Home

2006 Conference Highlights

The 44th Annual Conference of the Urban and Regional Information Systems Association

The Place for Spatial Information Professionals

September 26-29, 2006
Vancouver Convention Centre
Vancouver, British Columbia

 

If you missed it…you REALLY missed it!

"The content of the workshops and presentations was well-organized, relevant, and professional in every respect. No other conference I've attended comes close in quality. This was my first URISA international conference and I'll make an effort to attend from here out.” – Warren Roe, GIS Analyst, Lane Council of Governments, Eugene, Oregon

Take Warren’s advice and plan for you and your staff to attend URISA 2007 in DC!

URISA’s Annual Conference in Vancouver, BC was one of the best-attended and most favorably reviewed conferences in years. More than 700 people attended the conference … workshops and session rooms were packed. The keynote speakers were extremely well-received. The networking and social events were enjoyable and re-instilled the sense of URISA camaraderie that we’re known for.

The Professional Development track (new this year) was a huge success! Watch for much more news about this URISA initiative. The first-time attendee orientation meeting and the speed networking session served to strengthen our commitment to new/young professionals in the field.

Thank you to the Conference Committee!

  • Conference Chair: Sandi Majewski, Las Vegas Metro Police Department
  • Program Chair: Mark Sievers, East Central Florida Regional Planning Council
  • Junior Program Chair: David Dubauskas, MSC, Alberta Capital Regional Alliance, Sherwood Park, AB

Sandi, Mark, and Dave led the conference committee and put together an outstanding program. Thank you to all conference committee members and to the URISA BC Chapter for their support!

  • Ingrid Bruce, City of Rancho Cucamonga, CA
  • Kathrine Cargo, New Orleans Parish Communications District, New Orleans, LA
  • Carla Dresser, Autodesk Canada Inc., Burnaby, BC
  • Dianne Haley, BSc, MScGIS, GISP, Alberta Energy & Utilities Board, Calgary, AB
  • C. David Hawker, Tyler Technologies - Eagle Division, Lakewood, CO
  • Allen Ibaugh, AICP, Data Transfer Solutions, Orlando, FL
  • Gerry James, BGC Engineering Inc, Vancouver, BC
  • Ann Kawalec, Ada County Assessors Office, Boise, ID
  • Alan Little, BES, OLS, OLIP, City of Hamilton, ON
  • Jonathan Mark, City of Vancouver, BC
  • Hilary Perkins, GISP, Jacobs Civil, St. Louis, MO
  • Cindy Post, GISmo Solutions Ltd., Edmonton, AB
  • Steve Schunzel, Kitsap County, Port Orchard, WA
  • Gurdeep Singh, Integrated Land Management Bureau, Surrey, BC
  • Ken Sipos, City of Philadelphia, PA
  • Peter Southwood, Autodesk Inc, San Rafael, CA
  • Karen Stewart, GISP, Township of Langley, BC
  • Geney Terry, GISP, El Dorado County, Placerville, CA

We were thrilled to have so many URISA Past Presidents and former Board members in attendance; and URISA GIS Hall of Fame recipients Gary Hunter (2006), Jack Dangermond (2005) and Nancy Tosta (2005) all effectively communicated the importance of URISA in their very esteemed careers.

We thanked four Board members for their amazing contributions to URISA during their terms of service on the Board of Directors: Dianne Haley, Kathrine Cargo, Steve Kinzy, and Lisa Lubeley.

Cindy Domenico passed the URISA President’s gavel on to Ed Wells, who will be the URISA President until the close of our 2007 annual conference. Big shoes to fill, Ed!

And we welcomed Susan Johnson (President-Elect), Al Butler, Juna Papajorgji, and Geney Terry to their new positions on the Board.

Thank you to the URISA Chapters, Data Transfer Solutions, and CarteSoft for sponsoring the social event at SteamWorks!

Thank you to ESRI for sponsoring the conference tote bags and conference proceedings (available in late November/early December).

And thank you to all of the exhibitors at the conference this year. Without their support, we would have a very difficult time presenting our educational programs each year.

"I hope it doesn't sound funny to say it this way, but our satisfaction from exhibiting at the conference stems largely from the "quality" of people who visited our booth. By that, I mean we gained exposure to many groups we hoped the conference would attract, and we seemed to be speaking with the "influencers" and "thought leaders" within those groups - people who were genuinely interested in learning more about our company and offerings, and with whom we felt a strong likelihood of doing business, down the road. The first steps toward that result were taken in Vancouver, where URISA provided us an opportunity to establish relationships with the kind people we'd hoped to meet. This was our first experience at a URISA event, and the Vancouver conference proved an excellent investment for us, surpassing any expectations we had. Your group conducted a well organized, well thought-out event, and it was our pleasure to attend. Your people made us feel welcome, and were a delight to deal with, at every turn." Daniel P. Sullivan, Director of Sales, Facet Technology Corporation

The next URISA NEWS will include a thorough conference review and we will be posting photos and notes from attendees online shortly.

Thanks to all who participated… we’ve now increased our expectations for DC next year!

Mark Your Calendars!

URISA's 45th Annual Conference
August 20-23, 2007
Washington, DC