ANNUAL SLSI CONFERENCE - 15 PDHS -See information below

SLSI MARCH 2-3, 2023 ANNUAL CONFERENCE - Gateway Hotel & Conference Center ~New Location!

Registration  for the SLSI 2023 Annual Conference has closed.  Registrations will be accepted onsite. (Click Here to Download PDF).

Exhibitor Registration for the SLSI 2023 Conference has closed. (Click Here to Download PDF).

HOTEL RESERVATION INFORMATION – GATEWAY HOTEL

A limited block of hotel rooms have been reserved for SLSI attendees at the Gateway Hotel. Please make your reservations early. While the hotel will guarantee the lower room rate until February 20, 2023 this does not mean they can guarantee that rooms will be available. There are a limited number of these rooms set aside at the hotel for SLSI. Rooms are on a first-come, first-served basis. You must mention your SLSI affiliation when reserving your room by phone. Reservations can be made at https://reservations.travelclick.com/2958?groupID=3537157     Or by calling 800-FOR-AMES (800-367-2637). 

Other Lodging in and around Ames can found at: https://www.thinkames.com/poi/stay/

AGENDA ~ WEDNESDAY, MARCH 1, 2023

6:30 PM – 7:30 PM ~ Welcome Reception in the Exhibit Hall. Welcome Reception: *SLSI started this opening event in 2020, and unfortunately, we were unable to gather in-person in 2021. SLSI is trying it again this year to gauge the interest of attendees in holding this event for future conferences. Attendees are encouraged to attend the welcome reception to help kick of the annual conference; meet with colleagues and visit with vendors.
Please indicate your attendance on the registration portion.

AGENDA ~ THURSDAY, MARCH 2, 2023

8:00AM ~ REGISTRATION/BREAKFAST/EXHIBITS OPEN FOR VIEWING
Gateway Hotel & Conference Center Second Floor
9:00AM ~ WELCOME AND INTRODUCTIONS OF EXHIBITORS
9:15AM ~ IELSEB UPDATE
9:30AM ~ SLSI PROPOSED LICENSURE REQUIREMENT CHANGES Q&A
10:30AM ~ BREAK – EXHIBIT ROOM
10:45AM ETHICS FOR LAND SURVEYORS
JEFF LUCAS, PRESIDENT, LUCAS & COMPANY

Utilizing the National Society of Professional Surveyor’s (NSPS’s) “Creed and Canons” and state-specific codes of professional conduct as a basis for discussion, this seminar will study ethical consideration in everyday practice.

12:00PM ~ LUNCH
• Gavel Exchange
• Scholarships

1:00PM ~ STATE OF SURVEYING IN IOWA
Reports to SLSI Membership

1:30PM ~ WHAT WENT WRONG
JEFF LUCAS, PRESIDENT, LUCAS & COMPANY

As I continue “Traversing the Law,” studying and writing about court cases involving boundary disputes and land surveyors, I have found everything from the ridiculous to the sublime. In some cases, I had to shake my head in disbelief over what I was reading, leaving me with just one question: What went wrong? This seminar will investigate the answer to this question by a detailed study of relevant court decisions involving surveyors and surveys that went terribly wrong. The painful lessons learned by others through the school of hard knocks can be painlessly explored and appreciated without the accompanying liability and damages that attach to boundary disputes and negligence actions. These cases will be studied and discussed through a Power Point presentation.  OBJECTIVES: To enhance professional competency and improve practitioner’s knowledge of the law as it relates to the practice of land surveying.

2:30PM ~ BREAK – EXHIBIT ROOM

2:45PM ~ WHAT WENT WRONG-CONTINUED
JEFF LUCAS, PRESIDENT, LUCAS & COMPANY

3:45PM ~ BREAK – EXHIBIT ROOM
4:00PM ~ WHAT WENT WRONG-CONTINUED
JEFF LUCAS, PRESIDENT, LUCAS & COMPANY

5:00 PM SOCIAL HOUR/CASH BAR – EXHIBIT HALL

6:00 PM LIVE AUCTION – HEAVY HORS D’OEUVRES & CASH BAR
Various surveying related, and non-related, items will be auctioned off to help raise money for the SLSI Scholarship fund. Photo Contest Winners Announced. Help the Iowa Surveyor’s Foundation!  Feel free to donate items for the annual meeting auction benefiting the Iowa Professional Surveyor’s Foundation scholarships.  Items auctioned in the past have included everything from old surveying equipment and books to such things as sports memorabilia and computer software.  You may also make a monetary donation online at SLSI.org under the About Us/Foundation Tab.  Please contact Justin Scott at the state office with item description @ 515-284-7055 or email at    [email protected]

