President's Message

May 2018

   The month of May seems to come faster and faster every year, especially when we are all very busy with our respective jobs and working on behalf of the profession through FSMS.

     The Florida BPSM will have its May meeting in Tampa on May 2nd – 4th, and will hopefully work out the final details of the proposed revisions for 5J-17. This has been a long time in the works, but at last they are working through the final  transition to the “Standards of Practice”. I truly understand that some are frustrated with the elimination of MTS - as we have known them for so many years - and now feel as if our guide, instructions and requirements for surveys in Florida has been stripped away. But, as professional surveyors and mappers it is to the contrary. We are now being given much more flexibility, in terms of the surveys which we are licensed to produce and certify, and we are held to a more prudent professional approach in how we provide those products in accordance with our governing statute and rule.

     One of the questions that I hear is: what happened to “Specific Purpose Survey” as a type of survey defined in 5J-17.050(12)? It certainly would not hurt to add that to the list, but regardless, we surely will provide that type going forward in our practices for certain agencies and purposes. It is possible this can still be one of the final revisions to be added.

     Our annual conference preparation is well under way and part of our Saturday seminar offerings will be a 6-hour panel discussion on all the recent changes to 472 and 5J-17. Make sure to sign up early, as that seminar will sell out. Speaking of conference this year - our conference edition of The Florida Surveyor will be rolled out in June, since conference is not until August 13th this year. This year’s conference will basically be the same four-day format as last year - starting on Wednesday and finishing with a day of seminars and technical sessions on Saturday. You are now able to reserve a hotel room at the TradeWinds Grand Resort, so please make your reservation early as our discount group rate of $135/night will sell out. This year’s conference, seminars, tradeshow and banquets are looking to be better than ever. Be sure to check out next month’s publication to learn about all these events!

     On May 1st, our new FSMS database and website were put online. It was a lot of work, but as mobile devices continue to play a bigger and bigger role in our daily transactions, it will be a blessing that we built a new website now, and not several more years down the road. Please take the time to look at the new website and update your profiles and give us feedback to make it the best it can be for every member.

     And finally, I’d like to mention recent changes to our FSMPAC. We are spending some time talking with the administrators of our PAC and coming to an understanding of the best ways in which we can raise the necessary money for it in the future. We will have a further discussion at our FSMS Board meeting in May to clarify what our requirements will be for local fundraising activities. So for the time being, please direct any of your questions or concerns to your area directors or myself.

     In closing, I’d like to encourage all of our members to bring in a new member or bring back an old one, because it is not FSMS that benefits from their support, it is the surveying profession in Florida which we serve and protect each and every day for them.

 “When you're finished changing, you're finished.” -Benjamin Franklin

Bob Strayer, Jr.