Florida Surveying & Mapping Society

Florida Surveying & Mapping Society FSMS is a Nonprofit of Surveyors & Mappers here to promote, enhance, & preserve the profession.

Join us at JW Marriott Miami Turnberry Resort & Spa on Saturday, August 1st for a full day of continuing education semin...
06/19/2026

Join us at JW Marriott Miami Turnberry Resort & Spa on Saturday, August 1st for a full day of continuing education seminars. https://www.fsms.org/71st-annual-conference

Suzette Hicks, CPM will be teaching "FDOT—History and Utilization of Murphy Reservations and the Marketable Record Title Act." This course presents the history of the Murphy Act and its impact on present-day property. Students will learn how to identify a valid State Road and how to obtain a release. She will also cover the Marketable Record Title Act (MRTA) and its impact on the title search and its exceptions.

Suzette Hicks, CPM started her career in banking, after graduating from the University of Central Florida, with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a major in Finance. She worked many different positions in banking, including a Loan Secretary, Assistant Branch Manager and an Administrative Assistant, where her duties included training Loan Secretaries and Branch Managers the proper way to execute the loan documents. Following her 8 years in banking, she went to work for a Title Insurance Underwriter and learned title examination. After learning how to do complete title searching and even supervising the research department for 7 years, she left the private industry for FDOT. At the FDOT, Suzette has worked on many important projects, such as Ultimate I-4, SunRail, Wekiva Parkway, and High Speed Rail. She is the supervisor of the Title and Documents Section for District 5, with 9 counties and 6 employees. She has been at the FDOT for 27 years, 13 as a supervisor.

Dennis Dean PainterSeptember 15, 1952 – June 6, 2026Dennis Dean Painter, a highly respected Professional Land Surveyor, ...
06/18/2026

Dennis Dean Painter
September 15, 1952 – June 6, 2026
Dennis Dean Painter, a highly respected Professional Land Surveyor, devoted husband, father, grandfather, mentor, and friend, passed away on June 6, 2026, at the age of 73.

Dennis dedicated nearly five decades of his life to the surveying profession. Licensed as a Registered Professional Surveyor in the State of Florida in 1979 and proudly assigned License Number LS #3542. He built an exceptional career founded on integrity, precision, professionalism, and an unwavering commitment to excellence. Over his 47 years as a licensed surveyor, Dennis earned the trust and respect of clients, colleagues, and fellow professionals throughout Florida.

Dennis spent the majority of his career with Adair and Brady / A & B Engineering, where he served as Director of the Surveying Department. Adair & Brady, established in 1965, grew into one of the region's most respected consulting engineering and land surveying firms. Joining the company in the mid-1970s, Dennis played an instrumental role in its continued success and longevity. His expertise, leadership, and dedication helped shape countless projects and contributed significantly to the firm's reputation for quality and professionalism.

In January 2022, Dennis joined FRS & Associates, bringing with him decades of knowledge and experience. His contributions quickly became invaluable to the organization. Dennis maintained meticulous records from more than 45 years of surveying work throughout Palm Beach County, creating a legacy of information and expertise that few could match. He was especially renowned for his skill in complex boundary surveys and research. The more challenging the project, the more Dennis thrived, approaching each task with determination, confidence, and remarkable attention to detail.

Throughout his career, Dennis was known not only for his technical expertise but also for his willingness to mentor and guide others entering the profession. He generously shared his knowledge and experience, helping to develop the next generation of surveyors and leaving a lasting impact on countless colleagues and associates.

Above all, Dennis was devoted to his family. He is survived by his beloved wife, his children, five cherished grandchildren, his siblings, and many dear friends. His family was the center of his life, and he took great pride in the accomplishments and happiness of those he loved.

Dennis will be remembered for his strong work ethic, quiet wisdom, generosity, professionalism, and dedication to both his family and his profession. His legacy lives on in the countless projects he completed, the professionals he mentored, and the lives he touched throughout his remarkable career. Dennis's presence will be deeply missed, but his contributions, guidance, and friendship will be remembered always.
Link to Obituary: https://www.palmbeachmemorial.com/obituaries/dennis-painter-4/events

06/17/2026

We'll be kicking off annual conference with our Welcome BBQ on July 29th and sponsorship opportunities are available. With strong visibility at one of our most highly attended events, your branding will be front and center as attendees connect in a relaxed, high-energy setting.

This sponsorship includes your company name and logo on a 24x36 inch poster-board sign, along with 4 BBQ tickets. Click Here to be a Sponsor at our 71st Annual Conference: https://www.fsms.org/exhibitors-and-sponsors

06/11/2026

MSB Surveying, Inc will be celebrating 26 years in business on July 1, 2026. Florida Surveying & Mapping Society 😁

Pinellas County is hiring a Professional Surveyor & Mapper in Clearwater, FL. Click Here to Apply: https://phh.tbe.taleo...
06/11/2026

Pinellas County is hiring a Professional Surveyor & Mapper in Clearwater, FL. Click Here to Apply: https://phh.tbe.taleo.net/phh04/ats/careers/v2/viewRequisition?org=PCG&cws=47&rid=20809

Serves as the Professional Surveyor and Mapper of Record, signing and sealing maps, reports, and land descriptions. This role supervises and develops technical staff and is responsible for reviewing plats in a timely manner, and the review of plats for compliance with Florida State Statutes 177 and County Land Development Code of Ordinances.

