The Value Old-Fashioned Social Networking

What follows is a story about a major innovation in water consumption measurement that can be directly traced to a meeting of two strangers at a NSGIC function in 2000. The story is told by Tony Morse, GIS Manager, Idaho Department of Water Resources (retired), to Idaho GIO Gail Ewart (GISP).

Toward the end of 2000, Hal Anderson, Idaho Department of Water Resources (IDWR) chief of Technical Services, attended a NSGIC meeting. At the meeting banquet, he found himself sitting next to Rita Bergman of the Raytheon Company. During the dinner, Rita described to Hal a program called Synergy that Raytheon was managing for NASA. Raytheon had put out a call for proposals to Universities for remote sensing projects using NASA satellite data. The purpose of Synergy was to develop operational programs in states that used remote sensing data.

Hal told Rita that had IDWR known about the Synergy program, IDWR would have submitted a proposal because IDWR has a robust remote sensing capability. He asked whether or not it was too late to apply. Rita replied that the proposals had already been evaluated, and the project was about to get under way. Nevertheless, Rita told Hal that if he could get a proposal to her within three days, she would consider it for the very small amount of uncommitted money.

Hal returned to IDWR and called me into his office Monday morning. He explained the Synergy situation and he and I kicked around a couple of ideas. We settled on exploring whether we could map evapotranspiration from LandSat, with the specific idea of mapping evapotranspiration in the Bear River Basin. The Bear River Basin is split among Idaho, Utah, and Wyoming, and any additional irrigation is based on existing levels of evapotranspiration. In 2000, the states had a method of estimating evapotranspiration, but that method was relatively crude, and Hal was looking for a better one.

I called Dr. Rick Allen at the University of Idaho Kimberly Research Station. Rick is an internationally recognized authority on evapotranspiration. As luck would have it, he happened to have a proposal on his desk to use Landsat to map evapotranspiration in California’s Imperial Valley. I told him that if he wanted to trade the Imperial Valley for the Bear Basin, then he was in business. Rick emailed me the proposal, I modified it to specify the Bear Basin and to meet IDWR’s needs, and we sent the proposal to Raytheon.

Rita Bergman and her technical manager, Dr. Satya Killuri, readily accepted the proposal, and we were on our way. In September 2009, IDWR’s Mapping Evapotranspiration program won the 2009 Innovations in American Government Award from the Ash Institute for Democratic Governance and Innovation, which is part of Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government.

Between the NSGIC banquet and the Harvard award was a prolonged period of hard work. None of it, the hard work, the award or, most importantly, the ability to map evapotranspiration, would have happened without the forum of NSGIC.

NSGIC Members Honored

Two long-time NSGIC members were honored with Lifetime Achievement Awards (PDF) and five others received Outstanding Service Awards (PDF) at the 2009 NSGIC Annual Conference in Cleveland, Ohio.

Zsolt Nagy (left) and Dennis Goreham (right) were given Lifetime Achievement Awards by NSGIC President Learon Dalby (Arkansas). Mr. Nagy and Mr. Goreham have both recently retired from state service -- Mr. Nagy from North Carolina and Mr. Goreham from Utah.

Both have long been leaders among the state GIS coordinators and have given years of service and knowledge to NSGIC. Zsolt Nagy has moved on to join AECOM and remains a part of NSGIC as a corporate partner. Dennis Goreham will continue to repesent the states on the National Geospatial Advisory Committee (NGAC).

Diane Schafer, who serves as Director of Meetings and Member Services for NSGIC as a part of the management company KSG, was given an Outstanding Service Award as "the glue that holds this organization together." Her friendly, smiling face (or voice on the phone) is what defines "NSGIC" for many of us. She is supremely helpful and simply as nice as can be.

A group of three were given Outstanding Service Awards for their work to help all of the states respond to the broadband service mapping grant opportunity that arose this year. Jon Gottsegen, of Colorado (left), Michael Byrne, of California (right), and Christian Jacz, of Massachusetts (not pictured), joined former Outstanding Service Award winners (one only gets the one) Bill Johnson (NY) and Dave Brotzman (VT) to "determine the issues, find answers, and share information with the remaining states."

And Learon Dalby was given an Outstanding Service Award for his tireless and inspiring advancement of the NSGIC agenda. In his year as NSGIC President, Mr. Dalby, of Arkansas, has provided a clear and challenging vision for NSGIC, communicated that vision within the organization and to the rest of the GIS Community, and turned us loose to achieve that vision.

