Mickey Dietrich, President, NYS GIS Association, 2016

Dear Colleagues:

I am honored and looking forward to serving you as president of the NYS GIS Association.  My mission is to continue the successful programs of the Association, while also looking at areas to expand our outreach and support.  We all bring different levels of expertise to the Association and because of this, my goal is to keep an open mind to new ideas, as well as, encourage you to share your expertise with others.  You can share your ideas with our many different committees and professional affiliation groups, or directly with me or any member of the board.

This is a great Association that offers its members a lot of value for a very low membership fee.  As a member of the Association, you are very valuable in helping us continue our efforts to provide more opportunities for training, outreach, and serving the geospatial community. While I will share my plans for the coming year, at the end of the day this is your Association, so please feel free to give me your feedback and ideas.

Plans for the coming year

• Increase our outreach in the media, as well as having a larger presence at different events within New York State to make people aware of what the NYS GIS Association mission is and what we do.
• Continue to build bridges with other organizations, such as the NYS Association of Professional Land Surveyors andacademic institutions.
• Continue the efforts of the Emerging GIS project by implementing ways to assist local governments in getting started with GIS.
• Increase networking opportunities and connections between the Association and other organizations and professionals, through ideas like an explorer club, or project share web page.
• Hosting a great GeoSpatial Summit in October 2016!

Thanks for your support and if you have anything to share, my door is always open.

Mickey Dietrich
President, NYS GIS Association