Anyone going to the FSMS State Conference in August? It's at the Waldorf Astoria in Naples. {New name for the hotel we were at last time, Naples Grande} It's a beautiful place for a conference and right in the middle of everything.
http://www.fsms.org/conferences.cfm
The Society has done a great job with the schedule and offered a "pick and choose" style of attendance in response to people's needs to be flexible.
I'll be there, since our chapter is hosting, so if anyone wants to get together for a beer and a laugh, look me up. Also, we have been known to have an impromptu poolside jam session, so bring your guitar or what have you and sing along.
Fishing Tournament, Golf and game night should all be great. See ya there.
I'll be there with my Martin in hand.
Negative... lots of work right now! 🙂
I can explain it to you, but I can't understand it for you...
If the state society ever starts doing worthwhile things I might get interested. But right now all they are are a CEU provider.
> If the state society ever starts doing worthwhile things I might get interested. But right now all they are are a CEU provider.
I'm pretty sure FSMS did something worthwhile when they led the fight against the Governor for trying to take our professional license away from us.
Thanks Jeremy, yes, they sure did stand up for us. And FSMS is what we make of it, so if all they did was offer ceu's then that's our fault.
Yes, AFTER they got caught flat footed by the legislation to begin with. Classic asleep at the wheel to be sure. I was warning surveyors about the legislation days before the society said anything about it. Like I said, all they are good for is pumping out an endless stream of CEU material and one over priced convention.
Let's see them do something about the continued destruction of section corners, subdivision corners and property corners by construction employees who could care less. About the lack of MTS guidelines that address least squares adjustments, electronic data collection and GPS. About the ability to earn a fair wage for our services. About the Jizzers who speak and act like surveyors even though they are not.
Joe,
Those are all fantastic points to be made. I don't know if you've ever been involved with FSMS, but why wouldn't it be a good thing to bring those up from inside the organization? It's a vicious circle when the membership drops from attrition in the profession and apathy from those that remain. So the only way to make up the difference is to cut back to the bare bones that pays the bills.
Andy
Just who do you think "they" are anyway? I was waiting for you to do something "about the continued destruction of section corners, subdivision corners and property corners by construction employees who could care less. About the lack of MTS guidelines that address least squares adjustments, electronic data collection and GPS. About the ability to earn a fair wage for our services. About the Jizzers who speak and act like surveyors even though they are not."
Your state society is a bunch of volunteers who are trying to make a living, working every day, and supporting their profession. It's not any easier for any one of them to fix those problems that all the other surveyors are waiting for someone to do. Don't hold your breath 'til it's done.....:-/
I just posted this the other day when someone complained about SAMSOG.
Well, the use of the word "they" tells you all you need to know.
It should be "we"...... until surveyors start thinking of their state associations as "we" instead of "they" or "them", the profession will always struggle when it comes to issues such as this one.
In a post above, I saw some great suggestions.......why not go to a meeting of your state association and bring them up in person?
Or get on a commitee to start doing something.
Honestly, I understand, everyone has their comfort level of participation. And I also know that people get burned out when they do volunteer, because it seems you end up doing everything all the time, so I'm not dogging Joe at all. I just wish more people were involved.
I was involved with the society at committee level so I have seen it from the inside. I saw how the leadership was really only interested in supporting those who supported them. If you were a sustaining member or firm they were glad to help you. If you were a small firm who could not afford those "gifts" to the society or a one man shop, you could not get the time of day. Maybe things have changed but I have not seen anything from the society to convince me that they have.
And as far as making those suggestions myself, I have. Every chance I get but the only responses are a shoulder shrug or a roll of the eyes. But next time I see a construction crew tear out a property corner, maybe I'll call the cops and have them cited. After all, it is a second degree misdemeanor to "molest" subdivision monumentation.
It sounds like you're a patient man, there Andy J.
I pretty much agree with you and I know more surveyors that aren't involved with the State Society than are. I only get my hackles up when I hear them bi**h about what the organization hasn't done for them while they haven't done a thing themselves.
Sicilian Cowboy said it well.
I thought you had been active before, Joe. I would LOVE to see more of us reporting the fraudulent, non-MTS bull crap surveyors out there that I see more and more of. I suppose I'm just as guilty as the rest of us that talk the talk, then don't actually get involved. Either for fear of the time it will take, or possible retribution, we don't tend to go to the board for help.