1963 - The Corporate Image

    In his address to the membership, President Walker expressed the opinion that allowing the “corporate image” to creep into practices, along with this image’s inherent quest for profit above all else, has been a degrading mistake, and we should be prepared to rectify the mistake.

President Walker went on to say that “in the practice of land surveying, a personal knowledge of all work being carried out under a land surveyor’s direction and a knowledge that through your personal efforts your client has been served well should supercede a quest for ever growing power and income through land surveying.”

President Walker urged the members to stop nipping at the heels of the planning people and make a constructive return to that field. He also predicted that over the next 50 years, Alberta should see a growth of at least one million family units, or an average of 20,000 family units per year.

In 1963, a redraft of the Alberta Land Surveyors Act had been prepared with the object of rearranging the provisions of the existing Act in a more logical order and adding various new provisions. As a result of an anticipated increase in cost arising out of the rewrite of the Act, the maximum amount of the annual levy was increased from $15 to $20.

In other matters, the membership debated motions that a standard form of surveyors’ certificate for building site surveys be devised and that all certifications be based upon actual surveys but the motions were lost on being put to a vote.

At Council meetings, Council learned of improper listings in the Calgary telephone directory and those firms listed showed a willingness to cooperate and correct their listings as requested. Council received a complaint that certain survey firms were operating branch offices without having a qualified surveyor in charge. Council expressed the opinion that “all field or branch offices established, advertised and recognized as such, must have a qualified surveyor in charge who is resident at that location.”

The terms of reference of the Historical and Biographical Committee was expanded to include public relations. Council also recommended that consideration be given to implement more strict rules controlling articling arrangements as it was apparent that some students were not receiving satisfactory training under present arrangements. More specifically, concern was expressed about the level of basic survey knowledge of students who had served only one year of articles.

Assistant Secretary-Treasurer and Registrar Jack Holloway reported that, in 1963, expenditures exceeded revenue by nearly $3,000. Part of that deficit consisted of surplus funds in the bank account that was utilized for the purchase of a $5,000 CNR bond that would be producing interest for the Association at the rate of $250 per year until 1987. Mr. Holloway viewed this as a worthwhile expenditure. However, in 1964 the CNR bond which paid interest at five percent was sold and the Association purchased an Alberta Municipal Finance Bond at five and a quarter percent.

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