2018 Speakers

2018 MSPS ANNUAL MEETING SPEAKERS

Mike Barger, PS

Mr. Barger is the new Director of Land Survey & Remonumentation for the State of Michigan. He is a second-generation surveyor and began surveying in 1976. He holds a Bachelor degree in Business Administration from Ferris State College, and a Bachelor degree in Surveying Engineering from Ferris State University. Mr. Barger worked in the private sector in Saint Joseph, Port Huron, Ann Arbor, Lansing, Holland and Grand Rapids. Before moving into the position at LARA, he spent 12 years as a Survey Consultant Manager for the Michigan Department of Transportation.

Gabor Barsai, PhD, PS

Gabor Barsai has worked in the fields of surveying and mapping as a GPS (Global Positioning System) and GIS (Geographic Information System) professional.

His GPS experience includes geodetic control surveys, boundary location and topographic surveys where he has served as instrument operator and in positions of responsible charge, and as application developer to process the data; as a GIS professional, Mr. Barsai has served as a GIS consultant, GIS manager, and application developer with international experience in both GPS and GIS, including teaching and conference presentations and simultaneous translator for several organizations. Conference presentations include ISPRS, ASPRS, ACSM.

Chuck Bergmann

Chuck is the Michigan Department of Transportation’s (MDOT) Work Zone Tech Specialist. He received an Associate’s Degree in Civil Technology from Macomb Community College. Chuck has over 25 years of Traffic & Safety experience with MDOT. His work duties include creating policy and inspecting work zones throughout the state for accuracy and uniformity. Most of his career was spent in the Metro Detroit area where Chuck acted as the Metro Region Pavement Marking Coordinator. He is currently an active member of ATSSA and participates on the Safety & Public Awareness Committee and Innovations Council.

Chris Brookes

Chris Brookes is Michigan Department of Transportation’s (MDOT) Work Zone Delivery Engineer. He’s been with the department for ten years. Chris is an active member of ATSSA, he holds positions on the Temporary Traffic Control Committee, the Innovations Council, and is the Michigan Chapter Secretary. Chris has a bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from Michigan State University, Go Green!

Mischa Boardman, Esq.

Mischa M. Boardman - Shareholder with Zausmer, August & Caldwell, P.C.

Ms. Boardman focuses her practice on eminent domain and commercial litigation around issues involving trade secrets, real property, construction, and business torts at the trial and appellate levels in state and federal courts. Her clients include transmission companies, municipalities, publicly traded REITs, Fortune 500 corporations, small enterprises and individuals. She frequently speaks on condemnation and right-of-way topics, appearing at industry and bar association conferences across the United States. Mrs. Boardman earned her undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Michigan and has been recognized as a Michigan Super Lawyer and a Michigan Top Lawyer. In 2015, Michigan Lawyers Weekly named her to its elite annual list of “Women of the Law”.

Melissa Collar, Esq.

Melissa N. Collar is a partner in the Grand Rapids office of Warner Norcross & Judd. For 20+ years, Melissa has assisted clients in the acquisition, development, construction, leasing and sale of real property. She regularly prepares architect, construction, design/build and integrated project delivery contracts for owners, architects and contractors, condominium documents, tax incentive and abatement applications and leases, as well as handles Land Division Act documentation and real estate brokerage matters. Melissa is past chair of the firm’s Real Estate Services and Condominium Practice Groups. She is also a licensed real estate broker. Melissa earned her law degree at Wayne State University. She can be reached at mcollar@wnj.com or 616-752-2209.

John Ellingson

John Ellingson graduated from the University of Wisconsin – Madison with a degree in Civil Engineering with emphasis in surveying and geodesy. He serves as the National Geodetic Survey’s (NGS) Geodetic Advisor to the Great Lakes Region (IL, IN, MI, WI). As the Regional Advisor John works with surveyors, engineers, and GIS professionals, as well as local, state and federal agencies, helping them better understand and use the geodetic control of NGS’s National Spatial Reference System (The NSRS). John is licensed as a Professional Land Surveyor and a Professional Engineer.

