Looking back at 2017, it was a year of change. We must not dwell on the past, but absolutely learn from it. The one thing I take from 2017 is that negative thoughts and perceptions does nothing but bring about negative responses and actions. Starting each and every day with a positive affirmation and then sustaining that attitude in our daily business and challenges will make us all healthier, happier and set us on the right path to achieving our daily personal and professional goals.

    2018 will be a year of productive work and commitments. Yes, all of us here in Florida had some setbacks due to our very active hurricane and storm season this past fall, but now it’s time to really get on track and get the agenda moving at FSMS.

     First and foremost is getting our dues paid for this year, and spreading the word about FSMS to bring everyone working in Florida in the geospatial field to join our mission to oversee, preserve and support everyone in our businesses and livelihoods. We have restructured and changed the cost of dues this year, to give more back to the members and businesses that join FSMS. It’s a small price to pay to have the volunteer support of our members and committees working on our behalf. It only cost pennies a day to have a great support staff, a lobbyist and the FSMPAC in Tallahassee to ensure the future of the surveying & mapping profession.

     Atop the agenda this year is to increase membership in FSMS, and to increase the overall numbers joining our profession. As Directors Rick Pryce and Randy Tomkins have brought up in recent meetings and emails, 2018 must be the year to market, attract and recruit future surveyors and mappers. FSMS must take up this challenge and be the champions in order to start pushing this in the right direction. I believe the changes we have implemented in 2017 have set the stage, but now its curtain time, and all of us volunteering or otherwise helping out need to whole heartedly buy into helping grow our profession.

     The future of the economy in Florida for 2018 looks bright. Let’s portray that prosperity, growth and great job opportunities to our young surveyors and mappers, and highly encourage others to join us. We must all make the commitment to give back our time and money to the surveying profession through FSMS and build this professional organization so that we can in turn begin to lay-out and build up the next generation of surveyors and mappers.

“The Only Limit To Our Realization Of Tomorrow Will Be Our Doubts Of Today.”- Franklin D. Roosevelt

Bob Strayer, Jr.