Frankly, we were surprised that he had not been honored already.

URISA Honors "Exemplary Systems"

The Urban and Regional Information Systems Association (URISA) has announced its 2009 Exemplary Systems in Government Award winners.

The winner in the Enterprise Systems category was Virtual Charlotte (City of Charlotte, NC) which uses a map-based front-end to organize city services:

Virtual Charlotte effectively provides a wide range of users with important real-time information from diverse data sets in a familiar (Google-like) interface that is easy to understand and simple to use.

There were two other systems that were honored as "Distinguished" in this category:

• The Regional Land Information Database (RLID) of the Lane Council of Governments, in Oregon, and
• SewerView, from the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District, in Wisconsin. (This, by the way, is now my all-time favorite system name).
  

There were two winners in the Single Process Systems category.

One was City of Airdrie's Online Census in Alberta (Canada), which is "a secure, real-time, virtually paperless data collection process that simplifies the city’s census process for clerks, enumerators, and citizens."

The other was the GIS Mobile Emergency Response System (ERS) in Forsyth County, Georgia, which uses GIS data and technology to support first-responders and emergency management officials.

Additionally, the County’s use of the Homeland Security data model was forward thinking and will allow the system to be easily integrated into wider emergency response situations if needed. This application can certainly serve as a good example for other entities wishing to create an emergency response system that keeps people in the field and back in the control centers ‘in the know’ during critical situations.

The Indiana GIS Community Honors Jill Saligoe-Simmel

The first-ever David C. Ford Special Achievement Award was presented by the Indiana Geographic Information Council (IGIC) to Dr. Jill Saligoe-Simmel at the recent 2009 Indiana GIS Conference.

The Ford Award is presented in honor of Indiana State Senator David C. Ford (1949-2008), a legislative champion of GIS Coordination. It is given:

...to an individual or organization for exemplary service, dedication, and accomplishment in coordinating Indiana GIS through dissemination of data and data products, education and outreach, adoption of standards, building partnerships, and advancing the “Indiana-Map.”

Jill Saligoe-Simmell, a former member of the NSGIC Board of Directors, helped shepherd the IGIC from dream to reality. She is a past winner of the NSGIC Outstanding Service Award (2006).

Another Ford Special Achievement Award was presented to University Information Technology Services (UITS) at Indiana University. They are the first organization to receive this award.

Cason Presented With Distinguished Service Award

NSGIC President Learon Dalby, of Arkansas, presented the 2009 NSGIC Distinguished Service Award to James E. Cason, formerly of the U.S. Department of the Interior, on Wednesday, February 25. The presentation took place at the NSGIC Technology Showcase at the Rayburn House Office Building.

Mr. Cason, who had served as Assistant Secretary for Policy, Management and Budget (PMB) and Chief Financial Officer (CFO) for the Department, was given the award both for his work as a strong and effective champion for Imagery for the Nation (IFTN) and for his leadership as Chair of the Steering Committee for Federal Geographic Data Committee.

In this role, he quickly realized that the committee needed strong leadership and a sense of purpose which he provided. In addition, he became the “Champion” for Imagery for the Nation which is still NSGIC’s #1 advocacy issue. He created an Executive Committee to shepherd development of IFTN and gave them a mandate to complete their planning process by the end of 2008. Based on the work of the Executive Committee, Mr. Cason forwarded a stimulus request to fund the program.

Many members of NSGIC were saddened to see Mr. Cason tender his resignation, as protocol dictates, with the recent change in administration. His leadership will be missed, but will serve as an inspiration to help carry forward the work of providing dependable geospatial data for the nation.

The Distinguished Service Award is one of several awards presented by NSGIC. It is usually given "to an individual or organization that is in a leadership position, advanced the National Spatial Data Infrastructure, promoted NSGIC’s goal of efficient and effective government through prudent implementation of geospatial technologies, and is likely to continue in their current or a more challenging position." It is NSGIC’s highest service award recognition.

2008 NSGIC Awards Presented

The National States Geographic Information Council (NSGIC) presented five Outstanding Service Awards and one Lifetime Service Award for 2008 at its Annual Conference in Colorado. These are two of four possible service awards that can be granted by the organization. The others are the Distinguished Service Award and the Dedicated Service Award.

