We had a record number of attendees at this year’s Conference. I would like to thank Mr. Allen Nobles and the conference committee for their efforts to make the presentations happen, the instructors for their hours of research and effort in preparing their presentations, the staff for their persistence and determination to make this conference a success, and lastly, the membership for their participation. It was a team effort.

On a separate note, the Constitution is the founding document of the United States. We are constantly citing it for our rights and the laws that govern our country.

In a comparable manner we as surveyors are constantly citing the original location of corners by the Bureau of Land Management, the State of Florida, and other original documents such as plats. We are always returning to the original corner location. Why, the corners established by the Public Land Survey System are the basis for all legal descriptions within the State of Florida.

In the “Instructions Manual for Florida Certified Corner Records" there is a paragraph that reads:

“Included in these requirements is the obligation on the part of the professional surveyor and mapper to obtain and review copies of the original government plat and field notes. Since professional surveyors and mappers are required to 'follow in the footsteps' of the original surveyor, it is mandatory that they know how the original surveyors performed their surveys, what monuments were set and what accessories and other physical features were located. A painstaking search for evidence from those original surveys cannot be complete without this information.“