Society of Surveyors

This class is at capacity. The Johnston County Chapter is working to expand the class and will soon have the final details. Please call the office at 919.556.9848 to be added to the waitlist.

Partnership with the Johnston County Chapter of NCSS

Check-in begins at 7:30 am and concludes at 4:30 pm.  Breakfast and Lunch are included.

Topics: 

• "Board Case Studies ( Ethics and Standards of Practice*)" by Richard M. (Mike) Benton, PLS

This presentation will take an in-depth look at several actual Board cases to see what went wrong resulting in a complaint being filed with the Board of Examiners.  We will discuss the facts of the case and analyze what the licensee could or should have done differently that may have avoided the complaint. Topics covered during this presentation will be ethics, standards of practice, how to protect the public, and the best ways to avoid a complaint. 

*This will provide ethics and standards of practice PDHs for two years. Please keep in mind that if you carry over one hour of each, then you will need to exceed the annual requirement of 15 PDHs by 2 additional hours for the current year. Please see FAQ’s at the Board site. https://www.ncbels.org/continuing-education/individuals/#faqs

• "NCGS Update and 2025 Datum Change" by Gary Thompson

Gary Thompson will discuss changes to the National Spatial Reference System (NSRS), including details on the horizontal/geometric datum, geopotential/vertical datums, and tidal datum coming in 2025. He will also discuss related State Plane Coordinate System updates.

• "FEMA Elevation Certificate" by Steve Garrett

This module will provide an overview of the current EC (2023 version) and introduce the changes section by section. The instructor will also explain the correct way to complete each section. Since there are many types of construction and not all buildings fall completely within the parameters of the 11 diagrams identified by the EC, an overview of common mistakes or errors will be provided. 

Instructors:   

Richard M. (Mike) Benton, PLS  was born and raised in Goldsboro, NC. He graduated from Eastern Wayne High School in 1976 and attended the college transfer program at Wayne Community College from 1976-1978. He graduated from Coastal Carolina Community College with an AAS degree in Surveying Technology in 1982. In 1991, after living and working several years in Greenville, NC, Mike moved back home to Goldsboro and established Benton & Associates Land Surveying and Mapping, PA. Mike has been an active member of the North Carolina Society of Surveyors (NCSS) since 1991, serving as the chairman of the Formal Education Committee from 1993-2000, President of NCSS in 2003, and the North Carolina Delegate to the Board of Governors for the National Society of Professional Surveyors from 2008-2013. On November 06, 2012, Mike was appointed by Governor Beverly Perdue to serve on the Board of Examiners for Engineers and Surveyors

Gary W. Thompson, PLS - Gary Thompson is the Deputy Risk Management Chief, North Carolina Emergency Management/Risk Management and Chief of the North Carolina Geodetic Survey/Risk Management/NC Emergency Management, and reappointed chairman of the National Geodetic  Advisory Committee. He has held a professional license as a Professional Land Surveyor (PLS) in North Carolina since 1980.  He has served as president of both the North Carolina Society of Surveyors (NCSS) and the National Society of Professional Surveyors (NSPS).  Gary is an emeritus member of the North Carolina Board of Examiners for Engineers and Surveyors (NCBEES), and a commission member of the ABET Engineering Technology Accreditation Commission. 

Steve Garrett - Steve Garrett has worked for North Carolina Emergency Management for over 20 years.  He is currently serving as the State NFIP Coordinator under the Hazard Mitigation Section.  Previously, Steve served as a planner for the former Risk Management Section of North Carolina Emergency Management, providing outreach and technical assistance for Floodplain Management and the Floodplain Mapping Program, overseeing the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between NCFMP and NCDOT, and managing the LOMR Review Partners Program. Prior to working with the Floodplain Mapping Program, he was a grant project manager and environmental specialist with the Hazard Mitigation Section.