Members in the News

January 31, 2008: Gerry James Forms New Geomatics Consulting Firm

Carteryx draws on the over 12 years of GIS and data management experience of it’s founder, Gerry James, to help bring its clients a full compliment of consulting services. The company’s first major project has been the creation of a comprehensive data management system for one of Canada’s most successful junior mining companies. Carteryx has been working with Roca Mines Inc. to create a system that will centralize the data stores of this mining and exploration company and give all appropriate staff fingertip access to pertinent data. The system uses a combination of open source and commercial software configured to allow it to grow with the clients needs.

Carteryx will also provide other consulting services such as system design, application customization and training for its clients. In addition the company is working on strategic alliances that will provide access to hundreds of technicians making the company competitive on a global scale.

For more information and a complete list of the company’s services please contact Gerry James at 778.668.5025 or you can email him at gerry.james@carteryx.com. Alternatively, you can get more information about Carteryx by visiting their website at http://www.carteryx.com .

January 10, 2008 - Croswell Forms New Consulting Practice

Peter Croswell, former President of the Urban and Regional Information System Association (URISA) and long-time IT and GIS practitioner and consultant, has formed a new consulting practice doing business as, Croswell-Schulte Information Technology Consultants. Mr. Croswell and his associates will carry out system and organizational assessments, design, planning and implementation support for state and local government, regional agencies, and utility organizations. Projects will focus in enterprise IT and GIS architecture, geographic information systems, records/document management, asset management, business process evaluation, and organizational development.

Contact information:

Peter Croswell, President
Croswell-Schulte IT Consultants
406 Winners Circle
Frankfort, KY 40601
pcroswell@croswell-schulte.com
(502) 848-8827
www.croswell-schulte.com

January 4, 2008 - Barry Wellar Appointed Program Director for Geography Awareness Week 2008

Dr. Barry Wellar, Professor Emeritus at the University of Ottawa, and a URISA Past President, has been re-appointed Program Director, Geography Awareness Week, by the Canadian Association of Geographers.

Geography Awareness Week 2007 in Canada was the first national program to use theme days to link geographic education, applied geography, and public awareness about the role of geography in society. The idea of theme days was introduced to illustrate how geography affects Canadians from coast-to-coast. Weather and Climate Day, Water Day, Geographic Information Systems Day, Transportation Day, and Food and Health Day were selected to launch the program.

As part of the 2007 program, 50 non-academic organizations -- government agencies, businesses, advocacy groups, and research groups – were enlisted to participate through their websites. After selecting ten outstanding Canadian websites for each theme day, a network of resources was created that can be accessed by going to the Canadian Geographers’ website at http://www.cag-acg.ca/en/geography_week_2007.html, and then linking to any of the 50 participating websites.

Participants selected for Geographic Information Systems Day included Canadian Geospatial data Infrastructure, ESRI Canada, GeoConnections, Statistics Canada, and URISA Canada.

More information about Geography Awareness Week is available from the websites of the Canadian Association of Geographers (see the URL above), Transport 2000 Canada (transport2000.ca), and the Laboratory for Applied Geomatics and Geographic Information Systems Science (LAGGISS) (http://www.geomatics.uottawa.ca/index_e.html) at the University of Ottawa.

Questions about Geography Awareness Week in Canada should be directed to Dr. Barry Wellar. His email address is wellarb@uottawa.ca.

May 31, 2007 - Ken Spitze, President and founder of Destiny Resources, Inc, in Denver, CO was recently awarded the designation of Geographic Information Systems Professional (GISP), having met the minimum standards for ethical conduct and professional practice as established by the GIS Certification Institute. Destiny Resources is a GIS consulting firm in Denver, CO, providing mapping technology services to legal, engineering and governmental clients across the United States.

May 29, 2007 - Dudek today announced it has added several key professionals to its multi-office geographic information systems (GIS) group in response to continued strong client demands. The enhanced team provides data collection, mapping and modeling analysis services, producing multi-layered, integrated, and digital analyses to help public and private clients design, permit and construct projects. Lisa Lubeley, who previously managed GIS programs for the Cities of San Diego and Escondido during her 17 year career, joins the firm as GIS manager. She also worked for the San Diego County Water Authority and San Diego Association of Governments. Lubeley is a member of the Urban and Regional Information Systems Association (URISA), the California Geographic Information Association, and the San Diego Regional GIS Council.

