PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
What’s in it for our Members?
Adam Heft CPG-10265
adam.heft@wsp.com
As I write this, I look back at a successful and enjoyable annual meet- ing in Nashville, Tennessee and think how fortunate we are to have a dedi- cated planning group to put togeth- er the meeting details. Individuals at both National headquarters and in the Tennessee Section worked tirelessly to put together an engaging program that covered a wide spectrum of geology top- ics, including environmental, mining, geohazards, education, and more. The meeting also featured several great field trips, networking opportunities, and a student career day. Everyone I spoke with at the meeting enjoyed the activi- ties and thought it well worth their time and money.
I’ve been asked on a few occasions, “Why should I become (or continue to be) a member of AIPG, and what would I get out of it?” In other words, where’s the value of the organization? This also leads to the question for those wondering whether they are getting good value of “just how is AIPG providing increased value for my hard-earned money?”
My last message summarized the survey I had sent to all members earlier this year and late 2016; it included infor- mation on the value of the organization as it stood. Different members point to
a variety of aspects that bring value to them as being part of the organization, including the CPG credential, network- ing with other professionals, continuing education opportunities, and profession- alism, to name only a few. As I’ve said in each of my previous messages, communi- cation is key. In my last message, I also said that I’d provide an update on what the Executive Committee was doing to help increase the value for our members.
As many of those who attended the 2017 Annual Meeting (or those who read my article in the last edition of TPG) are aware, one of the things that the National Executive Committee has accomplished this year was the creation of a new member category. The nation- ally licensed geologist, or NLG, member category was created with two goals in mind. First, it is intended to serve as a future basis of licensure that any state may adopt (or recognize) as equivalent to existing state licensure if that state so chooses; it is not currently a license to practice in any particular state(s). The qualifications for the NLG are that applicants must have attained a CPG credential with AIPG (or have applied for the CPG concurrently), have passed both parts of the ASBOG exam, and must participate in a continuing educa-
Participating in geology field trips like the Harpeth River field trip at the Annual Meeting in Nashville is a great way to learn something new, network, and ultimately get more from your AIPG membership.
tion program by obtaining a minimum of 16 contact hours annually (one hour of which must be in ethics). These requirements meet or exceed the cur- rent requirements of all states licens- ing geologists with the exception of those requiring a state-specific exam in addition to the other requirements. The second, and more immediate goal of the NLG, is to serve members as a repository of their qualifications. If, for instance, a member was seeking licen- sure in a particular state, they would be able to request that AIPG forward all of their qualifications –references, ASBOG scores, other state license information, education transcripts, etc. to that state’s licensing board in a single package rather than having to take the time and effort to locate all of those documents and have them sent on by multiple organiza- tions, many of which charge a fee to do so.
Monday’s luncheon and keynote speaker event at the Annual Meeting in Nashville.
www.aipg.org
Will this member category be success- ful and eventually be recognized by all or many individual states that license geol- ogists? We are in the beginning stages of making some of the necessary contacts with states that have licensing to set the groundwork to help ensure that the pro-
Oct.Nov.Dec 2017 • TPG 29
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