President's Message

June 2018

     June is the month we all start thinking about the “H” word. I wasn’t going to say it, but OK, I’ll say it - Happy Summer! Kids are getting out of school, and graduations and summer vacations have arrived. It’s time to stay cool, relax, and enjoy the outdoors, family, and friends. It’s also time to catch up on unfinished business and look toward the dwindling part of 2018.

A great place to be this summer would be the TradeWinds Island Grand Resort on St. Pete Beach. A great time to be there would be August 15th-18th. That’s right - you should join your fellow FSMS members at our 63rd Annual Conference on the beautiful St. Pete beach! Conference this year is shaping up to be another fun, informative, and rewarding four days of social events, seminars, dinners, entertainment, gaming events and more. Not to mention, it’s a great venue to hang out at the pool and the beach and have fun with your kids, family, and friends.

The conference format this year will be basically the same as last year. We have tried different formats in the past, but the great feedback we received after last year’s conference assured us that this was the schedule to keep. To kickoff the festivities on Wednesday, there will be a full-day seminar presented by Mr. Don Wilson, author of the book Boundary Retracement, Principles and Practices, and one of the leading authorities on boundary surveying in the country. That evening we will have our annual Welcome BBQ, followed by the always-fun cornhole tournament. This dinner gets better and better every year. Last year we really out did ourselves, cooking enough food and desserts that we had to hand out “to-go” boxes!

Thursday will be another action-packed day, with fishing and golfing tournaments in the morning and seminars being offered throughout the day. The seminars on Thursday will be presented by some of the leading authorities in our profession: David Melvin, George Cole and Mr. Wilson. Thursday evening offers a great itinerary that includes social events with vendors and committees, a legislative reception, our always-exciting game night, and the beloved conference tradition of group music night.

On Friday, we rise and shine with a complimentary breakfast, and then begin our annual business meeting. The Exhibitor Hall, which houses our fantastic trade show, will be open all day, and lunch will be held here with the vendors, who showcase the latest must-have technologies. The awards and recognition banquet will be Friday evening, followed by a comedy show featuring Les McCurdy of McCurdy’s Comedy Club. We could all use a little more “good” humor in our lives and be able to laugh at ourselves! Trust me, Friday night features comedy and entertainment you don’t want to miss!

Saturday we will wrap up our four fantastic days with seminars and technical sessions for everyone, including our Associates. We will have CST testing again this year, as well as Associate-level seminars. The highlight of Saturday will be our expert panel discussion and review of the recent revisions to Statute 472 and the final amendments to our “Standards of Practice” 5J-17.

I truly look forward to these conferences every year. Meeting and interacting with fellow surveyors from all parts of the state and country really gives you a sense of pride and accomplishment to belong in this profession. Let’s all continue to help each other in this great and honorable profession we work in.

As Reverend Michael Curry put it at the Royal Wedding (yes, I did watch it):

“Love God. Love your neighbors. And while you’re at it, love yourself.”

Bob Strayer, Jr.