Welcome to 2024!

At the February 3 Board meeting in Oakland, President Kevin Hills presented the Board with the 2024 Executive Committee consisting of Mike Pulley (Humboldt), Treasurer; Kristie Achee (Bakersfield), Secretary; and Joe Padilla (Orange County), President Elect. He then passed the gavel to me, and wished me well. In that moment, I found that gavel — and what it represents — to be a little heavier than I expected. That feeling was eerily similar to that when I obtained licensure: excitement followed by an immediate realization of minimal competency.

Along with licensure, holding the Office of President of this Association is not a responsibility I take lightly.

In 2023, as President Elect, I was privileged to visit with nearly all of the Chapters across this beautiful State of ours. Many topics were discussed. Everything from national issues to very local issues; technical issues to historic/archival issues; from why do we have so much gray hair to "how do we get our young field crews to attend without the need to bribe them with beer?” (#TrueStory).

One of the topics that garnered much discussion and easily the most positive response was that of Chapter Mentorship by the Executive Committee. As I shared my experience with the struggles I had as a Chapter President and as a new Director, I found that nearly all other Officers in every Chapter had (or has) the same struggles. Those common struggles include membership outreach and retention, Chapter reports, Chapter meetings and speakers, Director’s duties, and an often misunderstood relationship between the Chapters and the Board. Daunting tasks for many of us, and incredibly difficult to figure out on your own.

It shouldn’t be that way.

None of us obtained licensure on our own. We became the Surveyors we are with the help of the mentors we had, whether they were employers, other crew members or co-workers, or any of the other multitude of professional relationships we may have. As I have progressed through the Executive Committee Chairs, I have received and welcomed great counsel and mentorship from many past Ex. Com. members, past and present Committee Chairs, and Kim at the Central Office. ALL of Past Presidents who have reached out to me want the Executive Committee to be the best it can be. They don’t want it for me; they want it for the Association. I want to pass that forward. That’s where Chapter Mentorship by the Executive Committee comes in.

In 2021, when I was first installed on the Executive Committee as the Treasurer, I brought up the idea of the Ex. Com. members working with the individual Chapters. (In the interest of full disclosure, this idea was floated to the Association by Past President Jay Seymour around 2015). 2021 President Rob McMillan divided up the Chapters into five groups and assigned an Ex. Com. member. Those groups remain virtually unchanged; the only significant change being that of the Ex. Com. mentor. By design, the Ex. Com. members will mentor the same four Chapters throughout their tenure on the Executive Committee. When the Past President is retired, the newly installed Treasurer will take on the duties as mentor for those Chapters.

It’s been slow getting started (I’ll blame Covid) but the Association is ready for this. The Executive Committee Members work at the behest of the Board, and ultimately, the Association membership.

We’re here for you.

By way of information, it’s not the duty of the Chapter Directors to mentor or represent the Chapters at the Board level. The Director’s duty is to manage the affairs of the Association, to the best interest of the Association as a whole. Mentorship of Chapter Officers needs to come from elsewhere, and the Association will be stronger with the Executive Committee working directly with the Chapters. The Ex. Com. members will be reaching out to the Chapter Presidents and Directors offering their assistance where it may be needed. Our goal is to make you a better Officer. Through you, your Chapter will be stronger, and in turn, the Association will be stronger.

If you, as a Chapter Officer, Director, or member, have questions about anything related to the Association, please contact the Executive Committee. We don’t want you to struggle.

For reference, the Chapter mentors are listed below.

Chapter	Mentor
Bakersfield	Kevin Nehring
Cascade	Kristie Achee
Central Coast	Joe Padilla
Central Valley	Mike Pulley
Channel Islands	Kevin Hills
Desert	Joe Padilla
East Bay	Mike Pulley
Gold Country	Kevin Hills
Humboldt	Mike Pulley
Los Angeles	Joe Padilla
Marin	Kevin Nehring
Monterey Bay	Kristie Achee
Orange County	Kevin Nehring
Riverside/San Bernardino	Kristie Achee
Sacramento	Mike Pulley
San Diego	Kevin Hills
San Francisco	Kevin Nehring
San Joaquin Valley	Joe Padilla
Santa Clara/San Mateo	Kristie Achee
Sonoma County	Kevin Hills

 

Student Chapters
CSA Pomona	Mike Pulley
CSU Fresno	Kevin Nehring
CSU Monterey Bay	Kristie Achee
East LA	Joe Padilla
Santiago Canyon	Kevin Hills

                        More schools to be added soon!

 

I hope to see each of you at the Western Regional Survey Conference on March 23-26, 2024, at the Horseshoe Las Vegas (formerly Bally's). This year's Conference is sponsored by the Associations from Arizona (APLS), California (CLSA), Nevada (NALS), New Mexico (NMPS), Wyoming (PLSW), and the Western Federation of Professional Surveyors (WFPS)  http://plseducation.org/.  If you see me, please say hello.

23 February 2024 - Terminalia (The Surveyor’s Holiday)

17- 23 March 2024 - National Surveyors Week (https://nsps.us.com/page/NSW)

23-26 March 2024 - Western Regional Survey Conference

27 April 2024 - CLSA Board Meeting (via Zoom)

 

Questions? Comments? Concerns? Contact me at Ca.PLS8200@gmail.com or 559-451-7112.

I was legitimately asked the question about the beer. I answered by pointing out that the beer also got the gray hair to attend.

If it ain’t broke...

 

Kevin Nehring
CLSA PRESIDENT