I believe it is important for our membership to know what takes place at our
monthly Board of Directors meetings. In that vein, I want to inform the membership
of two significant measures that were acted upon. I believe both of these will be very
beneficial to us all.
The first was to become a Sponsor of the Maryland State Geographic
Information Committee (MSGIC). By doing this, the entire membership of MSS will
be members of MSGIC. The cost of this sponsorship will be paid for by the Society.
The sponsorship will allow us to have an active role in the MSGIC. We will have
priority placement in presenting survey-related topics at their Quarterly Technical
meeting. We will have our profile in the MSGIC newsletter and our logo on their
website, but more importantly a voice in the running of the organization!
The second measure was the unanimous adoption of the NSPS 100% Membership.
I believe we need a strong, united voice to represent our profession nationally. This
membership will help this to happen. The cost of the membership is $40. It will be
split between the Society and our membership. The Society will pay $20 and our
members will pay $20. I realize in these tough economic times an increase in our
dues may create hardship for some of our members. However, I truly feel the cost of
membership in MSS is a bargain for benefits it provides. The program with NSPS will
take effect with the 2013-2014 membership renewal.
“Every man is a debtor to his profession.”
This is the motto of the Virginia Association of Surveyors and is taken from a
quotation by Sir Francis Bacon, the famous English Solicitor-General, Lord, and
author. The full quotation reads:
“Every man is a debtor to his profession, from the which, as men of course do
seek to receive countenance and profit, so ought they of duty to endeavor
themselves, by way of amends, to be a help and ornament thereto.”
Often you hear people speaking of “giving back” to the profession. The Maryland
Society of Surveyors (MSS) is an organization comprised of individual surveyors
working together as a cohesive unit to improve the condition of the surveying
profession, not only in the state of Maryland, but now also nationally through 100%
membership in the National Society of Professional Surveyors (NSPS). The MSS is
not a monolithic block organization, it is the unifying face of many various
concerned individuals who are “paying back,” improving, and preserving the
profession for themselves, for you, and for those who will follow. Lord Bacon
suggests that if you are a person of countenance, you should be a help to your
profession. The following paragraphs describe the recent, ongoing and future
activities of MSS. If you are willing to help with any of these items you will be
certainly welcomed. Contact any officer, chapter chair, board member or committee
chair to get started. If you are not willing or available to assist, then consider the
following as a listing of what MSS has recently done and continues to do for you.
The following is a collaboration by several Board members of what some of those
“benefits” are.
In Education, the Maryland Society of Surveyors:
1. Is the primary source for educational opportunities for Maryland’s land
surveyors;
2. Provides comprehensive professional development opportunities at the annual
fall and spring conferences;
3. Provides professional development opportunities throughout the year at one day
seminars;
4. Presents a 2 day comprehensive land surveying exam preparation course at the
annual fall conference;
5. Presents an annual CST exam prep course;
6. Has developed a mentoring program to guide potential licensees through the
licensing process;
7. Has committed $50,000 over 10 years to support the MSS Educational Trust
scholarship program;
8. Supports the MSSET through the donation of annual scholarship program auction
proceeds;
9. Supports the MSS Educational Trust by paying the trust’s administrative costs
(accounting, etc.); and
10. Is actively working with the state university system to establish a 4-year land
surveying degree program in Maryland.
In Legislative Advocacy, the Maryland Society of Surveyors:
1. Continually monitors state and federal legislation to insure that your profession,
your business and the land surveyor’s scope of practice are protected;
2. Develops positions on legislative issues which affect our profession and the
individuals and industries we serve;
3. Acts on those positions through lobbying efforts and by testifying before
committees or the general assembly;
4. Successfully lobbied for legislation to reduce the statute of repose from 20 years
to 10 years;
5. Successfully lobbied to enact legislation to allow land surveyors to establish
mechanics liens;
6. Has worked with the Board for Professional Land Surveyors over the past 3 years
to strengthen the firm permit statute, further reducing the unauthorized practice of
land surveying;
7. Supports the MSS-PAC with contributions averaging $1,000 per year, and
8. Sends members of the MSS Government Affairs Committee and the MSS Board of
Directors to numerous legislative fundraisers and receptions throughout the year to
insure that we have advocates in the legislature when we need them.
Relative to the Maryland Board for Professional Land Surveyors, the Maryland
Society of Surveyors:
1. Requires that the MSS President-Elect represent MSS at every meeting of the
Board for Professional Land Surveyors to maintain a cordial relationship with the
Board and to ensure that our members are up to date with board activities;
2. The MSS Survey Standards and Practice Committee completed a comprehensive
review of the Minimum Standards of Practice and presented proposed revisions to
those standards to the Board for Professional Land Surveyors; and
3. The MSS Ethics and Professional Practice Committee files complaints with the
Board for Professional Land Surveyors involving identified instances of
unauthorized practice.
For Communication, the Maryland Society of Surveyors:
1. Provides a website to convey important information regarding your profession;
2. Provides a conduit for communication and networking through a dedicated
Linkedin site;
3. Provides opportunities for networking and fellowship at local chapter meetings,
statewide general membership meetings, both annual conferences, special one-day
seminars offered throughout the state, and the annual crab feast.
In Collaboration with Geospatial Partners, the Maryland Society of Surveyors:
1. Actively participates on the Maryland Council of Design Professionals to insure
that the goals and objectives of Maryland’s design professionals are coordinated;
2. Is a member of the Maryland State GIS Committee (MSGIC); and
3. Members of MSS will be presenting 3 seminars at the 2013 annual Towson
University GIS conference (TUgis).
In General:
1. Efforts by the MSS Board of Directors and Executive Director have allowed MSS to
remain fiscally strong through the recession;
2. The MSS Trig-Star Committee is responsible for conducting yearly presentations
and examinations at high schools throughout the state;
3. The MSS Strategic Planning Committee has developed a plan to guide MSS
through the next 10 years of operations;
4. The MSS Operational Guidelines Committee is working on a guidance and training
manual for the MSS chapter chairs and statewide leadership, and last, but not least,
5. MSS provides business opportunities through the “Find a Surveyor” area on the
MSS website which directs consumers to a listing of land surveyors practicing in a
particular region.