2024 MALSCE Convention

2024 MALSCE Convention
The Evolution of Our Profession

Brought to you by the MALSCE Cape Cod Chapter

Sponsored by 2023-2024 MALSCE Sustaining Members

Allen & Major Associates, Inc., Beals and Thomas, Inc., Bluesky Geospatial Limited, Brennan Consulting, Inc., BSC Group, Inc., CHA
Crocker Design Group, DiPrete Engineering Associates, DGT Associates, Eastern Topographics, E.T. Engineering Enterprises,
Feldman Geospatial, Field Resources, Inc., Hancock Associates, Keystone Precision Solutions, Maine Technical Source,
Nitsch Engineering, R.J. O'Connell & Associates, Inc., Samiotes Consultants Inc., Spiller's, Tighe & Bond
Topcon Solutions Store, VHB, Inc., Waypoint Technology Group, WSP

Friday and Saturday, March 1 & 2, 2024
Boxboro Regency Hotel & Conference Center
242 Adams Place, Boxborough, MA 01719
7:00 AM - 10:00 PM Friday
7:00 AM - 1:30 PM Saturday

Featuring:

In-depth Presentations
On technological advances, standards of practice, and business trends impacting the land surveying and civil engineering professions.

Convention Exhibitors
Featuring exhibits of the latest technologies and services, and two hours of live demonstrations

Plan & Field Notes Contests
Submitted entries will be displayed at the Convention. Attendees will vote for the best plan in various categories and Field Notes of the Year. Download the 2024 MALSCE Plan & Field Notes Contests Entry Form and submit an entry.

Networking Breaks, Benefit Auction, and more!
Plenty of down time to network with and learn from with your peers. To donate an item for Friday’s auction to benefit the MALSCE Education Trust simply bring it to the convention registration desk. To donate an item before the convention, contact Rich Keenan:  617/305-4110 or rkeenan@engineers.org.

Reserve your overnight room by Thursday, February 22, 2024!
Click here to learn how to reserve an overnight room at the Boxboro Regency Hotel & Conference Center for Thursday and/or Friday, February 29 and March 1 at the $102 MALSCE Convention attendee rate.

Registration Deadline: Extended to Friday, February 22, 2024
Full Convention Rates: Member $385, Non-Member $500
Friday Convention Only: Member $280, Non-Member $400
Saturday Convention Only: Member $120, Non-Member $185

The 2024 MALSCE Convention will include the following sessions 
 
Friday, March 1, 2024

8:00 AM - 9:00 AM: MA DCR – Flood Hazard Management Program (Concurrent Session)
Joy Duperault, CFM, State NFIP Coordinator/Director, Flood Hazard Management Program, Massachusetts Department of Conservation & Recreation (DCR)
During this session, you’ll learn about the Massachusetts Department of Conservation & Recreation’s Flood Hazard Management Program (FHMP) and the technical assistance FHMP staff can provide to surveyors. Massachusetts’ higher floodplain management standards, typical violations seen during the Community Assistance Visit process, deficiencies commonly seen on Elevation Certificates, how to find the local Flood Plain Administrator, and current FEMA progress on Massachusetts maps are some of the matters Joy will discuss.

8:00 AM - 9:00 AM: Progressing from a Survey Technician to Professional Land Surveyor (Concurrent Session)
William “Terry” McGovern, PLS, Project Manager, Zenith Land Surveyors LLC, and Adjunct Faculty, Benjamin Franklin Cummings Institute of Technology
This session features a discussion of the educational requirements to become a registered professional land surveyor as well as required education and training within the profession as a whole. Topics include what makes land surveying as a profession different from other engineering professions, the variety of knowledge required and how that knowledge has been traditionally acquired, and how changing technology and business practices have changed the role of the surveyor. How training in the surveying industry differs from other traditional courses of study and opportunities to provide training and education that fit the profession will also be discussed.

9:15 AM - 10:30 AM: Professional Practice – A Guide to the Practice of Architecture, Engineering, and Land Surveying in Massachusetts (General Session)
Kenneth Anderson, PLS, Owner, Anderson Surveys, Inc., and Member, Massachusetts Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors
Azuanuka O. Etoniru, PE, PLS, President, E.T. Engineering Enterprises, Inc. and Secretary, Massachusetts Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors
Don’t miss this opportunity to hear two members of the Massachusetts Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors present and answer questions about the recently updated guide titled Professional Practice – A Guide to the Practice of Architecture, Engineering, and Land Surveying in Massachusetts and related matters. The Massachusetts boards of licensure for the professions assembled this guide to assist licensees in understanding their professional responsibilities as architects, professional engineers, or professional land surveyors, and to direct them to sources of information that can help answer questions arising in day-to-day practice of their profession.

10:45 AM - 12:15 PM: MALSCE Proprietors’ Council Panel Discussion - The Evolving Nature of a Land Surveying Business (General Session)
Moderator: Michael Clifford, PLS, Principal, DGT Associates and MALSCE Proprietors’ Council Chair
Featured Panelists: Kenneth Conte, PLS, Principal, Beals and Thomas, Inc., Paul R. Foley, PLS, President, Feldman Geospatial and Brian E. Koczela, PLS, Owner/Manager, BEK Associates
This MALSCE Proprietors’ Council-sponsored session features panelists from a cross-section of companies engaged in land surveying answering questions from the moderator and audience as they share their views on the evolving nature of a land surveying business and the need to adjust to this changing business environment. Join what should prove to be a lively and insightful 90-minute discussion. Learn how you can cope with business trends impacting the land surveying profession.

