AOLS In Sight:
Special Holiday Issue  
Issue 26
December 2016
In This Issue
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!


All the staff at the AOLS office would like to wish you a very Happy Holiday Season and a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous 2017!!!

Front row, left to right
Sheila Lavina, Survey Review Department Administrative Officer
Julia Savitch, Program Manager
Maureen V. Mountjoy, Deputy Registrar

Middle row, left to right:
Lena Kassabian, Office Manager
Vladimir Oppenheim, Accountant
Penny Anderson, Member Services Coordinator
Herman Bernardo, Survey Review Department Examiner Assistant

Back row, left to right:
Tim Hartley, Survey Review Department Manager
Blain Martin, Executive Director
Bill Buck, Registrar

Missing from the picture:
Al Worobec, Survey Review Department Examiner

It has become a tradition at the AOLS office to collect children's gifts and donate them to  the CP24 CHUM Christmas Wish Foundation, which is a  distributor of toys to children in need in the Greater Toronto Area.

The way we collect the gifts is a lot of fun: each staff member draws from a hat the name of another staff member and a number signifying a child's age. The person then needs to buy a gift that they think their colleague would have liked when they were a child of that age.

Photo: Penny Anderson  dropping off the gifts from the AOLS at  CP24 CHUM Christmas Wish Foundation.


Please note the AOLS office holiday hours:

Friday, December 23 - short day
Monday, December 26 (Boxing Day) - closed
Tuesday, December 27 (for Christmas Day) - closed
Wednesday, Dec. 28 - Friday, Dec. 30 - very limited staff
Monday, January 2 - closed (for New Year's Day)

We will re-open with full staff on Tuesday, January 3, 2017.



Election Notice
by Bill Buck, Registrar

The following candidates have been nominated for AOLS Council in 2017. You will note that all of the candidates have been acclaimed and therefore no election is necessary. The nominees' platforms will be mailed to all members in January.



Survey Equipment Seminars: Final Locations
by Paul Wyman, OLS (Ret.), Seminar Presenter


The "Survey Equipment Theory, Use, Maintenance and Adjustment (TUMA)" seminars were planned for a maximum of 14 locations throughout Ontario. Unfortunately, only 2 locations have received sufficient registrations to proceed: North Toronto and Belleville The seminars at all other locations have been cancelled. The registrants at other locations will be contacted by Paul Wyman and offered the opportunity to transfer to one of the locations noted above or obtain a full refund.
 
Many Ontario Land Surveyors are about to start year 2 of the AOLS 3-year mandatory Continuing Professional Development cycle. The AOLS Continuing Education Committee is committed to providing surveyors with professional development opportunities. The best method of fulfilling the professional development requirements is to obtain 1/3 of the total requirement each year.
 
The AOLS urges participants to register for this seminar as soon as possible. During January and February 2017, AOLS staff will be heavily involved with the planning and organization of the 2017 Annual General Meeting in Ottawa.
 
The last date for seminar registration at either location will be Friday, January 20, 2017, so please register early.

 

Final Locations and Dates:

Event 
Date (2017) 
Location
1
Monday,
February 6
Belleville
Room 3N11, Kente Building 3rd Floor
Loyalist College
376 Wallbridge-Loyalist Rd.
Belleville, ON, K8N 5B9
2
Thursday,
February 16
North Toronto
Edward Village Markham Hotel
50 East Valhalla Dr.
Markham, ON, L3R 0A3
(near Hwy. 407 & Hwy. 404)

To register, go to:

Attending this seminar qualifies for 7.5 Formal CPD hours.

The seminars are targeted at OLS's as well as Survey Technicians and Technologists.
 
Presenter: Paul Wyman, OLS (Ret.)
 
This seminar will review the Theory of Operation, Practical Usage, Maintenance and User Adjustment of many types of survey equipment commonly used for cadastral field survey. The seminar will review batteries, range poles, prisms, targets, tripods, tape measures, survey levels, theodolites, electronic distance meters (EDM), total stations and GNSS equipment.
  
The seminar fee (including lunch and breaks) is $275 for AOLS members and associates, $350 for non-members.


AGM Registration Is Open and December Webinar on the AGM Is Posted
by Julia Savitch, Program Manager
As was announced earlier this week, online registration for the National Surveyors' Conference 2017, which will take place in Ottawa on March 1-2, 2017, has opened!


Prices will go up by 10% on February 12!

We have a very exciting program planned!
 
