The Seiler Geospatial team is excited to celebrate the upcoming National Surveyors Week.

There are numerous reasons why we are excited to help support and celebrate National Surveyors Week week. Did you know Seiler Instrument played an important role as one of the original makers of surveying instruments in the St. Louis area?

Seiler Instrument has supported surveyors since we had our first office in downtown St. Louis, Missouri. Our firm provided repair and refurbishment of existing survey instruments. Then Eric H. Seiler designed his first set of survey instruments for distribution in 1947, and by 1949, Seiler was manufacturing over 100 products, marking the advent of both the Seiler Manufacturing Division and Survey Division.

Because our roots are in the manufacturing and repair of surveying equipment, we are a bit partial to the surveying industry. Seiler Geospatial continues this tradition today by offering the highest quality service, products and repair services to many industries in the geospatial world. Seiler Geospatial was an early adopter of supporting Get Kids into Surveying, which we encourage everyone to check out and get involved in showing young minds the exciting world of survey.

Another way we get involved is with our local professional survey associations across the Midwest. We provide many direct scholarships each year to these state associations, and we also support many of the universities and colleges with technology equipment loans. Many students benefit from using these instruments and having access to the latest equipment on the market.

A few of the schools we support with equipment or scholarships are listed below, and we appreciate all they do for students and continuing the promotion of surveying to young professionals.

Seiler supports the following education partners:

• • Ferris State University
  • Michigan State University
  • SIUE Edwardsville- IL
  • State Tech Linn, Missouri
  • Missouri S&T
  • Parkland College – IL
  • Most all Wisconsin Technical Colleges
  • John A. Logan – IL
  • University of Nebraska
  • Lake Land College – IL

We also want to point out the great things the National Society of Professional Surveyors (NSPS) has done to increase awareness for the Land Surveying profession. They have some very good tools on their website to get involved in National Surveying Week. NSPS is leading the charge on helping to celebrate by spreading the word, and encouraging young men and women to consider surveying as a career choice.

Finally, I would be remiss if I did not mention our two professional surveyors we have on our staff. I have known Tom Bryant, PLS for over fifteen years and Kelly Harris, PLS for over five years. They both are mentors to many of us at Seiler and to many students (Tom Bryant is an adjunct professor at several universities). They are humorous, as who does not like to laugh?  But, above all, I consider them my friends. 

So, we asked both of them to give us some feedback on why did they choose to be a Land Surveyor – See their answers below:

Per Kelly Harris, PLS – I first became interested in Land Surveying when I took a trip to Southern Illinois University, Carbondale to visit my brother. He was enrolled in the Civil Engineering program and taking the Land Survey classes. At that time, I was working with my dad in the oil field. I was introduced to some of his friends that were also enrolled in surveying. They often talked about how much they enjoyed the survey program. After meeting with the Land Surveying Professor, Roy Frank, I made the decision to enroll.

Tom Bryant, PLS – I had a summer job as a survey rodman when I was in High School. I got out of college (without a surveying degree) and need a job. Surveyors were hiring and I got a job. Fortunately, I was put on a crew with a couple of really good guys. The party chief was a licensed surveyor, and I learned from them how much fun surveying could be. It was, and is, the perfect blend of math, analysis, history and the great outdoors. I stuck with it and it has been a rewarding career. RIP and thank you Bill O’Neil, my mentor and a great surveyor.

We all are very lucky to have them on staff and appreciate all they have done for the industry.

 

Take Care and hope you all enjoy next weeks celebrations. Be sure to check our socials all week for a chance to win fun prizes! Follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. 

 

Author: Maureen M. Crawford, Marketing Manager | Seiler Geospatial