Our local chapter of the state surveying association has several (27) paying members. When we have our chapter meetings, it is usually the same four to five people who attend. Maybe two months out of the year, there will be as many as ten people who attend.
I have been thinking about putting together several one hour presentations on a variety of subjects and submitting for approval as continuing professional development courses. Then presenting them at one meeting with certificates passed out at the next meeting.
If you attend your area surveying meetings, what (if anything) is your chapter doing to make attendance more worthwhile for you?
Jon, I totally empathize with you. As a long standing chapter representative, and the current secretary of APLS - membership is a HUGE issue.
What is even more of an issue is lack of participation!
It seems that people will bitch all day, but never do anything to protect what we've all worked so hard to accomplish. They do not join because they don't feel they are getting their $150 annual due's worth at the end of the year. So they sit in their pompous chairs and complain..... as they make $80K ...
Sometimes I wish I wish I became an optometrist. People don't bat an eye to pay $500 for glasses, but try and charge that for a simple lot survey and you'd think you pulled their eyeballs out.... hmmmmmmm
Our chapter has about 80 members with an average monthly attendance of about 20. For the past 18 or so years we have been presenting programs that usually earn one hour of credit, yet we still have not been able to get others to attend, even with (or in spite of!) Jeff Lucas as an occasional speaker. He is a chapter member.
You can lead a horse to water...
Why not just pay people to show up?
Your idea of preparing presentations will attract an audience if your presentations are consistently:
a) of broad interest to surveyors, and
b) well prepared and presented
In order to do that you will have to dedicate a large swatch of your time to preparation. Enough to really cut into your surveying-for-pay time. So much so that you will start to think that you have to get paid for these great presentations. And if they are good, people would pay.
The best simple way I can think of to get better attendance at these meetings is to keep them short and sweet. If the actual meeting portion of your meetings are going over an hour they are too long.
Why not just pay people to show up?
> Your idea of preparing presentations will attract an audience if your presentations are consistently:
>
> a) of broad interest to surveyors, and
> b) well prepared and presented
Our meetings are. As for the length, they do not go over one hour unless there were many issues discused before the program began. We meet at a reasonably priced and centrally located meat and 3 cafeteria at 6, begin the meeting at 6:30, and are done by about 7:30. If we are not out by then, we may be run out of the place.
Occasionally, we have attendees from other areas of the state who are suprised that we have as many there as we do. However, we are the largest chapter in Alabama.
Our local Alamo Chapter 11 meets once a month for a luncheon- depending on the speaker and Board Approval, we receive 1 CEU credit. You must attend at least 4 meetings to receive 4 CEU's. (dont think they issue 1 or 2)Any local San Antonio boys/girls correct me please...
Nothing as far as I can see that interests me.
It seems counterproductive to belong to an association that consistently holds, promotes and subsidizes ideals not in line with your own. I was a member and director of our own local society, so please spare me the “you need to get involved to change things” speech. There is no getting around it, there will always be two types of surveyors and the state societies can only represent the best of interests of one.
Jon, I was chapter pres for two terms and struggled with the same issue. Now i am a past pres but it's still a problem. We have about 90 members in our chapter, and it's the same 7-8 that come to our monthly meetings.
One thing that I did was to start a member appreciation meeting in April. We host it at our local Museum of Natural History and have it catered by a local mexican restaurant. We offer a free dinner and the chapter picks up the tab. In our Assoc. the states fees include a chapter fee that is returned to the chapter, so we use that money.
That meeting has about 25 people show up each year.
We also do have speakers join us each month to discuss various subjects, such as an attorney to talk about the land court and expert witness testimony......
Dtp
PS I bet even Kris from Texas would come for a free dinner!! 🙂
One of our best attended meetings is a combination with the university and the local community colleges and their student chapters. The chapter picks up the tab for the students and we as professionals get to mingle with the younger crowd and get them thinking about a career in surveying. The department heads give a little talk on how things are going, one of the equipment reps comes down and shows off some of the new stuff, and we get a surveying firm or government agency to do a presentation. We tend to get the more students than professionals some years, but I think that it opens the eyes of the students to our profession. It also makes them aware that the average age of the professional surveyor is getting up there.
I have been a member of the TSPS since 1973 when I started as a student in college.
Have attended most meetings for fellowship rather than for real business. Many years I have not attended at all for various reasons.
All any organization can do is to hang out the welcome sign and contact members and hold your association's doors open to welcome members and guests in.
There is no sure fire event planning that will bring everyone to meetings aside from a common goal of promoting and sharing your surveying experiences with others and working toward the future.
All it takes to go to meeting is the desire to be there.
Our local chapter's work usually goes to help surveying students in some way.
A person can lead, follow, join, sit or be a member in what capacity they wish to be. I have never had to do anything that I was not willing to do by being a member. For some years I could barely afford my dues to be a member.
Overall, being a member of my state organization has always been worth every effort and penny spent.
A Harris
well said - I know of surveyors who were able to obtain employment thru their contacts at these meetings from being laid off from a previous employer- I think it helps to stay in touch....
Gene, as much as I respectfully agree with you that there are two camps, the road to changes is not by standing on the sideline and complaining. Sometimes the changes are not in my favor, so if I'm not involved then how can I have a voice. Let alone complain. I was taught long ago that if I don't have a solution in mind, then don't bitch about the problem.
It all goes uphill from there, along with the $$$. PDH's, degree requirements, proposed legislative changes, regulatory right of way permits, lest we forget technological advances that pass most people by. How do you think ALTA standards get revised every few years? Where is FEMA these days? How's that geoid working for you?
It just seems that the ones that do the most complaining are not members of their respective state society. Put up or shut up.
Personally, I think all 50 states should have a 4 yr degree requirement in a related field . I also think that any PLS should be a member of the surveying society in the state in which they reside. What better way to stay current? But that's just me
Gene Baker
> ... There is no getting around it, there will always be two types of surveyors and the state societies can only represent the best of interests of one.
What are the two types???
Stephen
Maybe, but I bet my Mexican food is better than yours. 🙂
J/k
I have always held the thought that the Florida State Society was pretty much useless. Catering to large firms and basically ignoring the small firms or indy surveyors. When they were totally caught flat footed by the past deregulation effort, that only confirmed my suspensions. I really see them as offering no benefit to me at all.
Our local chapter tries to have at least 6-8 1 hour seminars per year. That plus 50% meeting attendance gives us 8-10 PDH's without leaving the county. We also try to put on an 8 hour seminar once a year.
Two things help with out attendance
1. Have a 1 hr. PDH
2. Have a cajun meal with every meeting, Gumbo, Jambalaya, boudin etc.
