August 2023
Membership Dues Renewal
2023-2024 Fiscal Year
We’ve had a GREAT response this year. If you haven’t renewed yet, this is your reminder!
Jeff Messinger, LSPS President
PRESIDENTIAL PRIVILEGE
Dear LSPS Members,
Holy cow, has this summer ever been one for the record books!? I hope everyone has ensured your employees have taken all the necessary precautions to stay safe while working outside in this brutal heat and humidity. I remember pulling a tape in heat –not as bad as we’ve had it this summer – and having to walk everywhere. It is really something to see old survey maps & plats, and try to visualize the methods used by our predecessors before the technology we use today. GPS equipment, drafting software, and ATVs have made our jobs so much easier – and of course, easier is a relative term 😊
Currently, several items are being addressed in our profession, with the main ones being (1) the LaDOTD, with the guidance of Stanley Ard and Mark Hughes, is proposing revising the Standards of Right of Way Maps for Route Surveys, and (2) definitions – including the basic one of “Land Surveying,” as well as the Standards of Practice are in a review process. A big thanks to Donna Sentell with LAPELS for working with LSPS and surveyors to lead these reviews and revisions.
Our profession has seen numerous “changes” over these last fifteen years – and more are on the way. From GPS to drone to laser scanning to LiDAR, what’s next? Our ability to ensure all surveys are on the same datum so easily, and not have to orientate to older surveys, will greatly reduce the time of our boundary surveys. Today’s technology continues to make record-keeping of surveyor’s plats, times, and projects easier and easier. As a profession, we need to think strategically about where the next technology will take us, and how it will further improve the ability to reproduce our work and add to what we already have.
Our company has been utilizing GPS since 1999, and it is rare indeed when we have a job in which we do not have a corner in close proximity already located. As Professional Land Surveyors, we need to understand the business aspects of the available technology and how it will not only assist us with the means and methods of locating boundary lines and property corners, but we also must understand how technology improvements enhance the business line and the future of this great profession. It’s very unique and one we find very rewarding. I did not say easy!
Please stay active in your District. Attend and participate in meetings. Share successes and lessons learned with other surveyors. Call me, or your District Chair, with any questions, comments, or ideas as to how LSPS can better serve our profession and our clients. Our next LSPS meeting will be in mid-October. I encourage every District to hold a meeting so your District Chairman can let your voice be heard in our state meeting.
Fall is just around the corner. I’m looking forward to it!
Sincerely,
Jeff Messinger
LSPS DISTRICT INFORMATION
District 1
John Teegarden
jteegarden@ascellc.com
District 2
Dillon Baronne
dillonbaronne@gmail.com
District 3
Shawn MacMenamin
smacmenamin22@gmail.com
District 4
Jason Tuggle
Jason_tuggle@hotmail.com
District 5
Jon Braswell
jonbraswell02@gmail.com
District 6
Jean Reulet
jean.reulet@tbsmith.com
District 8
Lee Broom
lbroom@ballard-clc.com
District 9
Dennis Gowin
dgowin@ddgpc.com
If you are not an LSPS member, we would like to invite you to attend a District meeting in your area. Contact the LSPS office at lsps@lsps.net, or the chairman in your area noted above for details about upcoming meetings.
FFA CONVENTION
June 5-6, 2023
Learning to do, Doing to learn, Earning to live, Living to serve. —FFA Motto
Derek Wheat writes:
Lee Broom, Brandon Thornton, Justin Miller, and myself spent two days at the Louisiana FFA state convention in Alexandria, La. It was great to start fulfilling the fourth line of that motto, “Living to serve”. It’s been 20 years since I wore the National Blue and Corn Gold jacket, but I felt right at home being back in the convention hall. Hopefully making contact with nearly 1500 people being students, parents, teachers, and advisors, more people will come to know what surveying is. I’m certain we have inspired a younger generation to look into surveying and possibly make an exciting career for themselves in this field.
SAVE THE DATE!
LSPS 63rd Annual Convention
APRIL 10-12, 2024
GOLDEN NUGGET LAKE CHARLES
NSRS MODERNIZATION NEWS
NICHOLLS GEOMATICS PROGRAM UPDATE
By: Esra Tekdal Yilmaz, PhD
Greetings from Nicholls State Geomatics Program.
Geomatics program was awarded 2023 NCEES (National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying) Surveying Education Award. As described by NCEES, this award recognizes “programs that have a broad and robust curriculum and best reflect NCEES’ mission to advance licensure in both fields in order to safeguard the health, safety, and welfare of the public.” The Nicholls Geomatics program has been a recipient of this prestigious award 4 times (2016, 2017, 2021 and 2023).
