Along with my activity in the California Land Surveyors Association (CLSA), I've been active with the Fresno Cycling Club (FCC) in various degrees since 1989. I've been the acting SAG Coordinator since 1998 for various rides organized by the FCC, and I've been on the FCC Board since 2017. Working with the Event Director and the Communications Director, the SAG Coordinator is responsible for the logistics of the chase and support vehicles along a large organized cycling event during the duration of the event, some of which can cover 200 miles of course and last more than 20 hours.

On May 31, 2023, our friend, and 2022 San Joaquin Valley Chapter CLSA President, Peter Binz, PLS, was out on an after work bike ride. He was tragically taken from us when he was hit by a drunk driver. At his funeral, his wife, Lisa, mentioned to me - not knowing my association with the FCC - that she wanted to have a memorial bike ride to celebrate Peter.

I told her, "Let me help you with that".

I was able to get the FCC in touch with Peter's wife. One of the FCC members, Melissa Rose, organizes a local event in coordination with the Ride of Silence. This is a labor of love for Melissa. The ride, which is held during National Bike Month, aims to raise the awareness of motorists, police and city officials that cyclists have a legal right to the public roadways. The ride is also a chance to show respect for and honor the lives of those who have been killed or injured.

Last Wednesday, May 15, we celebrated Peter. Along with his family and some coworkers, more than 100 cyclists turned out. Most of them - if not all of them - didn't know Peter. Most were members of the FCC, some were from other cycling clubs. Some riders were serious riders, some were very recreational riders. There were also law enforcement officers from three different agencies.

The ride was short, only eight miles. It took less than an hour, but that hour provided some healing for his family knowing that Peter was not alone as a cyclist, and that they were not alone in their grief.

I didn't ride that evening. I spent the time with Peter's wife, mom, sister, and other extended family members. They were surprised by the turnout of riders. I explained that the fact that they didn't know Peter didn't matter. He was a fellow cyclist; he was family.

We spoke of Peter. We spoke of cycling ... and we spoke of surveying.

During the memorial at Peter's funeral, his family was told that there was a group of surveyors in attendance. Quite a few actually, from all over California. One, a fellow Fresno State student with Peter, flew in from Europe.

Like his cycling family, Peter also had a surveying family.

As I performed my President Elect duties last year, visiting with the Chapters, I shared how a surveying ambassador unknowingly changed my life path from architecture to surveying. He was just one surveyor helping another surveyor. He doesn't know he did it, but I learned all I needed to know about the surveying profession in just a few minutes; enough to make that life change anyway. All I learned from the architects I'd studied, met, interviewed with, and worked with, was that I didn't want to associate with them.*

As I met with the Chapters, I could easily see how similar we all are. The names and faces are different from one Chapter to another, but we are all virtually the same. There are enough differences to make each Chapter unique, but one commonality that I witnessed at every single Chapter I visited was the fact that we may not know each other didn't matter. We're fellow surveyors (and surveying adjacents); we're family.

Like family often does, we bicker sometimes, focusing on the differences. But the differences are really minor when looking at the bigger picture. At the end of the day, we're really working toward the betterment of the profession and ultimately, the individual surveyor. That's what this Association is all about: you.

None of us became a surveyor without the help of others.  Few of us can perform pure surveying tasks without following in the footsteps of others. As I've said before, 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. I'd like to encourage each of you to continue being mentors to those around you.

Be that person who says, "Let me help you with that."

Good things happen when you do.

If you, as a Chapter Officer, Director, or member, have questions about anything related to the Association, please contact the Executive Committee.

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

Kevin Nehring

(*Please note: This is not a commentary on all architects, only my experience with them before I turned to surveying. I'm sure there are some good ones.)