President's Message
February 2018

    As 2018 gets underway and all of us are no doubt very busy in our respective businesses, FSMS continues to grow and implement changes for the future. Membership renewals and new member applications came in very strong during the month of January, so please, if you have not done so already, get your dues sent in. Spread the word to your fellow chapter, associate, and affiliate members to join us in our mission to grow, enhance, and protect the surveying and mapping profession in Florida.

     Identifying the need for change in any organization is a healthy practice, but implementing that needed change is sometimes an uncomfortable step and can stretch out your patience and time. With the help of all of your input and continued communication, the administrative staff and officers of your society are putting into motion the changes and restructuring needed to keep us relevant to the profession, so we can keep growing and moving forward.

     Some of you ran into issues while trying to pay your dues on our website. I am happy to announce that we are currently transitioning to a new website that will fix several issues and help us to better keep track of all FSMS-related transactions. MemberClicks – our new website host - will also allow you to access our website on your mobile devices easily and quickly. We are confident that once we have the new website up and running, many frustrations you may have experienced with the old website will be eliminated.

      The FSMPAC is also going through changes for the better in 2018. Smith, Bryan & Meyers, the firm of society lobbyist David Daniel, has agreed to take over the administration of our PAC for no additional charge. This is great news, as it will relieve our volunteers and society staff of a burdensome workload that included tedious clerical filings and paperwork. It will allow us to focus more on fundraising and growing our PAC in order to promote and protect the surveying profession. This transition will be completed in the next few months and an announcement will be sent out. Our PAC is very important to all of us in the surveying and mapping profession in Florida, and making this change, in my opinion, will ensure every cent we contribute to it in the future will be put to use in the absolute best interest of all of us.

    Last but not least, I want to update everyone on our educational seminar offerings and presentations. We elected not to have a winter education conference this year in lieu of working on new seminars, new topics and revising the old ones to be more relevant in the current and future surveying and mapping world. If you have a topic you would like us to provide a seminar on, or if you would be willing to present a one, three, or six-hour seminar on behalf of your society, please contact me or the FSMS office and we will do our best to ensure it happens.

    “If you want something you’ve never had, you have to do something you’ve never done” -Thomas Jefferson

 Bob Strayer, Jr.