PA-MAPPS Becomes the First State Chapter of MAPPS
By PA-MAPPS Board of Directors and MAPPS Executive Director and Staff
, MAPPS
September 19, 2007
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During
its term in 2006, the Pennsylvania General Assembly faced a problem.
Through legislation, it sought to establish a statewide GIS
Coordinating Council and it wanted to make certain the private
geospatial community was represented. However, there was no
organization of private geospatial practitioners in the Commonwealth of
Pennsylvania from which to choose representatives.
When originally introduced, House Bill 2871 named the Pennsylvania
State Chamber of Commerce as the private sector representative on the
council. While that could possibly have led to the addition of a GIS
professional to the state council, the seat could also have gone to a
lawyer, car salesman, hardware store owner or any other individual who
was in the private sector. There was no guarantee that the
representative would have any geospatial expertise at all.
This possibility caused some dismay within the private sector GIS
profession in Pennsylvania. A group of private geospatial firm
principals, owners, partners and senior professionals began to discuss
the issue and it became clear that appropriate representation was not
the only issue facing the profession. Many front-burner issues were
also realized:
- education
- workforce development
- unfair government and university competition
- procurement policies
- the role of GIS in the commonwealth
Spurred on by Ashis Pal of geographIT, an ad-hoc group of GIS professionals (working under the banner of the Pennsylvania Association of Private Geospatial Organizations - PAPGO) met formally to discuss creation of an organization to fill the void. This group, including Con Sweeney of Michael Baker Jr., Inc., Jim Loncella of L. Robert Kimball, Mike Shillenn of Photo Science, Inc., Stephen Ellis of GeoDecisions and Dennis Miner of GIS-T, among others, quickly realized that starting a brand new association from scratch would be a both costly and time consuming endeavor, as well as being duplicative of the missions and efforts of another organization already in existence at the national level - MAPPS.
Several members of the Pennsylvania group were also principals of firms that were already standing members of MAPPS, including those from Michael Baker Jr., Inc., L. Robert Kimball and Photo Science, Inc. They encouraged other participants to learn more about MAPPS and how it operates. At a subsequent meeting, MAPPS Executive Director John Palatiello traveled to Pennsylvania to present the history, structure, mission and accomplishments of the national geospatial organization he represents. Amid long discussions and deliberations with Palatiello, the founding group realized that an affiliation with MAPPS was the most efficient and effective course of action. The PAPGO organizing group and MAPPS then quickly began formal discussions. These meetings sowed the seeds for what was eventually to become PA-MAPPS - the first state chapter of the national MAPPS organization.
On May 17, 2007, Pal, Palatiello and Sweeney formally made a joint announcement of the creation PA-MAPPS at the Pennsylvania GIS Conference in Camp Hill. PA-MAPPS has already increased it roster of member firms to nine, including Michael Baker Jr., Inc., Photo Science Inc, geographIT, Keystone Aerial Surveys, Inc., L. Robert Kimball & Associates, Inc., Land & Mapping Services, LLC, Gamm Air, Inc., Kucera International Inc. and GeoDecisions.
Once endorsed by the national MAPPS board of directors, the members of PA-MAPPS established operating bylaws and elected its inaugural board of directors.
This hard work is now paying dividends. H.B. 2871 has been reintroduced as H.B. 1304 and an amendment has been filed to designate a representative from PA-MAPPS as the private sector voice on the state GIS Coordination Council. Accordingly, PA-MAPPS has recently offered testimony in support of the new bill before the State House Intergovernmental Affairs Committee.
The PA-MAPPS board has also begun planning programs and meetings of member firms, to begin this fall, to discuss public policy issues and meet with members of the Pennsylvania legislature, state agencies and other policy makers and stakeholders regarding geospatial issues.
For more information on the chapter and membership visit the PA-MAPPS website.
Note: This article was collaboratively authored by the PA-MAPPS board of directors with support from the MAPPS Executive Director and Staff
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| I'm curious as to why they did not just include the Pennsylvania Society of Land Surveyors as the representative organization rather than create another? |
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| Were any of these people or the companies they work for engaged in State of PA contracts while they set up this group? Did PA taxpayer money pay for establiishing a self-interested lobbying group? Perhaps the PA State attorney general might audit the contracts in place with these folks. Did anyone charge travel and/or expenses to a State contract while they worked this issue? That's probably worth a look... |
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| "Politics happens when people become insecure about their jobs." --from: Radical Careering by Sally Hogshead. The candle lobby should be allowed to defeat the light bulb. Candle factory workers need to be certified professional candle producers. In order to ensure they protect me from inferior candles they need CE programs in candle producing annually to remain licensed candle producers. My fellow citizens in America have lost the fact that freedom and security are incompatible and if you give up one you lose both. Also, my work requires that I have skills in GIS, Photogrammetry, and surveying. However, I am not a professional in any one of these single dimensions. Also, I respect those that are and call on their specilized training when the circumstances indicate accordingly. You can always find a better deal but that does not necissarily make it a better deal. |
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