 and 22, at the Stonewall Jackson Hotel in Staunton, Virginia. On Friday, two (2) four-hour sessions of continuing education were provided, (i) "Amazing Situations of Liability Traps That Caught A Surveyor", presented by Justin Klein of the Klein Agency, LLC and (ii) "Geospatial Data Quality and Accuracy: The State-of-Practice" presented by Qassim Abdullah of Woolpert. Both sessions received rave reviews. On Saturday, your new Board of Directors immediately went to work on items which included amendments to our by-laws and the retention of a VAS lobbyist, an issue that many of our members have conveyed to be a priority initiative. Many thanks to Kristopher Caister, the Monticello Chapter, our VAS Education Committee and the instructors for hosting a very successful seminar and board meeting.

Following up on the Board Meeting, I have been serving with our entire Executive Board on the Long Range Planning Committee (LRPC), chaired by Immediate Past President Kevin Shreiner, in regards to the retention of a lobbyist. Mr. Shreiner has done a stellar job, as always, leading us to develop methods of creating or reallocating of our revenues to fund this additional budget line item. To those members who may not be aware, VAS had retained the services of a lobbyist prior to the economic downturn in 2008, which we discontinued due to an unfortunate loss in membership dues revenue. Recently it has become increasingly evident of the need to re-engage a lobbyist once again. John Palatiello and VAS staff have issued a Request for Proposals, from Virginia lobbying firms under the direction and approval of myself and Legislative Committee chair Bruce Frederick. The LRPC will discuss and present recommendations to the entire VAS Board of Directors (BOD) at our next quarterly meeting in Leesburg, Virginia on September 21.

Some members have expressed concern that a lobbyist should never replace or serve as the Legislative Committee chair. I would like to reassure our membership, on behalf of the board and Legislative Committee, that has never been our intention whatsoever. Our Legislative Chair will remain the sole expert in reviewing any legislation as to how it affects our profession and will be the scrivener of any legislative language required to amend, repeal and/or oppose proposed bills before the General Assembly in Richmond ... all under the review and approval by the VAS BOD. The lobbyist will serve in conjunction with our Legislative Committee chair to  track legislation affecting the profession of Land Surveying, assuring that nothing falls through the cracks. The lobbyist will further serve to make recommendations regarding the best methods to proceed in opposing, supporting, amending and/or appealing any legislation. VAS will rely on the expertise, experience and relationships of the lobbyist to provide access and advocacy in the General Assembly in support of these efforts.

The VAS By-Laws Committee under the direction of our NSPS Director, Will Nash, has been reviewing and updating our By-Laws to address questions from our General Membership Meeting this past April and to remain current in our modern age. Some of the changes have included membership notification via email, retired member status and approval, and membership fee due dates. Following Board approval, by-laws will be sent to the membership for review and or comment prior to being voted on and adopted at our next General Membership Meeting in Virginia Beach on May 2, 2020.

Our Education Committee chair, Chip Richardson, never rests ... even over the summer. Chip, and his team of Alison Hanson and Reed Adams, prepared 30 future licensed professional surveyors for their licensing examinations at the John Foster School at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond on July 23-26. I realize that our Executive Director, John Palatiello, thanked the instructors in our last issue of Old Dominion Surveyor, however they can never be thanked enough. Many thanks again to Lisa Goodwin, VIKA Inc.; Chris Cartwright, Tidewater Community College; Mark White, Duncan Parnell, Inc.; Larry Brownley, DAA; Doug Potts, Dominion Energy; Yeoanny Venetsanos, Fairfax County; and Dr. Jan Briede', VA DEQ.

The Bull Run Chapter will be hosting the 2019 Fall Seminar "Floodplain Management for Surveyors" on Friday September 20 at the Clarion Inn and Conference Center in Leesburg (Loudoun County), VA. Skeet shooting is also scheduled for Friday morning and a networking dinner at Clyde's Willow Creek Farm in nearby Ashburn, VA on Friday evening. It is still not too late to register, please go to the VAS website and register today. The VAS Board of Directors will meet on Saturday, September 21 and all members are welcome to attend.

Please be reminded that when you recruit a new licensed member to VAS you will receive a 25% discount on your dues for next year. Tell a fellow surveyor that VAS is connected to its membership now more than ever through our website, social media, email blasts, and this fabulous newsletter, "The Old Dominion Surveyor". VAS volunteers and staff are working daily to improve and protect the profession of Land Surveying in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Spread the Word!

Lastly, we are always looking for new articles to publish and I welcome all of you to contact our illustrious editor and Second Vice President, Alison Hanson, with your ideas or submissions. This is your newsletter.

Highest Regards,

Gary M. Faulhaber, LS, RLS

71st President - Virginia Association of Surveyors

Please provide a short history of your education and work history

I graduated from Annandale High School, then graduated from Northern Virginia Community College (NVCC) with an Associate's in General Studies. I then transferred to George Mason University (GMU) and graduated with a Bachelor's in Biology. From there, I graduated from the Northern Virginia Land Surveying Apprenticeship program at Woodson High School. And because I am a gluten for punishment, I went back to school and attained a graduate certificate in GIS from GMU. I have plans to go back to graduate school for a Master's in Public Administration in the next few years.

My work experience started with great internships during college. I spent a year volunteering for Americorps*National Civilian Conservation Corps; I spent a summer as a natural resource management intern with the Fairfax County Park Authority; I spent a summer as a laboratory intern with the USGS.

