I would like to thank you for allowing me the opportunity and honor to serve as president of the Florida Surveying and  Mapping Society.

2022 enjoyed an excellent 67^th Annual Conference at the PGA National facilities in Palm Beach County. It was one of the  highest attended conferences with a variety of conference topics from Retracing Public lands and Restorations of corners to  hydrographic surveys and Standards of Practice. Thanks to Jim Sullivan for orchestrating the conference.

In 2023 the FIG International Federation of Surveyors, (Fédération Internationale des Géomètres Internationale Vereiningung der Vermessungsingenieure) working week will be held in Orlando, Florida. It was established in  1878 by seven national members associations. The mission of FIG is to ensure that the disciplines of surveying and all who  practice them meet the needs of the markets and communities they serve.  FIG aims at addressing land issues at the global level. They cover 120 counties and represent more than 300,000 members. They consider surveying in a much broader spectrum than we do in the states.

Mr. Allen Nobles is this year’s Vice President and Annual conference chair.  Allen is already working on the conference which will be held at the Saddlebrook Resort in Wesley Chapel, Florida on July 24-30, 2023. I think it will be a great conference and one to attend.

I would like to thank Mr. Lou Campanile, Jr. for his service as President in 2022, along with the Board of Directors and FSMS Staff members.  Mr. Tom Steckler retired last year and will be missed.  Mrs. Rebecca Porter is our new Executive Director, along with Mrs. Samantha Hobbs, Education Director, Mr. Justin Ortiz, Communications Coordinator and Mrs. Cathy Campanile as Regional Coordinator. We are blessed to have a great staff.

We are blessed to have a great organization and great volunteers to fuel it.  An organization is only as strong as its membership and volunteers.

The pack

"The role of most leaders is to get the people to think more of the leader, but the role of the exceptional leader is to get the people to think more of themselves." — Booker T. Washington