Towson University’s Outreach Blog

Jeremy

There are many reasons I enjoy attending professional conferences, including learning about what others in the GIS world are working on, catching up with colleagues I have not seen in a while, and getting a break from cubicle-life for a couple days.  I had the chance to accomplish all these feats while attending Towson University’s annual GIS conference (TUgis) earlier this week.  The conference quickly flew by and now I’m back in my cubicle left to reflect on TUgis 2010.  The following are specific and general observations regarding the conference.

TUgis 2010’s theme, “GIS in Budget Constrained Times: Doing More with Less” seemed especially pertinent considering the real budget difficulties facing individuals, businesses, and governments in today’s fitful economy.  The number of conference attendees and exhibitors were noticeably down due to the difficult economic times, but the quality of the presentations remained high.

Most of the presentations I attended tied into the conference’s theme well.  Jennifer Pfister’s (BioHabitats, Inc) presentation focused on the use of “freeware” in order to prioritize where non-native invasive species removal resources should be used in Fairfax County, Virginia.  Sharing data, services, and infrastructure was the cost-saving theme reiterated throughout the MDiMap mini-workshop.

The education application presentations on the conference’s second day stressed the importance of volunteerism and giving back to the community where one lives and works.  This was especially true in Jessica Wright and Lacy Baker’s (California University of PA) presentation, which focused on a service learning project that involved the development and maintenance of a GIS that provides local volunteer firefighters with information regarding hazards they may encounter at a destination.  The discussion that followed regarding the student’s training of the volunteer firefighters in the system’s use as well as a more general discussion of volunteerism was very interesting.

While I enjoyed all the sessions I attended, I believe the underlying message delivered by the presentations in the education application session stuck with me the most.  During today’s difficult times it is understandable that individuals and businesses are increasingly concerned about pinching every penny and making sure employees are “billable”.  However, it is especially important today not to lose sight of the importance of volunteerism.  Volunteer work may not help with the volunteer’s budgetary concerns, but they along with the community served will reap real benefits from the volunteer work completed.