The event started off with a social hour, getting to know the state legislators and catching up with colleagues. Shane Neally, TSPS Vice-President, welcomed and thanked everyone for attending. He gave a short explanation of the importance of meet and greet events with our state leaders.

(Left photo - TSPS President Davey Edwards, left, speaks with State Rep. Wayne Christian.)

“TSPS and its members understand the need to get the members in front of our State Leaders to gain more personal relationships,” Neally said. ”We need to let them know who we are and the importance of surveying and the history of surveying in Texas.” He then introduced the special guests - Sen. Nichols, Rep. Christian and Rep. Hopson - thanked them for coming and presented each one with campaign contributions collected from TSPS members across each host Chapter and the State. Shane also took time to introduce and thank the Chapter Presidents of Chapters 4, 6 and 8: Corey Wilson, Joe Breaux and Al Hargraves, respectively. Also, introductions were made to recognize past TSPS Presidents in attendance: Mr. Perry Thompson Jr., Mr. Gilbert Johnston, Mr. Mickey Nowell and Mr. Mike Parker.

After a wonderful dinner, Shane introduced our first speaker for the night, TSPS President Davey Edwards. Mr. Edwards spoke to the crowd about surveying, what is surveying and the history of surveying in Texas. Davey also talked about how to become a Registered Professional Land Surveyor (RPLS) and the educational requirements needed to take the exam. Then Davey closed by discussing the uniqueness of Texas surveying and why our regulatory board has and needs to stay, independent to enforce rules and protect the public’s welfare. He then introduced TSPS Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman and past-president, Mickey Nowell. (Above photo, from left - Sen. Robert Nichols, TSPS Vice President Shane Neally, Rep. Chuck Hopson, Rep. Wayne Christian, TSPS President Davey Edwards, TSPS President-Elect Curtis Strong and TSPS Governmental Affairs Committee Chair Mickey Nowell).

Mr. Nowell spoke to the crowd about TSPS, TBPLS and the Governmental Affairs Committee. He told the group how the Governmental Affairs Committee works under the direction of both the TSPS Board of Directors and other informed members of TSPS. Mickey explained how volatile the process is, especially while the Legislature is in session, and handed out a chart of how the legislative process works for the members to review.

(Below photo - TSPS Governmental Affairs Committee Chair Mickey Nowell addresses Meet & Greet guests and legislators at the Hotel Fredonia in Nacogdoches.)

After Mickey’s presentation, Shane gave Sen. Nichols, Rep. Christian and Rep. Hopson an opportunity to address the crowd.

Senator Nichols thanked everyone for the opportunity to spend time with members of TSPS. He mentioned how important it is to personally know your senator and representative in your area. He spoke about how members need to work as a group, with one voice, while dealing with the legislative process. He also gave us insight about how many bills were introduced during the last session ... more than 9000. Of those 9000 he personally voted more than 4000 times last session. His key message being that with so much on the table, he needs to understand how we feel as a group, but on a personal level, as opposed to a blanket letter from a group.

Rep. Christian thanked everyone and also talked about the importance of the House and Senate committee chairmen. The chairmen have a lot of power in determining if or when a bill moves forward. Lastly, Rep. Hopson reiterated his appreciation for the invitation and the contribution. He also spoke on the importance of understanding and explaining to your representative why a bill should be passed or why a bill should be killed.

Overall this was a wonderful, educational experience, and those in attendance expressed their thoughts of the success of the event. We need to maintain the momentum of this event. We are looking forward to having additional Meet and Greet Events across the State focused on the members of the Sunset Advisory Commission and key committee chairmen. I would like to encourage all Chapters to invite their area representatives and senators to chapter meetings as guests so we can continue to develop personal relationships with our legislative leadership. It will be the fostering of theses personal relationships that will ultimately make a difference in our impact in future legislative sessions, to the enduring benefit of our profession.

(Story by Shane Neally, RPLS #5385, TSPS Vice President)