PHOTOGRAMMETRIC ENGINEERING & REMOTE SENSING
December 2017
793
am pleased to be your President and to have good news to report. Togeth-
er we have accomplished much this year and I would like to recap some of
the achievements.
Perhaps most importantly, ASPRS has engineered a fiscal turn-around.
Relentless work from many participating members and the Board of Directors
under the leadership of our ASPRS Acting Executive Director, Jesse Winch,
and our dedicated ASPRS Program Manager, Karen Schuckman, has put us on
sound footing with a path to a balanced budget.
We have a new plan for conferences based on co-location with other strong industry
events. This will allow our members the ability to save on travel costs and bene-
fit from exposure to a broader spectrum of the geospatial profession. Our corporate
members will be able to exhibit at a conference that draws from a larger pool of potential
clients and our ASPRS technical divisions and staff will concentrate their focus on devel-
oping solid technical tracks and workshops. I have heard the comment from some mem-
bers, “So, we are not going to have an annual conference anymore?” The answer is, “Yes,
ASPRS will have an Annual Conference and it will be stronger than ever, and positioned
for growth through strategic alignment with our new conference planning partners”.
ASPRS awards and scholarships and the certification program are pillars of our organi-
zation and these programs are stronger than ever. For example, the new UAS Certifica-
tion is gaining national attention and drawing people to our technical symposium and to
participation in ASPRS. ASPRS plans to roll out a new “Rising Stars” program that will
spark leadership from our early career professionals – be watching for an announcement
seeking applications and sponsors.
In 2016, under the direction of Editor-in-Chief, Alper Yilmaz, the impact factor of
PE&RS, increased to 2.493. Impact factor is a measurement of the importance of rele-
vance of the articles in an academic journal. In addition to scholarly articles PE&RS is
known for, PE&RS publishes thought provoking highlight articles and columns including
Mapping Matters, Book Reviews, SectorInsights, and highlights from headquarters, our
regions, and the industry.
Thank you for your support of ASPRS. Take note of the upcoming ASPRS Annual Con-
ference and International Lidar Mapping Forum in February 2018. This will be a great
opportunity to network with ASPRS colleagues and further your education in the geospa-
tial industry.
Rebecca Morton
ASPRS President—2017-2018
I
ASPRS Members,
F R O M T H E P R E S I D E N T