February 22, 2007 - Lucas County Auditor Larry A. Kaczala announced the retirement of his Director of Real Estate and Chief Assessor, Jerome C. (Jerry) German. Mr. German is retiring after 33 years of service to five different County Auditors. Jerry, as he is more fondly known, is a veteran assessor and administrator. His interests are wide and varied, including biking and rowing. He brought that curiosity and pioneering spirit to the Auditor’s office, revamping and streamlining the Auditor’s Real Estate Division into the award-winning, tightly run machine it is today. Under his leadership, the office has kept abreast of technological advancements including the adoption of a GIS and a CAMA system. Smooth and successful transitions to the new systems ensured the high esteem that the Lucas County Auditor’s Real Estate Division has among its industry peers. The Auditor’s Real Estate Division and its staff have been quoted in well-regarded national journals in addition to international industry journals from Great Britain to Japan. Its staff has won numerous awards in their respective specializations on behalf of Lucas County. Jerry’s tried and tested recipe for success produced frequent invitations for him and his staff to lecture and share their knowledge at several venues.

January, 2007 - The Canadian Association of Geographers has reappointed Dr. Barry Wellar to the position of Media Program Director for Geographic Awareness Week and GIS Day 2007. New activities under development for 2007 include the GIS-Transportation Competition that will be done in partnership with Transport 2000 Canada, and Weather and Climate Day that is being discussed in partnership with the Canadian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society.

Dr. Wellar is a former URISA President and Horwood Award recipient. He retired from the University of Ottawa in 2005, and established Wellar Consulting Inc. His appointments include Distinguished Research Fellow at Transport 2000 Canada, Distinguished Geomatics Scientist at the University of Ottawa, and he is a continuing member of the Safety and Security Panel of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.

October, 2006 - Dr. Barry Wellar, Professor of Geography (ret.) at the University of Ottawa has been appointed Media Program Director, Geography Awareness Week, by the Canadian Association of Geographers. Professor Wellar is the recipient of numerous awards, including the President’s Award, University of Ottawa, for Service to the University Through Media and Community Relations, and the Canadian Association of Geographers’ Award for Geography in the Service of Government or Business.

According to Chris Sharpe, Past President of the Association, participation in Geography Awareness Week is a new venture for the organization, and they are fortunate to have someone with Dr. Wellar’s experience and energy heading up the media component. “Barry Wellar has an exceptional ability to communicate with politicians, corporate leaders, citizens and members of the media, and he is very knowledgeable about many aspects of geography. The task of initiating Geography Awareness Week project is a major challenge to our membership, but we are confident that the media program being developed by Professor Wellar will ensure a successful launch of the Week.”

Professor Wellar believes that the Association is up to the challenge, and he is looking forward to doing his part to heighten the awareness of Canadians about how the physical and human geography of this country is changing, and to inform the public of the social, cultural, economic, political and environmental implications of those changes. “Geography is becoming increasingly important to the everyday affairs of all Canadians, and it warrants attention on a daily basis. We believe that by starting with Geography Awareness Week, which runs November 13-17, we can build a foundation of interest in geography for the entire year. That is what we believe; now we have to make it happen”.

June 26, 2006 - The Wisconsin chapter of the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC WI) recently presented Fred Halfen with the 2006 President’s Award. Halfen was also elected president of the Wisconsin Land Information Association (WLIA) and kicked off his 2006 term at the group’s annual conference this spring in Wisconsin Dells.

Since 2000, ACEC WI has presented the President’s Award to individuals who exhibit outstanding service on behalf of the organization. For the past nine years, Halfen has served on numerous ACEC WI committees and is currently chairman of the legislative committee, which focuses on legislation that affects the engineering community. Halfen’s contributions have included
writing letters of concern to public officials, testifying at City Council meetings, and participating in various other efforts that protect the interests of the design professional community.

As the 2006 WLIA president, Halfen is leading an ambitious agenda for the grassroots organization, which represents Wisconsin professionals interested in land records modernization and geographic information systems (GIS). Agenda items include the development of a statewide strategic plan for GIS use. Part of the WLIA’s mission is to work toward the establishment of government policies and programs that support effective and efficient uses of GIS and related technologies.

Halfen, a certified photogrammetrist, is vice president of Ayres Associates' photogrammetry operation and vice president of the engineering/architectural firm's Madison office. He has been at Ayres Associates since 1976.

joined HDR as GIS section manager based in the firm’s San Diego office. Prior to joining HDR, he was the GIS group manager for AMEC Earth and Environmental. Tobias is the Treasurer for the Southern California Chapter of URISA.

June 6, 2006 - Barry Wellar, URISA Past President and Horwood Award winner has been appointed by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada to the Strategic Safety and Security Panel for a three-year term. Dr. Wellar was previously a member of the Selection Panel, Joint Interdependent Infrastructures Research Program funded by Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Canada and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council.