TAGITM’s First GIS Summit: A Sold-Out Success

By Neil Rose, GISP

On February 27, 2025, TAGITM hosted its inaugural GIS Summit in Lewisville, Texas—an event that not only sold out but also had standing-room-only attendance. This milestone marks a significant advancement in integrating GIS into the broader IT landscape that TAGITM supports.

This in-person summit held over the course of one day brought together GIS professionals, IT managers, and industry leaders to discuss governance, networking, and the evolving role of GIS in government IT. With strong representation from organizations such as the South Central Arc User Group (SCAUG), URISA/GPN, and Esri, the event provided a platform for collaboration and shared knowledge.

The summit featured a lineup of impactful presentations and discussions, beginning with a keynote by Betsi Chatham, GIS Manager for the City of Grapevine, on fostering GIS in local government. Other notable sessions included:

SCAUG – GIS Networking Opportunities (Charles Brady III, SCAUG President)

Esri – GIS as an Enterprise Business System (Jacob Blind & Pam Kersh)

URISA/GPN – Expanding GIS Community Engagement (Nicholas Willette, GISP)

GIS Governance Styles (Neil S. Rose, GIS Manager, City of New Braunfels)

The day concluded with a panel discussion featuring industry leaders, where attendees engaged in open conversations about governance, leadership strategies, and resource challenges in diverse GIS environments.

One of the summit’s key takeaways was the successful collaboration between TAGITM, SCAUG, URISA/GPN, and Esri, demonstrating that GIS professionals and IT leaders can unite their efforts rather than operate in silos. Attendees shared insights on governance models, stakeholder engagement, and best practices, creating a dialogue that benefited both GIS specialists and broader IT professionals.

A particularly engaging discussion emerged around GIS and public safety, with professionals sharing real-world applications, challenges, and solutions for integrating GIS into emergency response and law enforcement operations.

The overwhelming success of this summit confirms the demand for GIS representation within TAGITM. While a multi-day GIS conference may not be necessary, expanding the summit to different regions of Texas—beyond the strong GIS presence in North Texas—should be a priority. The Austin/San Antonio area, Houston, and West Texas could all benefit from similar events to strengthen the GIS community statewide.

Additionally, the launch of a GIS-dedicated LISTSERV provides a new way for GIS professionals across Texas to stay connected, share insights, and continue the conversations sparked at this summit.

This summit demonstrated that GIS is a critical component of IT management, and its inclusion in TAGITM will only strengthen collaboration between GIS professionals and IT leadership. While GIS professionals made up most attendees this year, future summits should encourage broader IT participation to foster a mutual understanding of GIS operations and enterprise IT strategies.

For those who attended, presented, and contributed to the discussion—thank you for making this first TAGITM GIS Summit an undeniable success. If you missed it, keep an eye out for future events as TAGITM continues to expand its GIS initiatives.