The Professional Land Surveyors of Oregon (PLSO), a non-profit trade association that represents the surveying profession in Oregon, announced Albert Hertel as the 2015 Surveyor of the Year. Hertel is president of Caswell/Hertel Surveyors Inc. in Beaverton.

“Surveyor of the Year is one the highest honors that PLSO bestows,” says Aimee McAuliffe, executive director of PLSO. “The honoree has to demonstrate a history of high competence, integrity and professionalism, as well as assisted other surveyors in advancement within the profession. Al Hertel has demonstrated this throughout his career.”

After graduating from Oregon Technical Institute, Hertel worked for a local engineering firm before a four-year enlistment in the U.S. Navy, including an “all-expense paid” trip to Viet Nam for a year.  Upon returning, Hertel progressed from survey technician to owner at Caswell/Hertel Surveyors. He has been involved in many projects from both the public and private sectors, from boundary and subdivision work to utility and street surveys. Having filed more than 1,200 records of survey and plats in Washington, Clackamas and Multnomah Counties alone, Hertel has left his mark on the development of the local community.

In addition to his firm, Hertel has been a member of PLSO since 1988. He has served as the local Pioneer Chapter’s Secretary-Treasurer for 2013, 2014 and 2015. He is a steady volunteer at numerous career fairs and has sponsored the Trig Star program at Valley Catholic High School, as well as proctoring exams at Beaverton School of Science Technology, Glencoe High and St. Stevens High School. Trig Star is a national program set up to promote the study and mastery of trigonometry by honoring the individual student who has demonstrated superior skill among classmates at the High School level. It is a gate way to acquaint students with the use and practical application of trigonometry in the surveying profession.

“In joining PLSO, I have grown in leadership,” Hertel says. “I have been on the Curriculum Advisory Committee at PCC, been to a Boy Scout jamboree in Scappoose, given a Trig Star talk at four different High Schools multiple years, been to several High School job fairs, helped proctor the Oregon LSIT/LS test in several cities throughout Oregon, and served as the Sec/Tres of the Pioneer Chapter for several years. Throughout all this I have gained the friendship of many colleagues, government planners and surveyors, and teachers, both high school and college. Thank you for this great opportunity. I have been blessed by each contact that I have made.”

About PLSO

The Professional Land Surveyors of Oregon, based in Tigard, Ore., represents more than 500 licensed land surveyors and associates throughout the state. It serves the land surveying industry in Oregon through professional education and outreach, holding paramount the interests of the public.