Volume 27 • No 04 • 2004
ISSN 0742-468X • Since 1978
On-line Since 2000
GITA Gets Grant
GITA, the The Geospatial Information & Technology Association (www.gita.org), is an organization in transition. As a matter of fact, it has been from day one - I know because I was there.
The age old question has been just what to do with the organization. Over the years it maintained a sensible approach to being an educational institute. It stayed small and concentrated on it core constituents: power utilities and pipeline companies.
One of the difficulties of running an organization is that management changes every year. The glue that holds it together is the full time executive director, Bob Samborski. He isn't there to come up with brilliant ideas on his own, then charge off and change the world. He is there to provide consistency and ensure the implementation of certain strategic goals.
No geographer left behind?
GITA is, in the end, an organization dedicated to educating people about GIS. Sure, there is a bit of a trade show feeling at the annual meeting, but behind all those closed doors are some of the most informative educational sessions you will find.
Make no mistake, GITA is not a users group. If you want to learn the inner secrets of Arc_something, or G_something else, you need to attend a users group meeting. However, what you will learn there is all about the product you purchased. Believe me, no one at an ESRI users conference is going to tell how much better a certain Intergraph feature might be. My experience tells me that Intergraph will not tell you about anyone else's system either.
So if you want to learn about introductory theory to GIS, basic usage and future trends, GITA is the place to go. Speakers are told, in no uncertain terms, to keep the message educational. GITA is so careful about the message that they provide a PowerPoint template. It provides a uniform look to all presentations and displays the GITA logo instead of the individual company logo. This means that the presentation is about the contents, not the flashy marketing message that usually gets blended into a slide show.
Getting to them young
Everyone understands that the future of our country is in the hands of our children. We may shutter at the thought, but it is nonetheless true. So where will the future GIS experts learn about the technology - from a supplier or from an educator?
Xcel Energy Foundation in Denver (you may remember the old Public Services Company of Colorado - in the pre-merger days of utilities), just provided GITA with a $7,500 educational grant. GITA will use the funds to expand and enhance its educational offerings to schoolchildren and young adults in middle school, high school, and undergraduate studies
GITA spokesman Ken Goering said that the U.S. Bureau of Labor named GIS as a sector that is expected to experience rapidly increasing job demand in the upcoming years.
“We are thrilled and honored to be recipients of a 2004 grant from the Xcel Energy Foundation,” said GITA Director of Operations Henry Rosales. “GITA will use the funds to educate people about the benefits of GIS as well as expose young people to the many wonderful job opportunities available to them in this rapidly expanding industry. We are deeply grateful to the Xcel Energy Foundation for their assistance in this effort by providing this generous gift.”
Conclusion
Thanks Xcel!
| 
