Spring 2008

2008 IPLSA CONFERENCE A BIG SUCCESS

Welcome Back to Springfield was an appropriate theme for the 51^st IPLSA Annual Conference, sponsored by the Chicago Chapter.  1,087 attended the event.

CORRECTION: The date on the top of the Certificate of Completion form says 2007 instead of 2008. The time and dates of the sessions is correct showing that it was 2008.

2009 IPLSA CONFERENCE

Planning for the 52^nd IPLSA Annual Conference is already underway.  The conference, hosted by the Winnebago Chapter, will be held February 11-14, 2009 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel.  IPLSA executive director Bob Church met with the chapter at their meeting March 13^th in Dixon.

ROY R. FRANK, JR, PLS RECEIVES TOP AWARD

Professor Roy R. Frank Jr., PLS was selected the Outstanding Teacher of the Year for the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale.  The award is based upon peer reviews and course evaluations performed by the students.

UPCOMING SEMINARS

IPLSA is fortunate to have Knud E. Hermansen, PLS, PE, PhD, Esq., present a one-day seminar in Springfield.  The seminar is titled Monuments & Lines of Possessions and will be held at the Northfield Inn Suites & Conference Center on Friday, May 16^th.  Information is on iplsa.org.

IPLSA is planning more seminars in 2008 in order to insure that all PLSs meet the 20 hours of Professional Development requirements before the November 30, 2008 renewal deadline.  We are aware that some of you still need the mandatory Statutes and Standards and/or Professional Standards (Ethics).  For planning purposes we need to know who needs the mandatory PDHs and where you live.  Please be sure to answer the questionnaire that was included in the Monuments & Line of Possession registration mailing.

ACSM/NSPS NEWS

Illinois ranks 5^th in the nation of having the most people accredited in the NSPS Certified Surveying Technician program (CST).  Employers and employees interested in learning more about the CST program should go to the home page and click on the icon NSPS CST Program.

CST results of those who passed the exam given at the IPLSA Conference as of April 15th:

Michael Beck - Entry   

Bob Elshoff - Entry   

Michael Gadde - Entry   

Bryon Graminski - Entry   

Jonathan Jacobs - Computer Operator

Jeff Kania - Field

Jacob Koch - Field

Eric Konrad - Field

Kristopher McAllister - Field

Jason McArthur - Entry

William McDaniel - Entry

Kelly McEvers - Boundary         

Richard Peelman - Entry   

Seth Price - Entry   

Carleson Pruitt - Entry

Douglas Rindfleisch - Field    

Daniel Spellious - Entry   

Dave Stachel - Field

David Toepper - Field    

Margaret Walker - Entry

NSPS TRIG-STAR PROGRAM

Information packets for this year’s NSPS Trig-Star competition are available by contacting the IPLSA office.  How to host a local contest, contest rules, news releases, sample problems and information on running a Trig-Star program are included in the packet. Chapters are encouraged to participate in this important program.

ACSM/NSPS GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS UPDATE ON WEB

If you are interested in what is going on with the federal legislation NSPS has an aggressive Government Affairs Committee.  The committee level when it comes works with a paid lobbyist and publishes a monthly report of activities.  Go to the home page and click on the ACSM/NSPS Government Affairs Update just below the ACSM logo.

WANTED: A FEW GOOD GEOCACHERS

We are looking for people interested in geocaching. The IPLSA wants to set a “cache” somewhere of historical or surveying significance in each of the 10 chapter regions. It needs to be close to you because you will have to check on it once or twice a year. We already have one cache set and another in the works. The Parkland College students with the help of Todd Horton have set a cache on their campus and one will be near the Cardinal Point.

Are you up to the challenge? Need more info?  Read the Donald Wilson article reprinted in this issue. Look at the NSPS web site (http://www.nspsmo.org/news_events/geocaching.shtml). They have an instruction pamphlet. Check out www.geocach.com. Or call Bob Church or Tom Hagensee.

SIUC STUDENT WINS NSPS NATIONAL SCHOLARSHIP

Serena Blackstock, a senior in Civil and Environmental Engineering specializing in Surveying and Environmental Engineering at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale was awarded a $1,000 scholarship from the National Society of Professional Surveyors.  The award was made during the ACSM/NSPS Spring Conference Awards Ceremony, which was held in Spokane, Washington on March 6^th.  The award is given to a undergraduate student to be used toward a four-year surveying program.