September 27, 2011 -- Camp Hill, PA - PA-MAPPS, the Pennsylvania chapter of MAPPS, named officers and directors for the association's Board of Directors and set priorities for the chapter for 2011-2012.

The board of directors of PA-MAPPS consists of the following members and positions:

• President: Stephen Ellis, GISP, GeoDecisions a divison of Gannett Fleming, Inc. (Camp Hill, PA)
• President-Elect: Rob Rowe, GISP, RETTEW Associates, Inc. (State College, PA)
• Secretary: Pete Quigley, Keddal Aerial/Kucera International (Pittsburgh, PA)
• Treasurer: Andrew Pickford, CP, GISP, BAE Systems (Mt. Laurel, NJ)
• Director: Michael Shillenn, CP, Photo Science, Inc. (West Chester, PA)

"I am honored to be part of this great organization. There is tremendous opportunity in the coming year to move the mission and goals of PA-MAPPS forward. We have a lot of great member firms dedicated to strengthening the geospatial profession within Pennsylvania. I will do all that I can to provide the needed leadership," said Ellis.

The board of directors also announced the establishment of the legislative, surveying and workforce development committees. The legislative committee will work closely with other stakeholders in Pennsylvania to continue to make a geospatial coordination council a reality. The surveying committee will help foster relationships with surveyors and their professional society in the Comonwealth. The workforce development committee will work with universities and non-profit organizations to collaborate on internships and curricula that will prepare students for careers in the geospatial field.

About PA-MAPPS

PA-MAPPS, the first state chapter of MAPPS, is open to private firms in in photogrammetry, satellite and airborne remote sensing, hydrography, aerial and satellite image processing, surveying, GPS, and GIS data collection and conversion services in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. PA-MAPPS has two membership categories; Member Firms: geospatial service firms with offices and employees based in Pennsylvania and Associate Members: companies that do business in but not having a physical office or businesses in the Commonwealth, or those that provide hardware, software, products and services to the geospatial profession in the Keystone State. Firms in PA MAPPS are also members of MAPPS.

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, mobile mapping, LIDAR, building information models (BIM), 3D mapping, 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 180+ 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.