GBA 2016 Fall Conference Recap

gba-2016-fall-conference-recap
Thank you to all who helped plan, sponsor, and attend the GBA Fall Conference held recently in Seattle, Washington.  The Conference started with a bang as we learned Seattle Mayor Edward B. Murray proclaimed October 14, 2016 Geoprofessionals’ Day to highlight the contributions of geoprofessionals to our communities and to recognize those gathered to enhance professionalism for geoprofessionals worldwide.

Our attendees were treated to a variety of highly educational and extremely entertaining presentations by experts ontimely and engaging business topics that impact geoprofessionals.  The conference was also full of valuable networking opportunities as over 200 leaders, guests, and sponsors gathered to share and collaborate on common issues.  Those attending also had fun exploring beautiful Seattle, Washington.

Preliminary conference survey results indicate GBA’s conference, compared to other industry meetings our members attend, was rated exceptionally high with comments emphasizing the importance of meeting face-to-face with peers from a diverse geography.

If you attended the conference, there is still time to provide feedback so that we can continuously improve the value of our conferences.  If you did not get to attend the fall conference, the presentations will be posted shortly to the GBA website for viewing by all member-firm employees.

With your feedback, we are planning our Spring 2017 Conference to be held in Washington D.C. during the annual Cherry Blossom Festival on April 6 to 8, 2017.  Join Us!

Welcome to Our New Website!

Welcome to Our New Website!
By Joel G. Carson, GBA Executive Director

I am pleased that you are visiting GBA’s newly-completed website!

GBA’s website is an essential tool for delivering value to GBA Member Firms and for sharing information about our group with those that are not members. It acts as a platform for making Member Firm information accessible to those searching for a geoprofessional consultant, sharing important news, planning future events, enhancing the communication of councils and committees, and storing our vast library of reference materials that geoprofessionals rely on to confront risk and optimize business performance.

Our old website was at the end of its expected life. Fortunately, we started planning for its replacement more than two years ago. In November 2015, GBA issued an RFP to more than a dozen qualified website developers and completed a multi-step selection process to make sure we selected the best-qualified consultant to design, construct, and implement our next website. A team of GBA volunteers and employeeshave worked many hours with consultants since February 2016. We are now finished with the initial implementation.

Our goals from the beginning were to provide a new website that allows Member Firms to access valuable information quickly and to showcase the value of membership to those that are not yet part of GBA. The user experience, in the office or on mobile devices, was critical to the success of this project, and I am confident our consultant nailed it!

Contrary to many of the projects we work on in our daily business, construction of a website is never actually finished. It is a living platform that reflects the constant efforts of our board, councils, committees, and task forces. We expect to refresh and update the content & format of our website regularly to maintain its value.

We all owe a debt of gratitude to the Board of Directors for its support of this project, and to the volunteers and staff who are bringing this major undertaking to a successful conclusion. I also want to extend a special thanks to all the Member Firms that “rounded-up” their dues this year to help support this costly undertaking. We are truly fortunate to have such generous members!

Joel G. Carson
Executive Director