I attended the 60^th Annual Conference of the Minnesota Society of Professional Surveyors in Bloomington, Minnesota last week. On Wednesday, I made the five hour drive along I-94 in time for the President’s dinner at the Kokomo Island Café at the Mall of America. The meal was excellent, not to mention great company. The event was hosted by outgoing President Henry Nelson, and the guest list included representatives from Iowa, North Dakota, and some of the providences of Canada. One of the highlights of the evening for me was hearing some of the history of MSPS as told by an original founder, Martin Mink, Jr. Some late “socializing” allowed for sharing of stories and comparing notes with a number of surveyors, many who are also licensed in Wisconsin.

The Minnesota program is very similar to Wisconsin in that it has education sessions with wonderful speakers.On Thursday evening, I attended the vendor’s social and live auction to benefit their foundation. At the Friday lunch, the society presented scholarships, surveyor’s awards and passed the gavel to incoming president, Paul Vogel.

I appreciated the opportunity to represent WSLS at the MSPS conference this year. It was a well-organized and fun event, that given the opportunity, I would encourage all of you to consider attending.

This is a sample Powerpoint presentation which was provided in 2010 to the Building Inspectors Association

This example Powerpoint has been used at Greenfield high school in the past. It covers the program details, contains slides on careers in land surveying ( provided by NSPS) and has sample problems.

Notice: Trig-Star Committee Meeting at the 2012 Institute

Trig-star is in need of additional sponsors for local programs!

Please join us for a Trig-star committee meeting scheduled for:

Wednesday, January 25, 2012  9:00 a.m.  - 9:30 a.m.

Kalahari Resort - Ebony Room

Examples of typical trig-star exams: from the previous two years

Now is time to start planning a Trig-star program at a local high school in your community. The committee is strongly encouraging that the following Chapters consider a program for 2012.

·         Northern Lakes

·         Western

·         Central

·         Southeast

·         Northwest

Contacting Your Local High School

 

Making first contact with the Math Department Chairperson is often the most difficult task when trying to start a Trig*Star Program.  Here are some tips:

·         Do you know any teacher, guidance counselor or administrator at your local high school that could introduce you to a math teacher?

 

·         Do any of your children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, etc., attend a nearby high school where you would be willing to visit to present the Trig*Star program/test?

 

·         Are any of your neighbors or friends at church or social groups, teachers or school employees that may be able to steer you in the right direction toward the trigonometry teacher?

 

·         Ask them to give you the name and phone number (or e-mail address) of that teacher.  Then ...

 

·         Make the contact, preferably in the fall of the school year. Get a copy of the WSLS Trig*Star Brochure and give it to the math teacher to explain the program.  Introduce yourself and tell the teacher that you would like to present a program to students explaining how the surveying profession utilizes trigonometry.