Episode 87 - Norm Ellerbrock sat down with Tim Burch to talk about his introduction into surveying, starting his own business, and how mentoring is important to teaching the future practitioners.

This episode of “Surveyor Says! The NSPS Podcast” highlights the Certified Survey Technician (CST) program during a conversation with Norm Ellerbrock, a CST Board member. He recently sat down with Tim Burch to talk about his introduction into surveying, starting his own business, and how mentoring is important to teaching the future practitioners. Norm provides an overview of the program, the pathway to certification on two tracks to four levels, and preparation for taking a CST exam. He also shares the importance having CST employees for an advantage as a business owner in both experience and prequalification for certain projects. Norm also shared how to become a proctor for potential exam takers as well as finding a proctor if an applicant cannot find one.

If you are interested in giving back to the profession and future surveyors, then CST could be your answer! The CST Board is looking for future members to help administer, grade, and review test questions for our future technicians. For more information, go to cstnsps.com for more information. And stay tuned for more great episodes of “Surveyor Says!” The NSPS Podcast.

Episode 86 - NSPS Registered Lobbyist John “JB” Byrd and host Curt Sumner discuss the status of several Bills in the U S Congress.

Episode 84 - Jim Coan joins host Curt Sumner to talk not only about his perspective as the NSPS Director representing the LSAW, but also about his career.

Jim Coan joins host Curt Sumner to talk not only about his perspective as the NSPS Director representing the Land Surveyors Association of Washington (LSAW), but also about his career and dedication to teaching those who are interested in becoming involved in surveying. He also talks about his most recent motorcycling adventure.

Episode 77 - Are you fully caffeinated and ready for an energetic guest? Then this episode is for you! Our guest this week is Sherry Toutges, a professional land surveyor from CA.

Are you fully caffeinated and ready for an energetic guest? Then we have the episode for you! “Surveyor Says! The NSPS Podcast” introduces us to Sherry Toutges, a professional land surveyor from California. She recently joined Tim Burch to share her career highlights from discovering surveying at Fresno State University to her current role at Caltrans. Sherry talks about providing training to new employees and utilizing her teaching skills for promoting the NSPS Trig-Star program. She also talks about the importance of mentors in surveying and how effective listening and useful criticism is key to creating great relationships. Sherry also reminded us how important being involved with your surveying associations helps building lifelong professional relationships.

We thoroughly enjoyed our conversation with Sherry and look forward to seeing her back in action with upcoming Trig-Star competitions. Thanks for listening to a busy episode of “Surveyor Says!” The NSPS Podcast.

Episode 74 - This episode reviews the successes of the NSPS 2020 legislative initiatives.

NSPS Government Affairs Consultant John Palatiello and NSPS Lobbyist JB Byrd join host Curt Sumner to review the successes NSPS has enjoyed during its 2020 legislative and federal agency outreach.

Episode 72 - As we wind down Women’s History Month, it is fitting that our final guest is exceptional in her own right. It is our pleasure to have Dominica VanKoten, Chief Cadastral Surveyor, BLM

As we wind down Women’s History Month for 2021, it is fitting that our final guest for this special month is exceptional in her own right. NSPS appreciates our longstanding partnership with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), so it is our pleasure to have Dominica VanKoten, Chief Cadastral Surveyor for the BLM. Prior to her current position, she led the Eastern States Office for BLM from 2008 to 2019. Dominica recently connected with Tim Burch to discuss how being interested in drafting and math in high school introduced her to surveying, her career path with the BLM, and current duties as Chief Cadastral Surveyor. She shared insights on many of the Bureau’s responsibilities and how important the Public Land Survey System is to the public.

NSPS and “Surveyor Says!” The NSPS Podcast would like to tip our cap to all women in the surveying and geomatics industry for a job well done. We appreciate your efforts and look forward to growing the profession with you. Thanks for listening!

Episode 70 - In keeping with the theme of Women’s History Month, our very special guest for this episode is Juliana Blackwell, Director of the National Geodetic Survey (NGS).

In keeping with the theme of Women’s History Month, our very special guest for this episode is Juliana Blackwell, Director of the National Geodetic Survey (NGS). She recently talked with Tim Burch to share her career path leading up to her current position at the helm of the nation’s oldest federal science agency. From her days on a NOAA research ship, in the field with a survey crew collecting geodetic information, to the floor of the United Nations coordinating geopotential reference frames, Juliana’s story is fascinating and inspiring. She reiterates the importance of the need for upgrading the national spatial reference system (NSRS) to steer our future of autonomous guidance.

We are proud of our partnership with Juliana and NGS, so thanks for listening to this episode of “Surveyor Says!” The NSPS Podcast.

Episode 69 - Our 2nd episode for Women’s History Month goes “down under” with a lovely chat with Peta Cox, an Australian surveyor based in New South Wales.

Our second episode for Women’s History Month goes “down under” with a lovely chat with Peta Cox, an Australian surveyor based in New South Wales. She recently time warped with Tim Burch (a 17-hour time difference!) to discuss the similarities of surveying on either side of the Pacific Ocean. Peta talked about her early interest in being outside being key to her choosing land surveying, teaching introductory surveying classes all about the basics, and coming back to the private sector to oversee survey projects throughout southeastern Australia. She also shared how her love for the profession urged her to start the “Defining Boundaries” podcast to capture the stories of surveying for memorializing forever. (Look for the podcast on all major streaming services.)

Thanks again to Peta for taking time out of her busy schedule to be featured here on “Surveyor Says!” The NSPS Podcast.

Episode 68 - With March being Women’s History Month, we start strong with our “Future Focus” series and welcoming Sarah Walker, a dynamic Nevada Young Surveyor.

With March being Women’s History Month, we start strong with our “Future Focus” series and welcoming Sarah Walker, a dynamic Nevada Young Surveyor who recently passed both of her NCEES exams. She recently sat down with Tim Burch to discuss how she was introduced to surveying, how she enjoys doing boundary retracement, and weekends on her dirt bike finding new mountain trails. Sarah also shares how important having a mentor is to her professional development and working towards being able to teach surveying in the future. She also talked about the success of building the Nevada Young Surveyors Network (50+ members!) through networking and sharing experiences.

The future of surveying will be bright with more young professionals like Sarah and we appreciate her being our guest here on “Surveyor Says!” The NSPS Podcast.

Episode 66 - Did you know that a professional surveyor can also be a proficient timpanist? We have one, and he is also an officer of NSPS!

Did you know that a professional surveyor can also be a proficient timpanist? We have one, and he is also an officer of NSPS!

This episode of “Surveyor Says!” highlights a conversation with Bob Miller, PLS, and NSPS Treasurer. He recently chatted with Tim Burch to talk about his roundabout start in surveying, finding the right mentor, and how learning the basics of surveying are still key factor to success in the profession. Bob shares his experiences from both the field and office perspective, as he highlights how having a good understanding of both is critical to the surveyor’s career. Now if he would just quit having those nightmares about the turkey farm!

Thanks for joining us to learn more about the elected officers here on “Surveyor Says!” The NSPS Podcast.