Blain has been Executive Director since July of 2009.  As senior staff officer of the Association, he is responsible for all activities at the AOLS office and reports to the President and Council.  In addition to his formal roles as Secretary to Council and Treasurer of the Association, he implements decisions of Council, promotes the welfare and image of the Association, promotes liaison between all segments of the Association and other organizations, government bodies and the public and ensures the efficient day-to-day operation of the Association office.

Like Maureen (a classmate), whom you will see later in this issue of In Sight, Blain is a graduate of the first class ('76) of the Survey Science program at Erindale College, University of Toronto (UofT).  Subsequent to this, he continued his education and received a Master of Engineering Degree from UofT and an MBA from the Queen's School of Business.

Blain's career straddles both the Cadastral and the Geographic Information Management sides of the Association, which brings a unique perspective to the Executive Director's position.  He is striving to achieve his primary goal of the betterment of the profession by getting involved in projects that protect the public, enhance the perception of surveyors by the public, bring in new members, and develop a collaborative approach between existing members.

Bill joined the AOLS as Registrar in August 2000.

Bill is responsible for the administration of the Surveyors Act and Regulations, which govern the operation of the Association and its members.  His statutory duties include the processing of membership and Certificate of Authorization applications, the administration of the Complaints and Academic and Experience Requirements Committees, the conducting of Registrar's Investigations, the prosecution of Discipline cases, and the supervision of Council elections and other votes.

Bill also handles enquiries from both the public and other members regarding survey issues.  The most rewarding parts of Bill's job are the swearing in of new members and helping members of the public to have a better understanding of surveying.

bill@aols.org, 416-491-9020 / 800-268-0718 ext. 29

Maureen is a graduate of the first class ('76) of the Survey Science program at Erindale College, University of Toronto. In 1978, she was the second woman to become an Ontario Land Surveyor.

Maureen has been the AOLS Deputy Registrar and the Editor of the Ontario Professional Surveyor magazine since the fall of 2000.

She has many other responsibilities including; Secretary and Administrator of the AOLS Educational Foundation, member of the Public Awareness Committee, the Academic and Experience Requirements Committee, the Geomatics Recruitment and Liaison Committee, the Underground Utilities Committee, and she is a member of the Best Practices Committee of the Ontario Regional Common Ground Alliance.

Maureen attends various trade shows and career fairs throughout the year and liaises with the professors and staff at York University and Ryerson University.

She enjoys working with the members of the various committees, as well as meeting students and promoting the surveying profession and our association.

maureen@aols.org, 416-491-9020 / 800-268-0718 ext. 23

Lena has been with the AOLS since August 2005.

As Office Manager, her responsibilities include not only the day to day operation of the office, but also being involved in the AERC, as well as acting as a Case Manager for the Pathways Project.

Lena is responsible for processing evaluations and articling applications for students seeking their designation as an Ontario Land Surveyor.  She takes great joy in helping local and foreign candidates achieve their goals.

Also included in Lena's duties are scouting out locations for Annual General Meetings, Summer Meetings, AERC events, the Geomatics Picnic and other meetings and seminars and negotiating contracts for these events.

lena@aols.org, 416-491-9020 / 800-268-0718 ext. 25

Julia has been with the AOLS since July 2011.

Her responsibilities include working with various committees and commissions of the association. Main areas of involvement include Continuing Education, Public Awareness, Website, and AGM Planning/ Operating Committees. 

Julia is the editor of AOLS In Sight e-newsletter and manages the AOLS group on LinkedIn.

Julia enjoys working with our great volunteers - committee and task force members, Regional Group Executives, Council, - as well as enabling communication and information sharing between various stakeholders of the AOLS.

julia@aols.org, 416-491-9020 / 800-268-0718 ext. 35

Penny has been with the AOLS since June 2012.

Her position primarily involves working with the Membership Database Management and Billing Schedules for the association.  

Since joining the AOLS, she has also taken on the role of Website Administrator and is also a member of the Website Maintenance Committee.

