Stepping Down
At the Spring Quarterly Meeting I announced that I was stepping down as Chair of MSGIC. I have accepted an employment offer in Charlotte, NC and started Monday April, 28. While I am excited about the new adventure I also will miss the day-to-day contacts with the GIS professionals in Maryland. It has been my good fortune to meet and work with some very talented, smart and passionate people. MSGIC is fortunate that it has a strong leadership team. Julia Fischer, who has assumed the MSGIC Chair, is one of those very talented, smart and passionate people. Please give her the support you have given me and the other Chairs over the years.

MSGIC is in transition to become a recognized (legally) non-profit organization. This has brought about a great deal of energy and enthusiasm in the organization. MSGIC, in my mind, is more than anything else a network of geospatial professionals. Take advantage of that network; participate in the caucuses and sub-committees, go to the quarterly meetings to share ideas and concerns, take advantage of the membership listing on the website to reach out to others.

Education
Education should always be on our mind. Indeed it usually perks up to the top of many discussions. Supporting the education efforts at the universities, community colleges and STEM programs is important. However, it is much more than that. Think about how many people have adopted geospatial technology as a second career or realized that they need training in GIS to continue in their career.

At the TUgis 2014 conference the keynote speaker Anne Miglarese, President and CEO of PlanetiQ, reminded us to always be ready to help others in this profession. That was brought home to me a few hours later when a woman who worked at an A&E firm stopped me and thanked me for helping her find the training she needed to continue in her career. It took me a while to remember that over a year previous I had exchanged a few emails and phone conversations with her. Not a whole lot of time on my part, but small things matter.

MSGIC & MSS Relationship
One of the things that I am most excited about with GIS in Maryland is the growing association of MSGIC and the Maryland Society of Surveyors (MSS). Both geospatial professions provide important services, indeed they are complementary. Historically, not just in Maryland, the Surveying and GIS professions have been locked in a ridiculous debate (in my opinion) concerning what services each should provide. What is happening now in Maryland should serve as a model of how both professions join together for the greater good. I encourage you to continue to build that relationship.

Professional Development
As MSGIC matures as a non-profit organization consider creating an endowment or foundation for professional development both in the classroom and outside the classroom. The technology that we as GIS professionals embrace seems to be on an ever quickening pace of new developments and technology paradigm shifts. Dr. Michael Scott raised this issue at the last quarterly meeting regarding providing students with an education in the latest and greatest technology. It is just as daunting outside of the classroom. Just staying up with the technology seems to be a never ending catch-up effort. If you want to continue in this profession you have to stretch. In my comments in the TUgis plenary session I suggested that perhaps one should look for the “next – next” technology development and embrace it. MSGIC should at some point in the future consider creating educational opportunities to help the GIS professionals not only stay on the technology train, but to drive the train.

Although I have stepped down as Chair I am still a member of MSGIC. I have paid my dues (monetarily) and carry a couple dozen MSGIC business cards with me. I encourage everyone to join MSGIC and become a “card carrying” member.

Pax

Mark Helmken