September 2024 President's Message

Dear Members of MALSCE,

Fall has officially arrived and schools are back in session. It’s the time of year when the New England and New York state land surveying associations, which along with MALSCE are members of a collaborative group known as the North East Surveying Societies (NESS), begin holding their annual conferences. I recently attended the Vermont Society of Land Surveyors Fall Conference in Lebanon, New Hampshire. It was a pleasure to attend the NESS meeting and discuss many of the similar issues that we have on our priorities list. Highest on everyone’s list is identifying emerging professionals to pass the baton to. We discussed creating opportunities for this group and fostering their appreciation for the future of the profession.

Fall is also a time to explore continuing education opportunities for MALSCE members. Three months into our fiscal year and MALSCE Proprietor’s Council Chair Mike Clifford, PLS, co-founder and principal at DGT Associates has already hosted two Proprietor’s Council luncheon meetings. These meetings featured discussions of business trends impacting the land surveying and engineering firms and MALSCE undertakings. Three additional council luncheon meetings have been scheduled for the current fiscal year.  The next meeting will occur from 12:30 to 2:30 pm on Thursday December 12.

The annual fall MALSCE Fundamentals of Surveying Exam Refresher Course was held this past Saturday at the Alrich Center in Boston. Course instructor Clark Donkin, PLS, district survey supervisor of the MassDOT Highway Division presented an eight-hour review of the knowledge areas you are likely to be tested on during the FS Exam. This course will be offered again on Saturday, March 1, 2025, in conjunction with the 2025 MALSCE Convention.

The fall MALSCE Principles and Practice of Surveying Exam Refresher Course wraps up Saturday morning with the third and final online session. This course features Carlton Brown, PLS, associate professor at the University of Maine and Ian Wisuri, PLS, survey department head, Langan Engineering and Environmental Services LLC. Over the course of 13 hours, Carlton and Ian review subject matter and discuss online resources that will help participants prepare to take the Principles and Practice of Surveying (PS) Exam. The spring offering of this course will commence in March of 2025.

The annual Fall MALSCE Board of Directors Meeting & Dinner and Joint Central and Eastern Massachusetts Chapter Meeting is scheduled to occur from 5:30 to approximately 9:00 pm on Thursday, October 17, 2025, at O’Connor’s Restaurant & Bar in Worcester. Meeting attendees can enjoy great food and networking with their peers while they listen to keynote presenter Curtis Johnson, PLS, president, Express Surveying and SurveySearch.net and hear reports on MALSCE’s latest undertakings. Curtis will speak about his website, SurveySearch.net, a marketing tool for subscribing surveying professionals that allows consumers to find surveyors that have completed jobs in their area. Click here to learn more including how to register for this dinner meeting.

This year’s MALSCE Webinar Series got off to an early start with the August 23 webinar titled Rising Tides & Changing Waters: NOAA’s Plan to Update the National Tidal Datum Epoch. This well-received and informative program featured a preview of the attributes and benefits of the 2002-2020 National Tidal Datum Epoch that is scheduled for a 2026 implementation. Additional webinars addressing the educational needs of survey technicians and professional surveyors are currently being planned. MALSCE also intends to host the 16th Annual Legal Perspectives on Land Surveying seminar in January 2025. Look for these programs to be announced in a MALSCE broadcast email.

Planning has begun for the 2025 MALSCE Convention, which will take place on Friday February 28, and Saturday, March 1, at the Boxboro Regency Hotel & Conference Center. This program will feature presentations on technological advances, standards of practice, and business trends impacting the land surveying and civil engineering professions. Our focus is on identifying our guest speakers as well as the general, technical, and professional track sessions to be offered. Please do not hesitate to reach out to MALSCE Executive Director Rich Keenan (rkeenan@engineers.org) if you have ideas for convention sessions. 

The 2025 MALSCE Convention will also include a convention exhibition and live demonstrations of latest technologies and services, networking breaks, an auction to benefit the MALSCE Education Trust, and the 2025 MALSCE Plan & Field Notes Contests. We will be accepting plan and field note submission starting today. Click here to view and download the contests’ entry form. 

As MALSCE president, I continue to be honored to serve this association and lead in the mission to promote the highest standards of professionalism and excellence in our field. MALSCE is here to foster the development of the profession, share knowledge, and create resources that benefit us all. Together, we can continue to advance the field of land surveying and provide valuable services to our clients and communities. I hope that you find MALSCE’s professional development program offerings and my monthly MALSCE News President’s Messages helpful in this regard.

Thank you,
Ken Conte, President
MALSCE