GIS-Pro 2012: Wednesday Program Highlights

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

• Awards Breakfast and GIS Hall of Fame Celebration
• Breakout Sessions
• Exhibits
• Technology Keynote Address
• Conference Evening Social Event

There was quite a buzz surrounding the opening proceedings on Wednesday morning. Following breakfast, we recognized a number of GIS luminaries and association volunteers.

ESIG Awards

First up, URISA Exemplary Systems in Government award winners. Since 1980, URISA’s ESIG Awards have recognized exceptional achievements in the application of information technology that have improved the delivery and quality of government services. This year's competition resulted in two exemplary systems in the Enterprise Systems category and one distinguished system.

2012 ESIG Winners:

Orange County’s Addressing and Land Development Information Network (ALADIN)
Submitted by Louis Schoolkate, Orange County GIS Coordinator, Orlando, Florida 

PSMA Australia’s PSMA System
Submitted by: Kate Mann, Communications Manager, PSMA Australia, Griffith ACT Australia (unable to attend) 

2012 Distinguished System

• Will County Master Address Point System
   Submitted by Tong Zhou, Director - GIS Department, County of Will, Joliet, Illinois

You are strongly encouraged to learn more about these exemplary systems here.

2012 Student Competition

Once again, students came through and submitted fine papers and posters in the 2012 competition. The winning submissions are posted online. Congratulations to Nimish Dharmadkhari and the rest of the student participants!

URISA Awards

URISA volunteers are the lifeblood of the organization. They volunteer their time and expertise to make sure that URISA programs are successful. From conference planning to high-level visionary roles, URISA is blessed to have so many outstanding volunteers.

David DiBiase was recognized with URISA's highest honor, the Horwood Distinguished Service Award.

Greg Babinski was honored with the URISA Leadership Award in recognition of his grand ideas and 'disruptive' attitude to encourage folks to think outside the box and have impact. He was later serenaded by his son, Micah, on the bagpipes (to exemplify the disruptive spirit!).

Karen Stewart was a deserving recipient of a URISA Service Award for the numerous volunteer roles she has assumed over several years.

Our dear friend, Ken Sipos, who recently lost his battle with cancer, was also a recipient of a Service Award for his decades-long dedication to URISA and the Mid-Atlantic Chapter. He was certainly with us in spirit!

URISA's wonderful Meeting Coordinator, Patricia Francis and URISA's GISCorps were the deserving honorees for Barbara Hirsch Special Service Awards. Congratulations!

The Chicagoland Chapter of URISA was recognized with the 2012 Outstanding Chapter Award!

URISA's GIS Hall of Fame

This year's Hall of Fame ceremony was highly-anticipated. The GIS Hall of Fame Nomination Committee, composed of URISA Past Presidents, proposed five federal agencies that have made substantial contributions to the GIS community and profession. URISA was pleased to announce the 2012 GIS Hall of Fame inductees:

• United States Census Bureau
• Statistics Canada
• United States Geological Survey
• Natural Resources Canada
• National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Professor Barry Wellar, a URISA Past President and member of the GIS Hall of Fame, provided valuable commentary about each inductee. A representative from each agency delivered a speech acknowledging the recognition. It was a great celebration!

United States Census Bureau - Thomas Mesenbourg, Director

Statistics Canada - Rosemary Bender, Assistant Chief Statistician

 
United States Geological Survey - Mark DeMulder, Director National Geospatial Program

 
Natural Resources Canada - Denis Hains, Director Geodetic Survey Division

National Aeronautics and Space Administration - Lawrence Friedl, Director of the NASA Applied Sciences Program

To learn more about URISA's GIS Hall of Fame and the inductees, click here.

Breakout sessions, valuable time in the exhibition, Esri's Learning Lab and a Technology Keynote delivered by Johannes Kebeck, from Microsoft filled the rest of the day. A GISP Social preceded the GIS -Pro 2012 Conference Social Event at Grand Central Bowl. Informal, fun, and memorable!