Drs. Tekdal Yilmaz and Ramachandran attended PSL Executive Regional Airport & Guys Achieving Goals 4th Annual Aviation Awareness Day with their Nicholls State University UAS Display Booth on April 23.
In an effort to recruit students to the program, the department hosted ‘Geomatics Field Day’ on the Nicholls Campus where schools from various parishes attended. This field day was a 4-hour event that included a guided tour of the Geomatics program and several activities that incorporated the students' participation.
Nicholls State Geomatics program has an official ASPRS (American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing) student chapter. Dr. Ramachandran took the lead role in this effort.
Drs. Tekdal Yilmaz and Ramachandran attended the SAGES (Surveying and Geomatics Educators Society conference in July which was held in Calgary Canada. Dr. Tekdal Yilmaz presented a paper called “Elevation Survey Update for Coastwide Reference Monitoring System (CRMS) and Associated Secondary Monuments with Comparisons on Geoid Changes in the Datums and Soil Types”. Dr. Ramachandran is the president and Dr. Tekdal Yilmaz is one of the directors of SAGES.
Dr. Tekdal Yilmaz’s paper “Analysis of coordinate transformation methods for deformation monitoring” is accepted for publication in November issue of SALIS (Surveying and Land Information Science).
Seven students graduated on May 2023. Earning a Degree in Geomatics at Nicholls State University prepares the student for the Professional License to practice Land Surveying/Geomatics. Another part of the licensing process includes passing the Fundamentals of Surveying (FS) Exam. The NCEES recognizes graduating students who have successfully passed their FS exam before graduation with an FS Honor Chord. This year, graduating senior, Marcus Matherne was one of those students who successfully passed the FS Exam.
Congratulations to all our graduates seen below, along with their professors:
L to R — Bethany Ekiss, Marcus Matherne, James Reeves, Breanna Arthur, Dr. John Dennis, Brandon Silva, Dr. Esra Tekdal Yilmaz, Chancey Cothren, Connor Casadaban
‘Geomatics Field Day’ held on Nicholls State Campus
SOUTH LOUISIANA COMMUNITY COLLEGE UPDATE
By: Michael O’Pry
We are now a hybrid program, meaning all lectures take place via pre-recorded lectures and material. All labs are in person, with the option of performing the labs at work for those working in industry. All of this was in a step to try to make courses easier to attain so that industry could send employees to our program for LAPELS hours, or just to get those employees training.
We are officially conducting labs at the Crowley Acadian campus to try to gain more access for rural community students.
We graduated 6 students in May, 4 of those students passed their FS exam, and one of them went on to pass his PS exam in June.
We have 19 new students who started this fall semester, with 9 continuing second-year students.
LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
By: Elizabeth Duncan Harper
2023 Legislative Session
The 2023 Louisiana Legislative session concluded on June 8th and was a success for the Louisiana Society of Professional Surveyors. Below are a few of the bills we were monitoring that made it through with no opposition:
HB 11 by Rep. Gadberry - Increases the contract limit for construction, maintenance or improvement projects of the Department of Transportation and Development from $500,000 to $1,000,000.
HB 80 by Rep. Gadberry - Changes the required response time after a product is submitted to the prime design professional from three days to five days. Further authorizes the prime design professional to extend the approval or denial period by 10 additional days, exclusive of holidays and weekends. Clarifies that the failure to respond cannot be considered approval.
HB 407 by Rep. Owen - Changes the name of the La. Drone Advisory Committee to the La. Advanced Aviation and Drone Advisory Committee. Also extends the existence of the committee through the 2026.
2023 Election
Now that the session is over, legislators will be shifting their focus to campaigning. All state officials and lawmakers will be on the October 14th ballot with run offs scheduled for November 18th. This year 25% of the legislature is term-limited and a few additional legislators have decided not to run for re-election. During this time, we will be engaging with candidates and educating them on the importance of LSPS. We encourage all LSPS members to get to know their local candidates.
Louisiana Advanced Aviation and Drone Advisory Committee
The committee met on August 9th to welcome new members, receive task group reports and future legislative actions. Over the coming months the committee will be working on developing suggested language and policy changes for lawmakers to consider in the 2024 Legislative Session. The committee plans to meet on November 15 to go over and finalize those recommendations.
JOIN LSPS:
The Louisiana Society of Professional Surveyors is organized to enhance the Surveying Profession. Our goal is to carry out our mission by maintaining high technical and cultural standards in our field, working with educational institutions for the maintenance of high standards of education in Land Surveying, requiring a high standard of ethical practice by our members, and encouraging the personal and professional development of young Land Surveyors.
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