400
June 2017
PHOTOGRAMMETRIC ENGINEERING & REMOTE SENSING
President’s Address
Yearbook
It is an honor to be
your President. I look
forward to this year and
the things that we can
accomplish together. It
is our collective volunteer
efforts that fuel our
progress. So, I will be
looking to all of you for
input and support this
year.
We have much to do,
but, we have some very
talented and dedicated
leaders to make things
happen. We have a good structure to support our efforts with
officers and leaders of our technical divisions & committees,
our Student and Early Career Professionals, and our regional
organizations. It will be my goal to keep this group of leaders
organized and working on the same page to move forward on
several key areas of growth. Some of the work that is at the
forefront of our efforts will include:
•
Improvement of our IT, website, and social media
presence
•
Continuing development of Webinars, Workshops and
GeoBytes programs
•
New Technical Conference Formats –the Annual
Conference, UAS Technical Symposium, as well as
regional specialty conferences
•
Implementation of a new certification category – UAS
Certification
•
Renewed emphasis on the work within our Divisions,
Committees and Regions
As I think about where we are right now as a Society, I am
reminded of the famous words of Presidents John F. Kennedy
and Lyndon Johnson.
On May 25, 1961, President John F. Kennedy addressed
the Joint Session of Congress on many issues that faced the
nation at that time, such as the arms race and the space race,
he concluded his speech with these words:
“All of this will not be finished in the first 100 days.
Nor will it be finished in the first 1,000 days, nor in the
lifetime of this administration, nor even perhaps in our
lifetime on this planet,
but let us begin
.”
Let Us Continue
Rebecca Morton
Less than three years later, on November 27, 1963, after the
tragic assassination, President Lyndon Johnson addressed
the Joint Session of Congress with this statement:
“Today, in this moment of new resolve, I would say to
all my fellow Americans, let us continue. This is our
challenge – not to hesitate, not to pause, not to turn
about and linger,
but to continue
on our course so that
we may fulfill the destiny that history has set for us”.
Those words are true for ASPRS today. We have already
set a good course; we have accomplished the hard work of
creating a leaner and more resilient organization that is
structured well for the work at hand. Therefore, the words
“Let us Continue”
seem very fitting.
We should feel great pride both in our legacy, as well as in
the role we play in the geospatial community in professional
development, scholarship, standards, and the advancement
of science. That is why it is so important that we continue to
build from here because what we have is needed, unique, and
worth preserving and strengthening.
Therefore, in the words of President Johnson,
let us continue
from our legacy to our destiny.
Thank you all for this opportunity to serve as your President.
ASPRS President’s Address for IGTF, March 2017 Baltimore,
Maryland
This is our challenge —
not to hesitate, not to pause,
not to turn about and linger,
but to continue . . .