AGENDA~FRIDAY, MARCH 3, 2023

7:30AM ~ CONTINENTAL BREAKFAST
Gateway Hotel & Conference Center, Exhibit Area

8:00AM ~ RELEVANCY IN THE 21ST CENTURY
JEFF LUCAS, PRESIDENT, LUCAS & COMPANY
Will surveying, as we know it, remain relevant in the 21st century, or are land surveyors destined to become the buggy-whip manufacturers of our time? Today, anyone with a smart-phone or a drone has the ability to be an expert measurer. If expert measuring ability is all that the land surveying profession has to offer, then the land surveying profession has nothing unique to bring to the table moving forward. In addition, GIS mapping is getting to the point where it is being perceived by stake-holders as just as good as a survey. In today’s politically charged environment, it is clear that perception is the new reality. No matter what side of the isle one may be on, no one really cares about the truth anymore. All that matters is one’s perception of the truth. When it is perceived that a GIS map is as good as a survey then it will be; when the perception is that a measurement made with a smart-phone or a drone is as good as a survey, then it will be. What the surveying profession needs (in pop-culture vernacular) is a “make-over,” and surprisingly, the past may offer solutions for the future. This program will study the exclusive niche that the land surveying profession enjoys and how to exploit that niche. Power Point presentation. OBJECTIVES: To enhance professional competency and improve practitioner’s knowledge of the law as it relates to the practice of land surveying.

9:45AM ~ BREAK

10:00AM ~ RELEVANCY IN THE 21ST CENTURY – CONT.
12:00PM ~ LUNCH
1:00PM ~ HOW TO MAKE A BOUNDARY DETERMINATION THAT WILL WIN IN COURT
JEFF LUCAS, PRESIDENT, LUCAS & COMPANY

 Should you find yourself in court defending your map of survey or your opinion on the location of the property boundaries, what are the important issues to know and understand to make a boundary determination that will win in court? What are the evidence standards that will be applied, the standard of care for professional surveyors in court, and what is the criterion for boundary determinations? This course is a study of the relevant evidence standards, different types of evidence, the standard of care, and explores the process of rendering a well-reasoned opinion on the only question that is within the purview of the retracing surveyor—the location question. The importance of deeds and the role they have in boundary determination, the interpretation of deeds, finding intent, and how and when the boundary establishment doctrines come into play. The “Ultimate Issue Rule” will be discussed and its importance relative boundary determinations and liability. If you eventually find yourself in court over a boundary dispute, losing in court is not an option. The boundary surveyor who has rendered a well-reasoned opinion on the boundaries based on the law and the facts, is in a much better position to win in court than the surveyor who simply applied math and measurements, setting out new lines and corners in places where they have never existed before; in essence, upsetting the status quo. Power Point Presentation. OBJECTIVES: To enhance professional competency and improve practitioner’s knowledge of the law as it relates to the practice of land surveying.

5:00pm ~ ADJOURN

 Keynote speaker: 

Jeffery N. Lucas started his career as a land surveyor and is a licensed surveyor in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi and Tennessee. Lucas is a recognized expert in boundary surveying, land title surveys and property law. He obtained his first land surveying license in Florida (1984) where he spent the first part of his surveying career. After relocating to Alabama, he has practiced across five southeastern states.

Lucas attended and graduated from law school later in his career. He is also a licensed attorney and member of the Alabama State Bar (2003). His practice is focused on land boundary issues and real property law, including adverse possession, boundary disputes, professional liability, real property, and zoning and land use issues. He has been an expert witness and consultant in many cases involving land surveying and boundary disputes.

As a result of his experience and background, Lucas is also a continuing education seminar leader on surveying and legal topics. He has developed a library of over 40 titles and conducts continuing education seminars for land surveyors, engineers and attorneys all across the country. In addition he has authored over 100 articles on surveying, boundary, and legal issues that have been published in state and national professional journals. He has a regular legal column in P.O.B. magazine and has been writing for the magazine since 2004. Lucas has also authored three books on land surveying and boundary law: “Alabama Boundary Law” (2009), “The Pincushion Effect, The Multiple Monument Dilemma in American Land Surveying” (2011), and “Illinois Boundary Law” (2012). Lucas is currently the Alabama Survey Division Manager for ESP Associates AL, Inc.