Remember that a Meet and Greet will take place the evening of Tuesday, February 28th and the AOLS Business Meeting will be on the morning of Friday, March 3rd.
 
We look forward to seeing you in Ottawa!

Our December webinar - "The Annual General Meeting 2017 - National Surveyors' Conference" - has been posted to GeoEd and can be viewed at www.geoed.ca/free-courses

If you did not attend the live webinar, watching the recording qualifies for 1 Professional (Meeting Attendance) CPD hour.


Membership Fees Payment through Personal Online Banking Is Now Available!
by Penny Anderson, Member Services Coordinator  
 

We are implementing  the ability for Individual AOLS Members to pay their Membership Fees through their Personal Online Banking as a pilot project. This is similar to how many pay their utility bills or their taxes. It is currently set up for the big 5 banks (BMO, RBC, CIBC, NS and TD) and you simply pick the Association of Ontario Land Surveyors as the payee in your own bank account and enter your Registration Number as your Account Number.
 
Using this method, each member must pay for their own AOLS fees and if working for a company, the member must be reimbursed by the company.
 
The bank charges for this service by transaction (10 cents) and, consequently, the fees are much lower than the percentage of the purchase that the credit card companies charge. We hope that this will save the AOLS substantial bank fees.
 
We emphasize that this payment method is for Individual Membership Fees only. Users paying for fees with Visa or MasterCard will be charged an additional 3% Convenience Fee. Sending a cheque payable to the Association of Ontario Land Surveyors is also an available option.


CPD Final Reminder: Annual Confirmations
by Julia Savitch, Program Manager

Dear OLS's,

Just a final reminder to submit your Annual CPD Confirmations by December 31, 2016. To do this, please go to My CPD section of our website, then to "Submit a CPD Annual Confirmation" (in the menu on the left).

In addition to submitting your Annual CPD Confirmation, please note the following.

Members in the 2016-18 cycle:
You should be roughly at 1/3 of the CPD hours required for this cycle. If you are not there yet, please ramp up your CPD participation in the remaining two years!

Members in the 2014-16 cycle:
You should be complete in your CPD requirements by December 31, 2016. This means having submitted at least the minimum required number of hours and your Annual CPD Confirmations for each of the 3 years of your cycle.

Members in the 2015-17 cycle:
You should be roughly at 2/3 of the CPD hours required for this cycle.  If you are not there yet, please ramp up your CPD participation in the remaining year!

Please note: Once you have submitted the minimum number of hours required for your current CPD cycle, there is no need to keep submitting CPD time.


My CPD
section of our website contains all the information that you need in order to manage your CPD. Go there to submit, edit and review your entries and Annual CPD Confirmations.

Remember: members actively engaged in professional surveying are required to accumulate, in each three year period:
  • at least 36 hours of Formal Activities and
  • at least 66 hours of Professional Activities.
For details, please see the CPD Program.

Log in on our website and go to My CPD > My CPD Cycle Report to check your hours submitted in your current CPD cycle.


As always, if you have any questions or require help with our online CPD tracking system, please contact me at [email protected] or  416-491-9020 ext. 35 / 800-268-0718 ext. 35.


News from Our Suppliers:
Exclusive Carlson Surveyor2 Trade-In Special


In addition to Carlson's annual  End-of-Year Specials  on popular software and hardware, this year Carlson is offering an exclusive year-end Carlson Surveyor2 Trade-In Special.
 
Now until December 31, 2016, trade in your old data collector for a $900 credit toward purchasing a new Carlson Surveyor2 with Carlson SurvCE . Carlson is offering four configurations of the Surveyor2 package including GEO, CELL and GEO/CELL models, which when purchased through the Trade-In Special are offered at substantial savings. All models of the Carlson Surveyor2 are regularly listed between $3,650 and $4,700.
 
As an added bonus, existing SurvCE users receive a free upgrade on all owned SurvCE modules on the unit with participation in this Trade-In Special.




Do you have suggestions for the AOLS In Sight content?

 

If you have come across some information that you think will be of interest to other members, please let us know by emailing [email protected]. Your suggestions are always welcome!

 

 

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Upcoming Events 
South Central Regional Group Meeting
Wednesday, January 18

North Eastern Regional Group Meeting
Friday, January 20

Eastern Regional Group Meeting
Tuesday, January 31

Survey Equipment Seminar - Belleville
Monday, February 6

Survey Equipment Seminar - Toronto
Thursday, February 16


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