2018 President's Messages 
President Bob Strayer

December 2018

  I hope everyone had a very happy Thanksgiving with family and friends and had some time to relax, enjoy some turkey and step away from work for a little bit. The fall weather and holiday season is in full swing, and it sure is my favorite time of year! Not only because of the cooler weather, hunting season and holidays, but because we can reflect on the good and bad times of 2018 and prepare for better times ahead in 2019.

    This, my final President’s message, is one of appreciation, encouragement and vision. First, I’d like to thank everyone who encouraged and supported me over the years in FSMS, but most especially during my year and a half serving as your President. I thank all the Past Presidents who served before me and unselfishly gave back to the profession they love, inspiring me to do the same.

    I am humbly honored to have been given the privilege to serve you, the members of this Society, and to give back and support my lifelong profession. It is not what you accumulate in life, or your job, or your wealth that you will be remembered for. Instead, you will be remembered for what you gave and how you served your fellow man and your creator. I am truly blessed for being able to meet and work with so many of you around the state, and I hope that I served you well.

    Secondly, I encourage everyone to take the time to serve and support FSMS and the surveying profession. The satisfaction, pride and gratitude you will have from giving back to your Society and supporting your profession is life changing and priceless. Believe it or not, it will strengthen your family, build your business, give you confidence in your job, and pride in yourself. I encourage you to renew your membership and to ask others to join us in supporting FSMS.

    Dues are a small price to pay to protect and strengthen our profession on both a state and national level. In addition, you can support and encourage future surveyors, mappers, and technicians entering the profession through scholarships and CST programs. You also help maintain a network of like-minded professionals that provide the best services and products for our communities and the public.

    And lastly, my vision for the future is BRIGHT! In order to have vision you must have hope, with hope comes faith, and to have strong faith you must believe. Believe in yourself and those around you that share in that vision. This past year we regrouped and reorganized FSMS to better serve the members and the profession. My vision for the future is to be more diverse and to include others within the profession who have felt left out, including everyone in parallel Geospatial disciplines.

    I envision FSMS operating even more efficiently, using up less time from our dedicated volunteers to accomplish even more. We will use technology to streamline our support system for our members, have real-time accountability and reports, and to host remote conferences and meetings. We can minimize the length of Board meetings and have more effective committees and chapters through the utilization of conference calls and teleconferences. We can outsource and utilize paid professionals to provide more meaningful and interesting live seminars and associate technical training. Our vision for bettering local chapters relies on strengthening the network of professionals working in your communities through social networking and chapter meetings that include meaningful educational opportunities. The strength of FSMS is all of you, and the purpose, pride and effort that you are willing to give in support of your profession.

    I wish everyone a joyful and blessed holiday month of December in however you give praise to your creator, great Architect of the universe, Surveyor of all things, and God of many names. Merry Christmas to my Christian brothers and sisters, and I wish everyone a happy, safe and prosperous New Year!

“Christmas is a tonic for our souls. It moves us to think of others rather than of ourselves. It directs our thoughts to giving.” ―B.C. Forbes

Bob Strayer, Jr.