April roundtables

Friday, April 19, 2024
Canadian Club, Barre

8 PDH (Approved)

Program Schedule

  • 7:15 - 8:00 AM: Registration and breakfast
  • 8:00 AM - Noon: Round table discussions
    • Young Surveyor Topics
    • Certified Survey Technician Program 
    • GIS for Surveyors 
    • Wastewater permitting and Subdivisions
    • VSLS Board Concerns/Issues
    • Vermont Archives
  • Noon to 1:00 PM: Lunch and Business Meeting
  • 1:00 - 5:00 PM: Seminars
    • Andrew Dussault - Surveying Over Time in the Northeast Kingdom
    • Raymond J. Hintz - University of Maine Surveying Engineering Technology Online
    • Britt Tonna - Burlington Ravine 
    • Eliot Lothrop - Monitor Barn 
  • 5:00 PM: Final announcements
  • 5:00 - 6:00 PM: Reception (first drink is FREE!)

Registration Fees

Member in good standing of VSLS or kindred association $175.00
Life member $131.25
Associate Member $140.00
Non-member technical staff (attending with member) $148.75
Three or more from same firm (one must be member) $148.75
Non-member $250.00

*$25 late fee after April 10th

Round Table Discussions

We will have four sessions of round table discussions on a variety of topics, and attendees can choose the discussions they would like to join. Each session lasts for 50 minutes, with a 10-minute break in between.

Scheduled round table topics:

  • Young Surveyor Topics - Moderator: Emily Hayes, NH Division of Forests and Lands
  • Certified Survey Technician Program 
  • GIS for Surveyors - Moderator: Shannon Lunderville, Town of Essex
  • Wastewater permitting and Subdivisions - Moderator: Boone Meedan
  • VSLS Board - Moderator: Joe Flynn
  • Vermont Archives - Moderator: Mariessa Dobrick

Afternoon Seminars:

Surveying over Time - Andy Dussault

Andy will discuss the changes he has observed in surveying in the past half century (+) in and around the Northeast Kingdom.

University of Maine Surveying Engineering Technology Online Program - Raymond J. Hintz

The University of Maine Surveying Engineering Technology (SVT) program started an online Masters program in 2015, followed it with the online BS degree in 2018, and an online undergrad certificate in 2020.  An online doctorate degree in surveying is near the end of the university approval process and hopes to begin fall 2024.  Enrollment in 2024 across all options exceeds 350 surveying students from 40+ states and 3 countries.

The principles applied in an online approach to surveying education will be demonstrated including how practicing land surveyors can contribute as mentors.  The concept of transferring courses is an important discussion as most students went elsewhere to school previously and often not in a surveying focus.  Successful integration of a student taking classes while working part or full time is an important consideration.   The “e tuition” approach to an economic effective cost in education is demonstrated.  Considering this approach to education is in its infancy, the presentation will next look to futuristic approaches to educational needs in surveying education.  The future relation of education and licensure needs to be examined.  The presentation will be very question and answer oriented.

Burlington Ravine - Britta Tonn

The City of Burlington was built in the 19th century around a deep ravine that cut right through its downtown. Beginning in the late-19th century, the ravine was slowly filled in, and it became the location of the first city sewer. Using historic maps and photos, this presentation will trace the ravine’s course through the city, explore vestiges of the ravine still visible today, and discuss the impact of this natural feature on the development of Burlington.

Monitor Barn - Eliot Lothrop 

The East Monitor Barn presentation explores the history of the Whitcomb family as they built up a prosperous dairy farm and commissioned the massive barn to be built by Charles Miller of North Ferrisburgh. Historic Preservationist Eliot Lothrop will provide an overview of Miller, the state-of-the-art ventilation and design that went into the East Monitor Barn, and how the farm fared through the years. He’ll then dig into the monumental lifting of the building and foundation work that was carried out in 2023 and talk about the work ahead.