12:15 PM - 1:45 PM: MALSCE Annual Meeting & Awards Presentations
Presiding: Kenneth Conte, PLS, Principal, Beals and Thomas, Inc., and MALSCE President
Highlights of this luncheon and Annual Meeting include the presentation of the MALSCE Surveyor of the Year Award and Presidential Citation.

1:45 PM - 3:45 PM: Convention Exhibit & Exhibitor Demonstrations (General Session)
During this two-hour general session, you’ll have many opportunities to visit our convention exhibitors and learn about the technologies and services they offer. You can also take in as many of the live product/service demonstrations occurring during the session as you like. These demonstrations will be occurring simultaneously with groups of attendees rotating between demonstrations every 15 minutes.

4:00 PM - 5:00 PM: Various Types of Boundaries in Massachusetts Property, Land Use, and Environmental Law, Where They Are, and How They Change (Concurrent Session)
Gregor I. McGregor, Esq., Founding Partner, McGregor Legere & Stevens PC
This presentation is a fresh look at some traditional and modern Massachusetts laws and legal doctrines about the many kinds of boundaries, especially concerning water, that surveyors, civil engineers, real estate clients, and their legal counsel deal with in plans, titles, transactions, permitting, and litigation. Mr. McGregor slices the subject differently from the usual approach, explaining how law-related boundaries are determined, how they are subject to change, and why not to be surprised when they morph or move.

4:00 PM - 6:00 PM: Integrating Small Unmanned Airborne Systems (sUAS) Into a Geospatial Business (Concurrent Session)
Joseph V. R. Paiva, PhD, PS, PE, CEO, Chief of Curriculum Development, GeoLearn LLC 
Unmanned Airborne Systems (sometimes called drones) have become quite popular. They can be a real asset in many businesses that do surveying, mapping and other geospatial activities. However, the integration of such technology requires a lot of planning and forethought to evaluate the business potential that arises from providing services and products that are based on the use of this technology. During this session, you will learn about the types of UAS, the applications and potential new customer areas possible with UAS, company operations and management of personnel that must be integrated into the business before using UAS, the photogrammetric differences with UAS as compared to conventional photogrammetry and how the FAA is regulating the process of flying a UAS.

5:15 PM - 5:45 PM: Surveying Career Slide Deck for Student Outreach (Concurrent Session)
David Prince, PLS, Vice President Survey Services, WSP and MALSCE Public Awareness Committee Chair
With the number of licensed professional surveyors in Massachusetts decreasing year after year, all MALSCE members must work to attract the next generation of surveyors to the profession! Learn how under David Prince’s leadership members of the reformed MALSCE Public Awareness Committee are promoting careers in land surveying to students and have plans to exhibit at an upcoming annual conference of high school guidance counselors. David will preview MALSCE’s surveying career slide deck and discuss how committee members have used this and equipment demonstrations to encourage students to think about pursuing a career in land surveying. Learn how you can build on their endeavors by taking advantage of David’s experience and approach to conduct your own school visit and promote the value of a career in your chosen profession.

Saturday, March 2, 2024

8:00 AM - 12:30 PM: Business Aspects in the Profession of Land Surveying (General Session)
Joseph V. R. Paiva, PhD, PS, PE, CEO, Chief of Curriculum Development, GeoLearn LLC
Many times, in the process of describing what land surveying is, surveyors, clients of surveyors and even licensing boards focus on the technical aspects of doing this extremely specific activity. Rarely is thought given to the fact that this activity is done as part of a business agreement. This session will focus on the business aspects of land surveying that every surveyor, whether business owner, executive officer, senior manager, or supervisor should know. Topics include: legal business structures; insurance issues; internal organizational structures; training team members in technical and business topics; managing the team as real people; incorporating public and customer relationships; marketing; agreements and contracts; fees, retainers, and collections; quality assurance, quality control, and continuous quality improvement; managing the beginning, middle, and end of the relationship with the customer during the course of a survey job; and many more. Specific examples or templates will be presented that participants can adapt for their own use. 

2024 MALSCE Convention Things to Remember

Reserve your overnight room by Thursday, February 8, 2024!
Click here to learn how to reserve an overnight room at the Boxboro Regency Hotel & Conference Center for Thursday and/or Friday, February 29 and March 1 at the $102 MALSCE Convention attendee rate. 

Enter the 2024 Plan and Field Notes Contests
Submitted entries will be displayed at the Convention. Attendees will vote for the best plan in various categories and Field Notes of the Year. Download the 2024 MALSCE Plan & Field Notes Contests Entry Form and submit an entry.

Donate an item for the auction to benefit the MALSCE Education Trust!
To donate an item, simply bring it to the registration desk at the convention by 12:00 PM on Friday, March 1. If you wish to donate an item, but cannot attend the convention, contact Rich Keenan: 617/305-4110 or rkeenan@engineers.org.

Promotional Opportunities

Reserve your exhibit space!
Download the 2024 MALSCE Convention Exhibit Space Rental Agreement.

Become a convention advertiser and sponsor!
Promote your organization to convention attendees! Advertise in the convention booklet and/or sponsor a refreshment break or Convention session. Download the 2024 MALSCE Convention Advertising and Sponsorship Registration Form.