MAPPS, the national association for geospatial firms, today announced the Honorable Paul LePage, Governor of Maine, will provide the opening keynote at the association’s annual Summer Conference on Monday, July 22. Governor LePage will discuss how Maine invests, coordinates, and utilizes geospatial technologies and services, provide a synopsis of the business climate in his state, and his views on how states and the private sector can work together to promote economic growth and government reform.
“We are honored that Governor LePage will address the MAPPS membership and provide the insight of a state executive on geospatial data and services and the overall business climate,” said John Palatiello, MAPPS Executive Director.
LePage was elected in 2010 and is serving a four-year term. Prior to being elected Governor, he served as general manager of Marden’s, a surplus and salvage retail chain in Maine. He grew the company from a handful of stores to 15 Maine-based locations that have become a favorite of bargain hunters and shopping adventurists alike. He was first elected to public office as Mayor of Waterville, Maine. As a Republican in a solidly Democrat town, the Governor worked across party lines to reduce taxes annually, improve the City’s credit rating, increase the rainy day fund, and maintain strong support for local education – all without cutting services.
Governor LePage will be the first sitting governor to speak at a MAPPS conference. Three former governors, Jim Geringer (R-WY), Richard Lamm (D-CO), and John Rowland (R-CT) have been previous MAPPS speakers.
The conference to be held July 22-26, 2013 at the Samoset Resort in Rockport, ME will focus on business, management, marketing, technical, policy, and workforce issues relevant to the geospatial market, which includes surveying, photogrammetry, aerial photography, satellite and airborne remote sensing, LIDAR, hydrography, bathymetry, charting, aerial and satellite image processing, BIM, mobile mapping, GPS, and other GIS data collection and conversion services. The program is designed of, by and for private geospatial firm principals, owners, partners, and senior professional executives.
MAPPS extends a special offer to private geospatial firms that are not members of the association. A firm can register as a non-member and attend the conference. If the firm joins by the end of the conference on July 26, the difference between the member and non-member rate will be credited toward the firm’s membership in MAPPS.
For the full conference program, information, and registration, please visit www.mapps.org.
About MAPPS
Formed in 1982, MAPPS is the only national association exclusively comprised of private firms in the remote sensing, spatial data and geographic information systems field in the United States. The MAPPS membership spans the entire spectrum of the geospatial community, including Member Firms engaged in satellite and airborne remote sensing, surveying, photogrammetry, aerial photography, LIDAR, hydrography, bathymetry, charting, aerial and satellite image processing, GPS, and GIS data collection and conversion services. MAPPS also includes Associate Member Firms, which are companies that provide hardware, software, products and services to the geospatial profession in the United States and other firms from around the world. Independent Consultant Members are sole proprietors engaged in consulting in or to the geospatial profession, or provides a consulting service of interest to the geospatial profession.
MAPPS provides its member firms opportunities for networking and developing business-to-business relationships, information sharing, education, public policy advocacy, market growth, and professional development and image enhancement.
For more information on MAPPS, please visit www.MAPPS.org.
