R.F. (Bob) Baker
(By
Jack Hill on the occasion of
the presentation of the Outstanding Service Award to Bob Baker,
1978)
My task of enumerating Bob's achievement is both
difficult and easy at the same time. He is so well-known to all members
of our Association for his efficiency and cheery personality from the
mid 1960s to the late 1970s that we all took him for granted. Having
done such an excellent job for the Association, there seems to have been
no criticism of his activities, so he was not newsworthy. But his
constant, meticulous devotion to the interests of the Association during
long inhuman hours gave us the luxury of a smoothly flowing organization
which we accepted as a matter of course.
Bob was born in Brandon, Manitoba, lived in British Columbia for a time,
worked with Mr. R.G. Snowling, DLS on the Columbia River project. He
also spent some time surveying in the Yukon, was a SAIT graduate and
worked with Northern Affairs and Natural Resources in Banff. He joined
the staff of the Surveys Branch, Department of Highways in
1955,
was articled to Mr. T.E. Rippon, ALS and
Mr. A. Tonsoo, ALS. He was firstly manager of plan examination, then
assistant Director of Surveys, Land Survey Section, Surveys & Mapping
Branch, Alberta Transportation. He has provided excellent guidance and
instruction to five articled students who are now Alberta Land
Surveyors.
He took over the job as secretary-treasurer and registrar of the Alberta
Land Surveyors' Association in
1976
and followed in the footsteps of Mr. J.H.
Holloway, ALS who had been with us for many years, and seemed
irreplaceable. However, Bob soon put the lie to this trend of thought.
The writer has been intimately aware of Bob's Association activities
since 1972
and marvelled at the way in which he has handled the complex
administration of an organization which exploded in membership and at
the same time permitted him only very minimal secretarial assistance.
Concurrently he carried on the duties of Secretary-Treasurer and
Registrar of The Alberta Society of Survey Technicians and Technologists
and the secretary-treasurer of the J.H.
Holloway Foundation. He became the Association's first appointed
member of the Universities Co-ordinating Council in
1975
and at this time inherited two filing cabinets full of personal
histories of all articled pupils and past and present ALSA members.
He did a tremendous, back-breaking job in re-organizing the filing
system and giving us a solid representation and voice on the
Co-ordinating Council which we sorely lacked at that point in time. He
was the Association's permanent representative to the Canadian Council
of Land Surveyors from its inception. During the same period of time, he
was chairman or a member of eight different committees appointed by
Council. If one bears in mind that all this huge volume of work would
normally occupy at least two men full-time, one gets some idea of his
achievement when we consider that all these duties were carried out in a
spare-time capacity, whereby he put in a full, solid day's work with the
Department of Highways, attended two geodesy courses (which he passed)
edited and set up all data for ALS News, was a friend and counsellor to
all members of the Association and articled students.
He is, no doubt, the only person who knows everyone of us, members and
students alike, by our names. Very embarrassingly we have to admit, to
our shame, he received completely inadequate remuneration for these
excessive demands, but we never heard a whimper of complaint on this
account. Bob always seemed to be around to help anyone in any shape or
form and materially assisted our younger members and students to become
acclimatized. At the same time, he was a pillar of stability and
knowledge in Council deliberations, had all the acts, facts and by-laws
at his finger tips at annual meetings, prompted new born presidents and
always presented a cheerful countenance to the world at large.
Considering all this work would normally take about 30 hours a day, he,
nevertheless, felt compelled to join three community organizations, a
golf club, the Canadian Institute of Surveying, The Edmonton Scottish
Society, and last but by no means least, Clan MacNaughton Pipe Band
which in itself would be a more than sufficient extra-curricular
activity for us mortals. He spent a tremendous amount of time practicing
and touring the province and the beautiful, anguishing, wailing strains
of his pipes were to be heard at the refreshing hour of 3 a.m. each
morning of our annual conventions. In his musical activities, he was
dearly disappointed in not being able to tour Scotland in
1976,
but once again he stoically accepted the situation without any outward
show of sorrow.
The above outline will, in some small way, serve to put on record Bob's
achievements for us. If the Association decides to extend this award to
him, it will merely be a pale token of our heart-felt appreciation and
cannot hope to compensate him for his sterling, unflagging, profound and
eminently human efforts.
(On the
occasion of his nomination for President,
1992)
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Born at Brandon, Manitoba in (1934)
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Completed High School in Fernie, BC (1953)
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Received diploma in surveying and drafting from SAIT (1955)
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Articled to T.E. Rippon, ALS
(1956-1957); A. Tonsoo, ALS (1957-1961)
-
Received ALS commission (1961)
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Member of the Canadian Institute of Surveying and Mapping
-
Served on various committees of the ALSA including
Legislation, Publications, Practice, and Special Committee on the
Survey System to mention a few Served as Secretary-Treasurer of the
ALSA (1967-1977
and
1991-1992)
-
Member of the Acacia Lodge #11, and the Clan MacNaughton
Pipe Band
-
Worked part time on construction surveys and land surveys
with various levels of the federal government (1951-1955)
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Experience in land surveys and office management with the
Director of Surveys Office (1955-1990)
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Employed by Landmarks Consultants in Whitecourt (1990-1991)
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Employed by Brown Okamura in Lethbridge (1996-)
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Enjoys horses, fishing, pipe bands
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