Vice President Ken Allred receives Citation at Canadian
Institute of Geomatics Conference
Toronto, Canada, 23-25 May 2007
Vice President Ken Allred represented FIG at the 2007 annual
conference of the Canadian Institute of Geomatics in Toronto, Canada in May,
2007. The conference theme was Geomatics for Disaster and Risk Management.
In the keynote speech to the conference Ryerson University President Dr.
Sheldon Levy related how a system of GPS (global positioning
systems), GIS (Geographic Information Systems) and cell phone technology
could have played a key role in managing the impending disaster at Virginia
in March. Society has changed so much that students using cell phones were
relaying the news across campus faster than either the media or the
administration. The administration in turn was sending contradictory
messages to the student body telling them in one breath to stay put and in
the other breath to get out of the way of danger. In Levy’s view, if cell
phone messages had been linked to a GPS/GIS system, administration would
have been able to send different messages to different location based cell
phone users alerting them of the danger based on their location. He
encouraged geomatics professionals to work with educational institutions to
assist them in adapting the new technology to prevent or minimize disaster
situations.
Ken Allred was the recipient of the Canadian Institute of Geomatics (CIG)
President’s Citation at their gala dinner on May 24th. Ken received the
award in appreciation for his special contribution to the Canadian Geomatics
Profession through his active international role in FIG. He has represented
Canada in various capacities in the International Federation of Surveyors
(FIG) since 1982 when he was appointed as a delegate to Commission 1 –
Professional Practice and Standards. Since that time he has served a four
year term as chair of Commission 1, as head of the Canadian delegation and
more recently was elected as one of four vice presidents of FIG. In
presenting the award CIG President Terry Tarle stated that Ken has
done an outstanding job representing the Institute often with little or no
assistance or backup.
Allred has also been involved in Canadian professional affairs having
served on the CIG Editorial Board, President of the Canadian Council of Land
Surveyors and more recently as President of the Alberta Land Surveyors
Association in 2002. He has also been involved in his community having
served as an Alderman on the Council of the City of St. Albert for 15 years.
He remains active on a number of adjudicative boards and tribunals and
maintains a small consulting practice.
The Canadian Institute of Geomatics is a technical society that
represents the broad field of geomatics professionals and technologists
across Canada. President Terry Tarle from Telus Geomatics in Ottawa is
stepping down after a two year term of office. The new president is Robert Parkinson from Agriculture Canada in Calgary.
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