As the Chapter representative I attended preconference meetings.  I was able to meet other chapter leaders and get a feel for how the chapters interact within URISA national.  I was also able to attend an eight hour certified URISA preconference workshop with my paid conference fee.  URISA is developing new topics for where can I buy clomid online in drugstore training.  Check out the updated website (urisa.org) under Education & Events to find out about new educational opportunities.  The variety of topics and times during the conference allowed for me attend sessions for work development and also to explore topics of interest. 

ESRI was a business sponsor.  Jack Dangermond gave a shortened version of his July, San Diego presentation.  I was able to say a few words and take a picture with Jack at the ESRI reception.  The national conference experience was wonderful.  I was able to meet international students who are using GIS in their studies, GIS professionals who use their geospatial skills to do important analysis for the safety of communities and the efficiency of their agencies and other professionals interested in bringing GIS, the fourth fasting growing job market, to the forefront of the country’s fastest growing industry.  Next year’s location is Orlando, Florida.  Hope to see you there!

The workshops were taught by Martha Wells from Spatial Focus in Maryland, who has years of experience working with address databases and who is one of the lead participants developing the national address standards.

Central Cal URISA hopes to bring more workshops like these in 2010!

Kern County  – The Central California Chapter of URISA is planning a Dinner and Social in Bakersfield for the GIS community in Kern County on the evening of November 18, 2009.  Watch this site for more information.

Merced – The Central California Chapter of URISA is sponsoring GIS Day in Merced on November 17, 2009, from 8:30am-4pm. The event will take place at Sam Pipes Room, Merced Civic Center, 678 W 18th St in Merced.  For more information and contact details click here.

San Luis Obispo - Kennedy Library and the SLO GIS Users Group sponsor an annual GIS event at Cal Poly.  GIS Day celebrates Geographic Information System (GIS) technology and its multitude of uses.  Check here for updates.

They are offering a super early rate to assist with keeping costs down while offering an exceptional educational program and networking opportunities.

For more information and to register click here.

San Luis Obispo Workshop

The Central California Chapter of URISA hosted workshops in both San Luis Obispo and Bakersfield on the topic of GIS Enterprise Architecture and Systems Integration.

The all-day workshops were given by Dave Peters, Director of Systems Integration for ESRI and author of Building a GIS.

The URISA-certified workshop covered a wide variety of topics, including Enterprise GIS Technology, Requirements Analysis, GIS Product Architecture, and Systems Implementation and Management.

Bakersfield Workshop

Central Cal URISA hosted these low-cost workshops as both a benefit to current members, and as a way to outreach and increase new membership.

Both objectives were a success, and a combined 53 people attended the workshops. Central Cal URISA hopes to bring more workshops in the future.

Building a GIS

Building a GIS

Click here for more information.

For additional information and to enroll for the SLO workshop, contact Andy Richardson or at 1.805.549.3571.

The Bakersfield Workshop will be held in the KernCOG Board Room at 1401 19th Street, Suite 300, Bakersfield, CA 93301, from 8am-5pm.

This URISA-certified workshop is titled GIS Enterprise Architecture and System Integration.

The instructor of the workshop will be David Peters, who authored the ESRI Press book, “Building a GIS.”

Various maps from GIS Day 2008

This years event included several presentations in both the large multipurpose room and in a smaller conference room.

Presentations included open source GIS applications, AutoCAD applications, and specific subject matter such as BLM and Processes through GIS and ID modeling.

In the afternoon, a panel discussion included several local GIS professionals who answered a wide variety of questions and provided insight into their day-to-day uses of GIS.

Keynote Speaker

The Central California URISA chapter would like to thank the California State University, Bakersfield, Business Research and Education Center; Central California Research Institute; City of Bakersfield; KernCOG; Kern GEONET; Information Technology Services, County of Kern; Bureau of Land Management; City of Delano; and City of Taft for their support in the event.

2007 GIS Day Audience

Attendees from all over Kern County, and farther, converged at the California State University, Bakersfield Student Union for a great turnout!

The day’s events included students, speakers from education, government and business, booths with live demonstrations, door prizes, a great lunch, and sharing with the public how GIS is being used in their community every day.  This year’s local theme was “GIS -enhancing geography literacy, one elecronic map at a time.”

Presentations

In addition to discussion panels on education and government, Chuck Rosengard and Paul Swartz from the Kern High School District gave a GIS presentation on school boundaries and the redistricting process, and its use in determining where future schools will be located.

Presentation by Chuck Rosegard

The Kern High School District is the largest 9-12 school district in California, and as such, the redistricting process and school locations is a hot topic when it comes to the community of Bakersfield and Kern County residents.

The informative presentation provided insight into what is involved in various processes and how GIS plays a crucial role in decisionmaking.

And although not nearly as large, representatives from the Visalia Unified School District and Quad Knopf gave a presentation on how they created and implemented a district-wide GIS.

Not only does the district use GIS for boundary and future school locations, but they have created a frontend web-based application so that residents can enter an address to find out which school boundary they are located in.  The district is using ArcIMS and SQL to provide these location-based results.

Keynote Speaker

Keynote Speaker John Nilon

Kern County GIS Day would not be complete without a keynote speaker, and this year John Nilon, the Director of Kern County Child Support Services and Chair of the Kern County Network for Children GIS Task Force, provided a great presentation on history of GIS, good maps vs. bad maps, and examples of Kern County-related maps

Foothill CDE Academy Attends GIS Day

CDE Foothill High School Booth

An exciting group to attend Kern County’s GIS Day were students from the Foothill High School Computer Design & Engineering (CDE) Academy.  These 10th-12th grade students have a genuine interest in the fields of computers, design and engineering.

As you can see, the students setup their own booth and showed off some of their work, such as an amazing SketchUp recreation of the Bakersfield Beale Clock Tower. 

Even more exciting, Elizabeth from the Foothill CDE Academy won the raffle for the free Garmin GPS unit.  Congratulations Elizabeth!  We hope you enjoy the unit, and don’t forget to share with your peers!

Thanks to Everyone

The Central California URISA Chapter would like to thank everyone who attended, the various speakers, organizations and companies, and finally, the CSUB Business Rsearch and Education Center for help making GIS Day 2007 in Kern County a huge success.