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.)

The April “Where in CA is This?” had several winners, some of whom wish to remain anonymous, correctly identified the gorgeous aerial view that included Pine Flat Reservoir and Dam, the surrounding Sierra Nevada foothills, and KRCD's Jeff L. Pine Flat Power Plant at the base of the dam. The image was a screen capture from the Kings River Conservation District on LinkedIn. In addition to the masked mappers, one of whom said “I looked in Google Earth. Most of the concrete dams are built with arches. This one is not.” Which I found to be quite interesting. Here is a more overhead view:

Bob DeWitt had “Just a hunch and confirmed on Google Earth.” Marta Alvarez identified it “From the internet dam photos … never been there.” Bill Tuck said “I recognized that this month’s photo looked like the foothills to the Sierras so I went on Google Earth and I believe this is Pine Flat Dam. As for last months photo, I thought it might be the center of Nevada but I couldn’t find any photos of it online. That’s (Nevada Center) a pretty cool monument.” Steve Martin recognized it as “Pine Flat Dam. I've seen that photo somewhere before.” The local knowledge winners were Harry Jayne “Pine Flat dam. Fished there my whole life. Fishing now in Idaho.” and Tim Odom, PLS of Provost & Pritchard Consulting Group who said “The photo this month is of Pine Flat Dam and Reservoir, in eastern Fresno County.  I’ve had the pleasure of performing several surveys at (and on) this dam for Kings River Conservation District, who operates the power plant there. We were surveying the steep slope above the power plant and this (on top of the tower) seemed like the most appropriate place for a setup. That’s me in October of 2014.”

If you have a distinctive photo of California you would like to share, please send it to Rob with details of the location.

Try to identify the location of this month’s photo. Please tell me how you identified the location. Submit answers or submit your photo of a special location in California to: Rob McMillan

Tom Pilarski, PLS has joined Guida as a Senior Project Manager working out of GUIDA’s Orange County office. He has over 29 years of experience in the survey industry, specializing in right of way engineering, utility mapping and large-scale infrastructure projects. Tom was previously with Psomas in several leadership positions in Southern California. He was also Contributing Editor for ASCE’s UESI - Utility Engineering and Surveying Institute, Staff Surveyor with First American Title, and Chief of Parties for Hovell and Pilarski Engineering.

I’m late in sharing that I have been elevated to a new position as President, Geospatial at GIS Surveyors! This transition is due in large part to the merger of GIS Surveyors with Icon Utility Services to become Limitless Solutions Group also known as LSG. Not much is changing in my role, as I will continue to oversee all the geospatial departments in our company as I did when I was the COO of GIS Surveyors prior to the merger.

We're thrilled to announce Dannie Green, PLS, CFedS, ENV SP, as the new Team Leader for our Orange County Survey team. With 20 years at Psomas, Dannie has been instrumental in spearheading projects across transportation, energy, and development sectors. Known for his integrity and mentorship, Dannie is set to lead the team towards continued growth and success. Congratulations, Dannie, on your well-deserved promotion!

Michael Baker’s Chris Alberts is “Excited to share that Kevin Hills, PLS, MBA has joined our Survey Department as the Mapping Team Leader for California.” Kevin brings 37 years of land surveying and mapping experience from both public and private sectors to Michael Baker. Kevin holds an MBA and a B.S. in Business Management from Pepperdine University. He also earned a Diploma of Technology in Surveying and Mapping from the British Columbia Institute of Technology. Kevin was CLSA’s 2023 President, and Orange County Surveyor.

Mark Carrel, a Project Surveyor at Paradigm Geospatial, Inc. (PG) made the announcement on his LinkedIn page. PG Director of Survey, Dirk Nasland commented “You definitely put in the work on this one - that test just wasn’t going to win. Congrats Mark!” Mark’s hiring at PG was noted in the eNews in 2023. He has previously surveyed with NV5, Montgomery and Associates, Hunsaker & Associates, Towill, Holland Engineering, and SDR Surveying.

Jeffrey Cannon is a California PLS with Eagle Engineering, Inc. of North Carolina. He has previously worked in both the private and public surveying and engineering sector here in California with Joseph E. Bonadiman & Associates, Inc., Precision Engineering Surveyors, Inc., Proactive Engineering Consultants, Hall & Foreman, LA County, and San Bernardino County.

Jason Moniz is a Field Supervisor and Certified Party Chief with Towill in San Diego.  He has previously worked for Burkett & Wong Engineers, LW Survey Company, and Lundstrom Engineering, Masson & Associates, Inc., LA County Sanitation District and Hunsaker & Associates. This hard-working guy has also been involved in the construction and drilling industries as a laborer, concrete finisher, oiler, operator and foreman.

Congratulations to JR Gregory for graduating from the Society of Military Engineers (SAME) Leader Development Program. This program serves to identify and cultivate talent from within the Society’s membership to develop leaders for the future of the A/E/C profession and to address the nation’s grand challenges. Participants explore individual strengths and team dynamics as they build leadership experience alongside their peers in a true joint environment. Since its inception, about half of program participants have come from the uniformed services; the other half represent SAME member companies. Towill has been a proud SAME member for over three decades, with many of our staff members serving key roles on various boards.

Congratulations Adrian on your well-deserved promotion. Adrian attended CSU Fresno, and has worked for Guida Surveying, Inc., Mark Thomas, Dale Mell & Associates, Blair, Church & Flynn Consulting Engineers, Pacific Gas and Electric Company, and REY Engineers. Adrian has also served the profession in helping lead the California Young Surveyors Network, serving ASPRS on the Student Advisory Council, and CLSA/NSPS meeting with legislators in Washington D.C for a Day on the Hill. 

Will posted on his LinkedIn page “I’m happy to share that I’ve obtained a new certification: Professional Land Surveyor from State of Nevada!” If Will’s name sounds familiar, I think the announcement of his Utah PLS being added to his California PLS was in a spring 2023 CLSA eNews. Will is now the President of Original Survey Solutions in the San Francisco Bay Area. He was previously with BKF Engineers, Kier & Wright Civil Engineers & Surveyors, Inc., Sandis, KSN, Inc., and O'Dell Engineering. Will served the Central Valley CLSA Chapter as President, Vice President, & President again from 2016-2021.

Brand Ambassadors Phil Fedor, RLS, and William Wing RLS, attended the first job fair at the American Leadership Academy Applied Technology campus in Mesa a few weeks ago.

Phil, along with Arizona Young Surveyors Network, Michael Banta, Will Wing RLS, and Tate Childers, introduced several hundred students from 7th grade to high school seniors to the opportunities of land surveying and geospatial careers. This led to a successful initiative to educate and inspire young individuals about careers in these fields.

Contact Trent at Diamondback if you need resources for your next outreach; we are always here to help!

Articles recognizing employee licensure, certification or promotion, interesting projects, and business expansion or relocation can be published in the CLSA eNews. These articles help publicize your firm, recognize your employees, share your company culture, and highlight the opportunities you offer.

Airworks

Aerial Photomapping Services

Berntsen International, Inc.

BizWatt, LLC

Carlson Software

Leica Geosystems

Leja Surveying Corp.
 

Looq AI

Meridian Surveying Engineering Inc.

 Seafloor Systems

Tait & Associates

That CAD Girl