“Following the footsteps” is not just a clever phrase; it describes the responsibility surveyors take on when they work for the public good and under the public trust.

We can help the new generations of surveyors and geospatial professionals achieve great things if they will listen. But first, we have to listen to them.

There’s an old line about perfect being the enemy of good. It is also paraphrased as perfection being the enemy of progress.

Chris Tomko, PE, PS and senior project manager for R.E. Warner & Associates Inc., didn’t set out to become a surveyor. His exposure to the profession came through his pursuit of a degree and career in civil engineering.

It’s not only amazing to watch as our tools change and evolve, it is thrilling to see what we are learning when we apply these new capabilities. With this issue, POB is setting in motion its own sequence of changes.

What safety features are incorporated in a structure beyond the usual designated tornado shelter and evacuation signage? How well documented is the final build, and what is available to first responders who might have to assist in an emergency?

Surveyors and geospatial professionals can help measure and quantify the impact we are having on our environment and the positive potential of steps to intervene and, as Esri Founder Jack Dangermond would say, "design our future."

The complexity of training and licensing and the lack of public awareness of the surveying profession combine to make it difficult to adopt some of the strategies employed by other professions to attract new talent.

A surveyor's seal stands for a long time, and the brand represented by that simple instrument will be firmly attached. Make sure your brand is solid.

Earl F. Burkholder, PS, PE, F.ASCE, admits to developing an early interest in some of the core topics and concepts that have served him well every day of his professional land surveying career.