It's Almost Fall - Where Did Summer Go? A Message from the WLIA President, David Buehler
I am sure things were just as busy this summer for you as they were for me. I am still not quite sure where August went. As for the Board, things have been steady. Your Chairs and Vice-Chairs have been working on some great things. Buckle up because this is a long one.
The Summer Virtual Workshop series had two fantastic workshops. I know both workshops were timely topics, and we had knowledgeable instructors for each. I trust that you took away valuable knowledge and technical tips and tricks that you can use in your organizations going forward. I cannot shout it loud enough, thank you Kim Christman – WLIA’s current Past President for organizing and moderating them.
Fast approaching is our partnered event with GPN. Our Fall Education team, led by our tenacious duo Monique Hassman and Chris Dickerson, have done wonderful work integrating WLIA into the conference. We have numerous WLIA members presenting, sponsoring, exhibiting, and a bunch of you attending. Stay up-to-date with the latest on the GPN conference by checking out our news blasts and our fall conference event page.
You might have noticed some differences in how the 2027 Annual Conference is being planned. You might have seen calls for presentations, sponsorships, and exhibitors, along with other important announcements way earlier than usual. The Annual Conference team, led by Tyler DeBruin – WLIA’s President-Elect, is shaking things up. Thank you to the sub-committee chairs and volunteers for your hard work. I know for a fact it has been paying dividends. This conference is shaping up to be a magnificent 40th birthday celebration for WLIA. Stay tuned for updates from our news blasts and the annual conference event page.
WLIA regularly attends and exhibits at several conferences throughout the year as part of WLIA’s mission of outreach and education. Our Membership and Outreach Committee, chaired by Kristen Vincent and vice-chaired by Anna Peters, is in the midst of a booth update with new banners and other enhancements to improve our presence. Membership and Outreach and the Education Committee are collaborating on a short commercial at head of the GPN conference. Something like that has been in the works for years, and is finally coming to a conference near you. If you regularly attend a non-WLIA conference, reach out to Kristen and Anna to see how you can help spread the word about WLIA. We are always looking for members to staff the booth and engage others at these events. On the flip side, if you know of a conference that WLIA does not attend, but should, again reach out to Kristen and Anna and let them know.
The State of Wisconsin is looking for input from the land information community on data security. The Legislative Committee put forth two nominees, Nik Anderson and Stephanie Sattler, for the Land Information Data Security Working Group. For more information on the working group, please reach out to Nik Anderson, Legislative Chair and Nick Gamroth, Legislative Vice-Chair.
The WLIA Technical Committee, led by Mike Vander Sanden and backed up by Hayden Elza, has just spun up the WLIA Strategic Plan Update Task Force. WLIA’s Strategic Plan has not been updated since 2016. It is time to revisit the plan and make sure it stays relevant and guides us in the right direction for another 10 years. For more information or to join the task force check out this recent news article.
Believe it or not, the Spring 2027 Conference planning is already underway. The Spring Education Committee, led by Pam Ledin and Cody Brommerich, is looking for you to help them with the planning of that conference. The Spring Education Committee is a good way to dip your feet into the waters of getting more involved with WLIA and taking a look under the hood of the great events we have to offer. I encourage you to reach out and get involved.
Believe it or not, each of you is doing valuable work that is used to make Wisconsin a great place. Each of you deserves to be recognized.
It is that season where we are looking for board of directors and president-elect nominations. All of you would make great additions to the board and I encourage you to self-nominate or nominate someone else. If you go the route of nominating someone else, please make sure you talk to them first to make sure they are indeed interested and can actually run. It would save a great deal of time and make the process easier for the Nominations Committee by doing a little homework ahead of a nomination. Nominate yourself or someone else using this:
Following the theme of nominations, awards are another great way for you to recognize the great work of an organization or an individual in the land records and geospatial community. Believe it or not, each of you is doing valuable work that is used to make Wisconsin a great place. Each of you deserves to be recognized. With that said, my challenge to you is make it so hard for the Awards Committee to make a decision that they either have to give out multiple awards or have to rewrite the rule book and still give out multiple awards. To nominate an unsuspecting potential recipient, do so in secrecy by checking out:
I cannot leave out the glue that makes this whole post even possible. Communications Committee, led by Nina Rihn and Megan Roessler, have been doing a fantastic job coordinating the multitudes of emails, posts, and articles that get sent to you every month. I know I have seen a greater number of posts on various social media platforms I am a part of and have had a bunch of people reach out to me after newsletters and articles.
I am truly blessed to work with such a great team. With that said these efforts only continue if we support our committees. I encourage each of you to step up and join one of our exceptional committees. You all have various talents that would greatly enhance our organization if you let them shine. There is no better time than the present to get involved. Sign up for a committee you are interested in here:
As always, you can find information about WLIA on our website including details on upcoming events, our Board of Directors, and the various committees that support this wonderful organization. The association financials and an update on our scholarship awards are also available online.
I am available if you have any questions. Feel free to reach out anytime.
Thanks,
David Buehler
WLIA President
