South Dakota Society of Professional Land Surveyors 25th Anniversary -September 20, 2008

摘要

"There is no glory in age alone, but if the deeds of the past have been distinguished by the industry of our forebears, it is to their honor to praise them-but more honorable to imitate them." Or, in the case of surveyors, to follow in their footsteps. What a wonderful location to assemble for a celebration, but as your speaker I can also tell you that this is quite intimidating. To have these four presidents looking over my shoulder (and I'd like to think listening in on our conversation), causes me to pause and reflect on how we arrived here today as a nation and as surveyors. It also causes me to reflect on my own journey to this podium. My career as a surveyor was purely accidental, and my progression to a student of surveying history is quite ironic. When I was in high school and college, my two least favorite subjects were history and foreign languages (including English I might add), and it is debatable which was at the bottom of the heap. So what do I do, I decide to go into surveying-a profession which relies heavily on history-and end up getting very interested in the history of surveying.