Pub. 14 2019 Issue 1

www.ucls.org 6 Issue 1 2019 / UCLS Foresights We c o u l d t a l k a b o u t t h e v a l u e o f t h e p r o f e s s i on , and how we can engage t he pub l i c per cept i on of va l ue . I hope you do. But let's connect value to surveying. We could talk about the value we bring to the UCLS or the surveying com - munity. Being a surveyor is something to be proud of. I am proud to have my license and know I provide value to my corner of the world by using my knowl- edge and skills. If we do not know how to communicate the value of the pro- fession and help new surveyors and the value they bring to enter the field, it may get increasingly hard to recruit people into the profession. We all love this profession. That is why I allowed my nomination to go forward when I was asked to be on the ballot. I hope you consider giving back by helping the community. However, that is not really what has been on my mind. We could talk about the value of the profession, and how we can en- gage the public perception of value. We could talk about colleagues who have recently passed on or may be ag- ing out of the profession and how their absence could affect the value of what we do. How new mapping technologies including automation, will influence value. This is actually a special focus for me, but not what has been on the forefront of my mind. The way I think about it is more of personal value. Not how much our employees are worth or how much I should take home in salary, although I hope you think about that too. More than all that. What is a hu- man being worth? Every day we do things that pass judgement on the val- ue of another person. Being aware of this power and choosing to use it wisely is important. The payer determines val- ue in economics. Who pays the price in dealing with each other and how? May- be we can look at it based on whom we have influenced. Perhaps we also set a price by the time we spend doing things and the time we spend with peo - ple. How low or how high do we set the price on our time with family, friends, or colleagues? Time is a finite resource, it is precious, and it has value. How we spend time can indicate the value of other things in our lives. We need to find ways to help our - selves, and those we mentor, place value and not decide anyone's value based on how many likes or up-votes they have, or the shallow praise of com- munication networks. One of my surveying friends passed away recently. However, just a few weeks before his passing, I met him and his wife at a conference. He took the opportunity to introduce me to his wife in a way that she knew how much he respected me as a survey- or. That was high praise and it meant something to me because of the high regard I hold him as an excellent sur - veyor and person. Maybe he only influenced my per - ception of my own value with his kind words. However, as we learned with diamonds and pearls, is not perception essentially a reality? t CHAIR continued frompage 5