President's Message

Members,

Our last Board Meeting was held on February 6th. I offer a brief recap of the meeting for your review:

Equipment Theft

Reporting of Equipment theft has stopped. Speculation is that firms are unwilling to report equipment theft due to the fear of bad publicity, or for some other unknown reason. Please note that this reporting is important not only to document that these thefts are still occurring, but to also educate fellow surveyors of specific locations of concern. 

Workforce Development

Katie Britt, through the Geomatics Extension program, is working on a field tech training program for highschool Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs and other job seekers. In conversations with her, her greatest needs right now are contacts at each school district’s CTE program or agriculture program, and teachers that would be interested in teaching this program. If you have contacts, please reach out to start laying the groundwork for industry support and need, as well as availability of resources for teachers.

In addition, The Trig-Star competition is back. As many of you may know, The Trig-Star program is a National Society of Professional Surveyors (NSPS) sponsored annual high school mathematics competition. This competition Is based on the practical application of Trigonometry, recognizing the best students from high schools throughout the country. The goal of this program, among others, is to acquaint high school students with the use and practical application of mathematics in the surveying profession and to build awareness of surveying as a profession. If you know a math teacher or student who might want to participate, please share this information with them.

Strategic Planning

The Strategic Planning committee has determined that a review and revision of the current strategic plan is warranted. A meeting is planned for the first week of April at the Austin Cary Forest Campus, 10625 NE Waldo Rd, Gainesville.

Awards Committee

The Awards Committee, under the leadership of Rick Pryce has created a new award entitled “Oldest Survey Monument.” The purpose of the award is to search for and document historical monuments, 50 years old or older, that may still exist before they are lost by development or other environmental factors. Criteria will be posted on the FSMS website in the very near future.

National Surveyors Week

National Surveyors week March 15-21st., ending with Global surveyors’ day on March 21st. I would like to seek the help of membership by attending your local commission meeting, giving a strong showing of this proud profession. Surveyors’ week was created in part to educate the public of the value surveyors and how, among so many other things, we are an important part of the orderly transfer of title. I believe that one of the biggest challenges for this profession is not enough people know who we are, and what we do.

Conference

The 2026 conference has been set and will be hosted at the JW Marriott Miami Turnberry Resort & Spa from July 29th - August 1st, 2026. Registration will open towards the end of March or early April. A reservation link will be on the FSMS site in the coming weeks.

Seminars at Sea 2026

FSMS is putting together a seven-night educational package containing 24 CECs aboard the Princess Cruises, Majestic Princess; leaving from New York Harbor October 3rd, with stops in Newport, Boston, Saint John (Bay of Fundy), and Halifax before returning on October 10th. Click here to learn more. 

Legislative

The New legislative session is upon us, and it appears that it will be an active one for surveyors and mappers. We are faced with another challenge to our great profession. As expected, there has been a bill filed to revise the requirements for applicants from outside the state who meet certain requirements. I encourage everyone to please contribute to the FSMPAC fund as the defense of our profession is not free.

Membership

We are currently seeing a lot of “graced” members that have forgotten to renew. Please check your renewal status and ensure that you are current. We are planning to make reminder calls in the coming week. Please take care of any outstanding balances as you do not want to get on Mrs. Cathy's bad side!

Your thoughts are important, and I would like to hear from you regarding any comments or suggestions you may have. Please email me at president.fsms@ gmail.com.

Respectfully submitted,

Robert N. Johnson, PSM, CFM

 Previous 2026 Messages
January 2026