Max George, PS

Max is the Survey & GIS group manager at Fleis & Vandenbrink Inc, where he oversees the daily activites of the group. He is also responsible for it’s business development tasks, team training and professional development. He is licensed in both Indiana and Michigan and is a Certified Floodplain Manager. As a Director of MSPS he has been reaching out to the GIS community in an effort to improve communication between the professions and to lay the groundwork for working together on common issues in the future. He has been involved in over 50 asset management plan projects in the past few years, all of which required integrating GIS and survey data work flows.

Joe Fenicle, PS

Joseph D. Fenicle, PS has been a professional surveyor with the Office of the Fulton County Engineer in Wauseon, Ohio since 2005. Fenicle worked with J.C. Andrus & Associates in Toledo from 1996 to 2005 and specialized in boundary retracement and remonument-ation in Ohio & Michigan. In 2003, he took a sabbatical to New Hampshire and represented a large multidisciplinary firm surveying throughout multiple New England states. Fenicle was also an adjunct faculty member with Owens Community College teaching various surveying courses between 2002 and 2009. He is a member of the remonumentation peer group for Lenawee County, Michigan and continues to work as a sub-contractor digging and remonumenting Michigan land corners. He continues to write, research and speak on various surveying related topics and also runs Angular By Nature, LLC - a business specializing in continuing professional development for land surveyors across Ohio and Michigan. Fenicle received his AAS in GIS/GPS from Hocking Technical College and a BS in surveying/mapping from the University of Akron. He became licensed in Ohio in 2002 and in Michigan in 2004. Joe lives on a farm outside of Sand Creek, MI with his wife and three very active boys – Landon, Logan & Lochlin.

Raymond J. Hintz, PhD

Raymond J. Hintz is a professor of surveying engineering technology at the University of Maine, and is program coordinator for the B.S. program in surveying engineering technology. Prior to his present position from 1983 to 1987 he was an assistant professor of civil engineering at the University of Florida. He has B.S., M.S., and PhD degrees in Civil and Environmental Engineering with emphasis in surveying and photogrammetry from the University of Wisconsin. His research interests lie in automation of data collection and processing of surveying and photogrammetric information. Specific to the topic of interest, he has been responsible for development of the Cadastral Electronic Field Book, which enables automatic entry of measurement and automated field note information into Cadastral Measurement Management (CMM). At the heart of CMM is a least squares analysis driver for conventional survey measurements and GPS. Both products were developed for the Bureau of Land Management. Also in conjunction with the Bureau of Land Management, he has developed Geographic Measurement Management which is the approved tool for development of their Geographic Coordinate Data Base. GMM has a least squares analysis system which is designed for record survey information. A third project was partial responsibility for the development of Florida Department of Transportation’s Electronic Field Book, data processing, and topographic data modeling software system. His primary involvement in this project was the Electronic Field Book Processer (EFBP) which is the least squares analysis engine for a automated link from raw data to final coordinates. EFBP has in recent times been adapted to also accept SDMS (AASHTO) format data and various vendor raw survey data formats. He has published more than 50 articles in journal and conference proceedings, and is a registered land surveyor in the states of Maine and Florida.

Kyle Hipsley

Commissioner Hipsley began his career with the International Boundary Commission U.S. and Canada in 1973 as a summer hire on a boundary survey crew. After serving in the military from 1973-1976 he worked for the National Geodetic Survey, the State of Florida Bureau of Surveying and Mapping and the Defense Mapping Agency returning to the IBC in 1986 as a field engineer. He opened the first of three IBC field offices in Maine and in the course of his field career ran the Montana and Minnesota offices before being transferred to the Washington DC office as Lead Engineering Tech. in 2001. He was promoted to Deputy Commissioner in 2002 a position he held until his retirement in 2014 and also served as acting U.S. Commissioner from 2008 thru 2014. On October 29, 2014 he was appointed U.S. Commissioner of the IBC by the President.