My first job out of college was a year-long seasonal position as the Natural Resource Manager for Huntley Meadows Park in Alexandria, VA where I learned to use GPS and GIS to help manage natural and cultural resources. My second job was working for my stepfather, Sam Whitson, LS, where I learned to be a field and office surveyor, how to operate a small survey shop, and how to be a professional. My third job was working for Wetland Studies and Solutions, Inc. as a GIS analyst where I learned how to integrate people, process, and technology to derive better solutions for clients. My fourth job was working for the Prince William County Service Authority as a Senior GIS Specialist where I learned about the importance of a survey-quality GIS database, asset management, and front-line management / leadership. My current job is with the Fairfax County Department of Public Works and Environmental Services as their GIS Services Manager where I lead a small team of GIS professionals providing data management, application solutions, and user training to one of the largest GIS user groups in the County.

In addition to full time work, I also have been providing workforce development courses in land surveying and GIS through the Northern Virginia Land Surveying Apprenticeship program, VAS, GMU, and ESI. I have also been active on the Mount Vernon Chapter (MVC) board and currently serve as the VAS Region I director. In addition, I am the current Vice President for VAMLIS.

I was first licensed in surveying in Virginia in July 2009. I became a certified GIS professional in August 2009. I became a certified mapping scientist - GIS in January 2010. Lastly, I became a certified project management professional in November 2018.

 

What drew you toward surveying?

At the end of the day, the power of location and geography fascinate and inspire me. Many problems can be solved with the power of location - that's amazing to me. I love that as a surveyor you need to be well versed in several disciplines: research, technology, negotiating, contracts, field work, geodesy, math, consulting, writing, history, etc. It's an interesting profession and whenever you tell someone that you are surveyor, they are genuinely interested in what you do for a living.

 

What do you feel is your greatest achievement in your career?

I have had the great fortune of teaching, mentoring, and coaching exceptional students over the past 8 years. My greatest achievements are seeing up and coming surveyors reach their professional goals and knowing that I played a small part in the process.

 

What surveyors have been your mentors? What was special about what you learned from them?

In the apprenticeship program, George O'Quinn, Dick Spencer, and Burt Sours. They taught me the value of being a part of something bigger than yourself, being curious, and most importantly, what being a professional surveyor in Northern Virginia means. They continue to inspire me to this day, especially when I am teaching surveyors in the same position that I was in 15 years ago.

As far as work, Sam Whitson and Tom Venetsanos were my first mentors. I continue to work with them, leverage their talents frequently, and trust their professional guidance and opinions. Rick Hudson was another mentor who helped me broaden my knowledge of surveying, especially when it came to 'old school' surveying. Rick provides my apprenticeship class an outdoor lab on chaining and leveling every spring. Chris Jensen and Vickie Anglin have been excellent mentors. Chris recruited me to the MVC board and I have been following him through the VAS ranks ever since. Vickie has generously shared many of her experiences related to surveying, teaching, coaching, managing people, and leadership.

I am the sum of all these influences and many others in this profession. Writing all of this reminds me that I can never repay my mentors, but I continue to try to make up that deficit by paying it forward, working with competence and integrity, and serving the profession to the best of my ability.

 

Would you recommend a career in surveying to others, and why?

Yes! I don't know if this is true, but I have read recently that data is more valuable than oil. In my mind, we have only scratched the surface of what we can achieve and problems that we can solve with location-based data. There is only one profession that is trained and licensed to collect location data and understand its uses, accuracies, and how it is georeferenced to our world and beyond - professional surveyors. Even if the location data we collect is not survey-grade, we are the only professionals trained to distinguish the difference. As location data, and the technology that consumes it, is more widely leveraged, professional surveying services will be in high demand.

 

What has been the greatest change in surveying you've witnessed in your career?

Technology. The pace at which technology has been developed and leveraged to collect and utilize location data has been staggering. We as surveyors need to stay ahead of the technology curve while also demonstrating the value-add that our profession brings to society with regards to location data.

Alison W. Hanson, L.S.

2nd Vice President

Virginia Association of Surveyors

Did you know that when you recruit a new member to VAS you will receive a 25% discount on your membership dues? Spread the word about the great work VAS is doing for the surveying profession and be sure to tell the new member to include your name on the  recommended by  portion of their application. 

At our annual meeting in April, there was a recommendation made by the Constitution and By-Laws Committee for amendments to our Articles of Incorporation and By-Laws. There was objection to this, due to the fact that there had not been a conventional mailing of notification of proposed amendments as set out in the current By-Laws. This objection was right and proper, and the motion to approve the amendments was defeated. I take responsibility for overlooking this requirement and will correct this mistake for the upcoming annual meeting.

 

The proposed changes are mostly housekeeping items that relate to our change of convention dates and some wording that is just outdated, but there are a few items that would change the way we do business. One is to make the notification requirement for a meeting where by-laws changes would be discussed fit the most widely accepted method of circulation. More and more that is not the U.S. Mail. One physical mailing can cost nearly as much as one member's dues and if you are like me you would rather sort your e-mail box than try to separate junk mail from what's worth reading.

 

Another proposed change is to try to better define which of our committees are standing and which were created for a special purpose that may not be as necessary or relevant as when it was formed. Yet another is to remove the dues from the by-laws since they are subject to change and require the document to be rewritten each time.

 

The VAS Board of Directors reviewed and approved the changes that were drafted by this committee prior to the General Membership Meeting last April as required but since some time has elapsed and some other suggestions have been made, we will again take up this topic in the Fall 2019 and Winter 2020 board meetings. Once the board has approved a draft, it will be available for all members to view prior to the 2020 general membership meeting and notice will be made.

Will Nash

Will Nash

NSPS Director

wenashls@kinex.net