Will be responsible in attending preliminary plat and site plan meetings, boundary survey reviews, interpreting title and ownership of real property, and reviewing plat language in collaboration with other departments. Will be involved with public concerning County plats and other related activities. Signs and seals plats for Conformity and other documents as Surveyor & Mapper of Record in responsible charge. The position may also serve as a subject matter expert on professional and technical matters and reports to the section manager. Pay Range $77,667.20 - $124,259.20.

On Saturday, August 1st, Martin Taylor, CH will be your instructor for a conference seminar titled, "Hydrographic Survey...
06/10/2026

On Saturday, August 1st, Martin Taylor, CH will be your instructor for a conference seminar titled, "Hydrographic Surveying for Land Surveyors." Martin Taylor is a THSOA-NSPS Certified Hydrographer with over 20 years of professional experience in the geospatial and surveying industry. He serves as a Senior Geospatial Project Manager at McKim & Creed, managing complex, multi-disciplinary surveying projects that integrate hydrographic surveying with mobile, aerial, and static lidar and conventional land surveying techniques. His project experience includes federal navigation channel surveys, beach renourishment initiatives, and extensive surveying support for transportation infrastructure projects, including mobile lidar corridor mapping for state Department of Transportation (DOT) roadway programs.

Martin’s professional focus spans hydrographic surveying, terrestrial lidar, and transportation-related surveying, with an emphasis on sensor integration, survey design, data processing, standards development, and the integration of bathymetric and topographic datasets. His work supports shoreline modeling, infrastructure planning, corridor mapping, and the management of coastal and transportation systems. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Physics from the University of Waikato in Hamilton, New Zealand, and has lived in Wilmington, North Carolina for the past 20 years, where his work encompasses riverine, coastal, nearshore, and transportation environments. This presentation marks his first appearance at the FSMS conference.

Click Here to register for seminars and events at JW Marriott Miami Turnberry Resort & Spa and take advantage of our discounted group room rate: https://www.fsms.org/71st-annual-conference

On Saturday, August 1st, Logan Cambell will be your instructor for a conference seminar titled, "AI in Ariel Surveying: ...
06/05/2026

On Saturday, August 1st, Logan Cambell will be your instructor for a conference seminar titled, "AI in Ariel Surveying: From Marketing Hype to Practical Innovation."

Logan Campbell is the Founder and CEO of Aerotas, which provides drone data processing for land surveyors and Civil Engineers. He founded Aerotas in 2014 and has since helped thousands of surveyors get the highest quality data out of their drone programs. Prior to founding Aerotas, Logan worked as a statistician in the financial services industry. Logan has an MBA from Harvard Business School and received his undergraduate degree from USC. Logan is a Certified Mapping Scientist with the ASPRS and a CFA Charter holder. As a recognized industry expert, he regularly speaks at survey and drone conferences and writes in numerous land surveying publications.

Click Here to register for conference seminars and events at JW Marriott Miami Turnberry Resort & Spa and take advantage of our discounted group room rate: https://www.fsms.org/71st-annual-conference

06/04/2026

Around 1920, an enormous generator at one of Henry Ford's plants broke down, dragging an entire production line to a halt. Every idle hour was costing a fortune.
Ford's own engineers went at it for days. They checked every wire, tested every connection, consulted every manual. Nothing. The machine kept its secret.
So Ford called in the one man he thought might crack it: Charles Proteus Steinmetz.
If you've never heard the name, picture this—a man barely four feet tall, his spine curved by a lifelong condition, who could run staggeringly complex electrical calculations in his head. They called him "the Wizard of Schenectady." Even Thomas Edison held him in awe.
When Steinmetz arrived, he didn't bark orders or demand blueprints.
He asked for a notebook—and quiet.
Then he did something that baffled the watching engineers.
He listened.
For two full days and nights, he stayed beside that silent machine, taking measurements and filling pages with calculations, learning the generator's secrets the slow, patient way that only decades of study make possible.
Finally, he asked for a ladder, a tape measure, and a piece of chalk.
He climbed up, took one careful measurement, and drew a single chalk mark on the side of the casing.
"Open the panel here," he told them. "Remove the plate, and take out sixteen windings from the field coil at this spot."
The engineers were skeptical. That's it? Just there?
That was it.
They opened it up—and behind the chalk mark was exactly the fault he'd described. They made the repair, and the great machine roared back to life.
Days later, Ford received the bill.
Ten thousand dollars.
(A staggering sum in 1920—well over a hundred thousand dollars in today's money.)
Ford, a man famous for scrutinizing every cost, balked. He wrote back asking for an itemized statement—exactly what, he wanted to know, was he paying ten thousand dollars for?
Steinmetz sent back a bill with two lines:
Making chalk mark on generator: $1.
Knowing where to make the mark: $9,999.
Ford read it. And paid it in full.
In that one exchange lives a truth that outlasts the story:
You don't pay an expert for the moment you watch.
You pay for the thirty years that made that moment possible.
Anyone can draw a chalk mark. Anyone can swing a hammer or turn a wrench or glance at a contract.
The value was never in the mark.
It was in knowing exactly where to put it.
The plumber who stops your leak in ten minutes isn't overcharging—he's sparing you the flooded basement. The doctor who names your condition in minutes isn't rushing—she's compressing decades of training into the answer you needed.
So the next time expertise looks expensive, try asking the other question:
What would it cost if they didn't know?
Anyone can make the mark.
Not everyone knows where it goes.

Address

1689 Mahan Center Boulevard, Ste A
Tallahassee, FL
32308

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Monday 8am - 5pm
Tuesday 8am - 5pm
Wednesday 8am - 5pm
Thursday 8am - 5pm
Friday 8am - 5pm

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