The awards were presented by 2007-2008 NSGIC President Cy Smith, of Oregon. The Lifetime Service Award was presented to Ted Koch, of Wisconsin. Outstanding Service Awards were presented to:

• Ivan Weichert, of Kansas
  
• Vicki Lucas, of the USGS
  
• Shirley Hall, of the USDA
  
• Craig Molander, of Surdex Corporation
  
• Mike Mahaffie, of Delaware

The NSGIC Outstanding Service Award (PDF) is presented to individuals (or organizations) in leadership positions who have advanced the National Spatial Data Infrastructure and promoted NSGIC’s goal of efficient and effective government through the prudent implementation of geospatial technologies.

As this is one of NSGIC’s highest service award recognition, a recipient's service must exceed the normal expectation of duty.

Ivan Weichert, of Kansas, serves as the Treasurer for NSGIC Board and was honored for his work in the role:

Ivan pays close attention to the financial health of our organization and carefully plans with our Financial Officer to ensure that we are implementing the best practices that are expected. Ivan can always be counted on for candid communications and he is able to make his point heard when needed. Our future financial success as an organization is in good hands with him.

Mr. Weichert was unable to attend the conference. His award was accepted on his behalf by fellow Kansan Rick Miller.

Vicki Lucas, of the USGS, has been a long-time partner with the states and a leader in national initiatives:

Vicki possesses the characteristics that every NSGIC state member wants to see in a federal agency employee. She doggedly pursues a vision of the NSDI that is a shared function of Federal, state, local and other governments. She has been instrumental in advancing the credibility and commitment of the NSDI liaisons and worked to pursue partnership opportunities through them. Most recently, she has been appointed to oversee and merge the activities of seven Executive Committees that will advance the Imagery for the Nation (IFTN) initiative which is NSGIC’s number one advocacy issue. In addition to being a long-time NSGIC resource and member, she has done an excellent job of pulling these diverse groups together to work as one.

Shirley Hall, of the USDA, helps manage the National Agriculture Imagery Program (NAIP) , a valuable resource for the states:

She has also gone to extraordinary lengths to ensure implementation of Imagery for the Nation (IFTN) and been an ardent supporter of this initiative including her tireless work on several of the FGDC Executive Committees. Shirley has listened to state government coordinators and incorporated design changes into the NAIP program that are consistent with the principles of IFTN. These changes will make NAIP an even more valuable resource for state and local governments.

Ms. Hall was unable to attend the conference. Her award was accepted on her behalf by NSGIC Washington Liaison Bill Burgess.

Craig Molander, of Surdex Corporation, is a leader among NSGIC's private sector partners:

Craig is a Senior Vice President of Surdex which is a busy corporation that is also a NSGIC sponsor. He has been an active leader on NSGIC’s Corporate Leadership Council (CLC) and helped to shape that group as a trusted adviser for NSGIC leadership. In spite of his corporate responsibilities, Craig has participated in most of the NSGIC Conference Committee activities to help ensure the success of the organization. He has also provided leadership for the CLC presentations which have been well received by the members.

Mike Mahaffie, of Delaware, is a Board Member and chair of the NSGIC Communications Committee:

Under his guidance, communications have greatly improved and the organization is better connected with its members. He is constantly searching for ways to use today’s technology to better advantage and will undoubtedly continue to improve communications within the organization.

All five join a distinguished list of NSGIC awardees (PDF) dating back to the 1995 Annual Conference in Vermont. Nominations for the NSGIC awards are solicited by the NSGIC Awards Working Group twice each year. awards can be given at either the Annual or the Midyear NSGIC conferences.

We have create a whole blog post devoted to the Lifetime Achievement Award to Ted Koch. It deserves one.

NSGIC Presents 2007 Outstanding Service Awards

Six leaders in the geospatial community were awarded NSGIC Outstanding Service Awards (PDF) for 2007 at the annual NSGIC conference in Madison, Wisconsin, in September. NSGIC also debuted a new and special award at the Madison conference.

NSGIC Past President Stu Davis (Ohio) gave awards to:

• David Brotzman (Vermont)
• Will Craig (Minnesota)
• Kenny Miller (Maryland)
• Miki Schmidt (NOAA)
• Anne Hale Miglarese (Fugro EarthData)
• Fred Stringfellow (NSGIC)

The Outstanding Service Award recognizes long-term service to NSGIC and is presented to those who have advanced the National Spatial Data Infrastructure and promoted NSGIC’s goal of efficient and effective government through prudent implementation of geospatial technologies. It is one of NSGIC’s highest service awards.

The first instance of a new award, the Dedicated Service Award, was presented to the family of the late Carol Brandt (U.S. Department of Transportation), in recognition of her devoted lifetime of service.