Our Presenters

Andrew Dussault (LS #500)

Andy is a licensed land surveyor in the State of Vermont. He graduated from the St. Johnsbury Trade School in 1957 and spent the next several years in the US Navy.  From 1963-1970, he worked at Caledonian-Record as a linotype monitor.  From 1970-1973 he was at Vermont Technical College.  In 1973 he joined Truline Land Surveyors (and the Vermont Society of Land Surveyors!), and worked there until 1985.  Towards the end of his time at Truline, he started working as a drafting instructor at St. Johnsbury Academy, where he worked until 2001.  In 1986, Andy started his own survey company, Dussault Surveying, and at age 85, he (and his company) are still very active.

Ray Hintz, University of Maine

Ray is a professional land surveyor (FL, ME) who focuses his practice on data collection. He is the author of several surveying software programs used by approximately 25 department of transportations and their consultants.  Ray is a member of the American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, the Maine Society of Land Surveyors, and the Massachusetts Association of Land Surveyors and Civil Engineers.  Ray currently teaches three to four courses a semester at the University of Maine — from basic surveying to photogrammetry. He is an article reviewer for several professional publications and helps prepare exams for photogrammetry certification.

Eliot Lothrop, Building Heritage

Eliot Lothrop is principal of Building Heritage, LLC based in Huntington, VT.  Building Heritage specializes in structural timber repairs of historic buildings, mainly barns. Lothrop started the company in 2004 after getting his masters degree from the University of Vermont in Historic Preservation and then working in the field for several years.  Eliot’s work with Building Heritage runs the gamut, from preservation work on some of Vermont’s earliest barns, to managing the adaptive reuse of some of the largest barns in the state.

Britt Tonn, Architectural Historian

Britta Tonn is an architectural historian with a keen interest in the social history and historic built environment of Burlington and Winooski, Vermont. She is the Director of Cultural Resources for the Vermont office of VHB, an engineering and environmental consulting firm. She received an MS in Historic Preservation from the University of Vermont and a BA in the History of Art and Architecture from Middlebury College. She also serves as the Governor-appointed Architectural Historian member of the Vermont Advisory Council on Historic Preservation.


Our Moderators

Mariessa Dobrick, Vermont State Archives

Mariessa Dobrick has been an archivist at the Vermont State Archives and Records Administration since 2011. A transplant to Vermont, she earned her BA in French from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and holds her MA from the University of Wisconsin-Madison's Information School. She is certified by the Academy of Certified Archivists and is an active volunteer with the National Association of Government Archives and Records Administrators. Mariessa is an avid history enthusiast and is especially interested in helping researcher uncover stories of people who may have been missed in history. She lives in Barre with her husband Will and son Roger.

Emily Hayes, NH Division of Forest and Lands

Emily graduated from the Thompson School of Applied Science at the University of New Hampshire in 2003 and is currently employed at the N.H. Division of Forests and Lands, managing survey projects and boundary line maintenance for all the state’s forests and parks. During her spare time, she enjoys outdoor adventures with her 10-year-old twin boys and spending free time hiking, kayaking and working in her veggie and flower gardens. She joined the N.H. Land Surveyor Associations Young Surveyors Committee in 2019 and was chair of the group from 2021-2023. Emily currently holds the title of Youth Outreach Director for NHLSA.

Shannon Lunderville, Town of Essex

Shannon Lunderville, GISP, has worked for the Town of Essex (Vermont) for 39 years, the last 34 being the Geographic Information Systems Coordinator. In her capacity there she has established and built the GIS system to what it is today; a source for town wide digital mapping information. Shannon has her Professional GIS certification from the GIS Certification Institute, is a member of NEURISA (New England Urban & Regional Information Systems Association), NEARC (Northeast Arc Users Group), and the Northeast Chapter of Women in GIS. In her spare time, Shannon enjoys locating the little white ball on the golf course.

Daniel "Boone" Meeden, Trudell Consulting

Boone is an LSIT (Land Surveyor in Training) and has a wastewater designer’s license in both Vermont and New Hampshire. He has been in the land consulting profession for 8 years with the last 4 years being at Trudell Consulting Engineers in Williston, Vermont.

 

Register Online

Register by Mail

The Canadian Club
414 E. Montpelier Rd. (Route 14)
Barre, VT 05641

There is ample paved parking at the venue

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