Murray J. LeGris

Murray J. LeGris, O.L.S., C.L.S., SR/WA is a Senior Surveyor in the Ontario Regional Office of the Surveyor General Branch, Natural Resources Canada, where he manages the addition to reserve program. This position follows 6 years as Executive Director of the Association of Ontario Land Surveyors and 31 years with Ontario Hydro. During his career, Mr. LeGris has conducted surveys on electrical transmission lines and generating stations in locations varying from those accessible by helicopter in Northern Ontario to the canyons formed by high-density office towers of downtown Toronto. Mr. LeGris has supervised the titles and mapping units of Ontario Hydro, is a certified instructor with the International Right of Way Association (IRWA), is a past Chair of the IRWA International Surveying & Engineering Community of Practice, Past Chair of IRWA Region 8 and is a past member of the International Professional Development Committee. He is still active in both the Association of Ontario Land Surveyors (Assistant to the Academic and Experience Requirements Committee) and the Association of Canada Lands Surveyors (Past Chair of the Continuing Professional Development Committee)

Tony Nettleman, PhD, RPLS, Esq.

Tony Nettleman is a Land Surveying Engineer and Attorney who holds the distinguished position of professional assistant professor at Texas A&M Corpus Christi, teaches continuing education courses for attorneys and land surveyors, provides online test preparation modules to help land surveyors become licensed in all 50 states, and serves as an expert witness in boundary, easement, title and riparian disputes. He holds a BS, MS and PhD in geomatics and a law degree. Tony has helped over 100 land owners resolve land disputes and determined professional negligence for dozens of professional surveyors. Tony has also published many articles in peer-reviewed journals and professional trade magazines. He is licensed as a Florida attorney and a Florida and Texas professional surveyor. Tony can be contacted through www.CNettleman.net.

Jack Owens, PS

Jack Owens is a survey consultant. He retired from Rowe Professional Services Company where he served as Chief Surveyor. Currently licensed as a Professional Surveyor in Michigan and has held survey licenses in six other states. Jack has fifty years of experience in land surveying. He was appointed by the Governor to serve as a Remonumentation Commissioner. He has also served on the MSPS Board of Directors and the MSPS Foundation Board of Trustees.

Steve Peacock, CPA

Steve Peacock is a Principal at Rehmann in the Traverse City office working in the Audit and Assurance group. Steve’s responsibilities include client service engagement principal on the Northern Michigan University, Ferris State University, Northwestern Michigan College and Foundation, Bay de Noc Community College, Kirtland Community College, and North Central Michigan College engagements as well as engagement principal for several not-for-profit financial statement engagements, financial institutions, construction contractors, oil and gas entities and or clients which report to the Securities and Exchange Commission. Steve is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Michgan Association of Certified Public Accountants.

Howard Walker, PS

Howard Walker received his Bachelor of Science degree in Forestry from Michigan Technological University in 1977. This degree allowed him to pursue a very interesting and varied professional career. He worked as a survey crew chief and an oil and gas land-man until acquiring his license to practice professional surveying in 1983. In 1986, Howard established Walker Land Surveying and operated that business until selling it in 1999. He was subsequently elected to the State Legislature in 2003, and served in the Michigan House of Representatives for 6 years. In that position, he chaired or was vice chair of the Natural Resource and Environmental Budget Committees. In 2011, Howard was elected to the State Senate where he chaired the School Aid Budget for 4 years. He is currently working as a private consultant in the real estate field.

Richard Wilson, Esq.

Richard M. Wilson, Jr. received his bachelor’s degree from Grand Valley State University, studied theology at the Methodist Theological School in Ohio, and obtained his law degree from The Ohio State University. He specializes in municipal, health care, corporate, real estate, and environmental law. Richard has represented clients in West Michigan and beyond since 1979. He is a member of the American Bar Association, the State Bar of Michigan, the Michigan Townships Association, the Michigan Municipal League, the American Health Lawyers Association, and is currently president of the Manistee Bar Association. Richard has a strong commitment to the community, having served on the boards of United Way of Manistee County, the Manistee County Library, and the West Shore Foundation. He currently serves on the board of trustees of West Shore Community College, West Shore Community College Foundation, and West Shore Healthcare Foundation. Richard was awarded the AV Preeminent® rating by Martindale-Hubbell® – its highest possible peer rating and is listed in Best Lawyers in America.