Penny is the channel for Members' contact information changes and REACH Bulletin distributions.

Penny enjoys working with her AOLS family, along with various committees and Council, as well as taking part in the events of the Association, where she looks forward to meeting more of our members.

penny@aols.org, 416-491-9020 / 800-268-0718 ext. 28

Sheila has been with the AOLS since March 2010.

Sheila is your first point of contact with the association. She is at reception, answering the telephone, checking and responding to emails, opening the mail, and generally meeting and greeting those who come into the office.

Sheila provides secretarial support to the Registrar, the Deputy Registrar, and really all of us when we need her help. She schedules meetings/teleconferences, collects biographies for the Annual Report, issues invoices and receipts, assists with registrations for AGM and other events.

If you don't know which staff member you should be contacting, contact Sheila and she will send you in the right direction!

sheila@aols.org, 416-491-9020 / 800-268-0718 ext. 21

Vladimir has been with the AOLS since 2010.

His job includes summarizing current financial status by collecting information and processing data.

Preparation of balance sheet, profit and loss statement and other special reports helps the management to be always informed about the financial well-being of the organization. Monthly and annual Financial Statements, Payroll, Budget, Managing Funds and Investments, dealing with members' liability insurance agents are all parts of Vladimir's duties.

Accounting is said to be the language of business; however, Vladimir believes that it is at the same time close to art - an art of construing a logical picture out of plain numbers.  These numbers, says Vlad, when organized and analyzed, provide us with a great deal of information needed not only to evaluate past performances, but also to predict the future.

vladimir@aols.org, 416-491-9020 / 800-268-0718 ext. 24

As was recently announced, Tim will be joining us as the new Manager of the Survey Review Department in early September.

He currently is a member of Council and will be stepping down from this position to take on his new role. 

Tim brings a wealth of experience from his many years in private practice and from his involvement in Association activities.

We look forward to working with Tim!

David has been with the AOLS since May of 1998. 

David provides support survey knowledge to the Survey Review Department on its day to day activities. 

He is responsible for the plan selection for the Comprehensive/ Follow-up Reviews, the plan selection and field reconnaissance necessary to conduct the field examinations completed within the Comprehensive Review process, preparation of reports, and responding to general inquiries by fellow surveyors and consumers.

davidc@aols.org, 416-491-9020 / 800-268-0718 ext. 26

Herman has been with the AOLS since November 2010.

His responsibilities include coordinating deposited plans by OLS / Firms received from Land Registry Offices, as well as reviewing Comprehensive Reviews supporting documentation for missing material.

Herman assists the Survey Examiner with field examinations, so he is often out in the field, working in the fresh air all over Ontario. He is also our go-to person whenever something needs to be assembled, disassembled, moved or fixed.

herman@aols.org, 416-491-9020 / 800-268-0718 ext. 26

Isabel Smith, the Survey Review Department Administrative Officer, has retired this past July.

Isabel joined the AOLS in May 2004. Over the following 9 years, she put in a lot of hard work and dedication into the Survey Review Department.

"Issy" was also appreciated as the 

organizer of staff birthday parties and other social functions for the association office.

We thank Issy for all her hard work and companionship over the years and hope to keep seeing her at our social events.

We would like to welcome Samantha Jo Aman, who has just started this July as the new SRD Administrative Officer.

Samantha will be working extensively with the Survey Review Department ensuring both systematic and comprehensive reviews are thoroughly completed within the allotted time frame. In addition, she will manage the logs and perform accounts receivable duties associated with the AOLS stickers in conjunction with the plan submission logs.

Samantha will work closely with the consultants within the Survey Review Department. She is dedicated to serving our AOLS members as well as the members of the public.

samantha@aols.org, 416-491-9020 / 800-268-0718 ext. 33

Bruce has been involved with the Pathways Project since 2008.

This project has changed the way in which assessments are conducted for Internationally Educated Professionals (IEP) to make it more efficient, effective and fair.

The tools, processes and systems developed during the 3 phases of the project are now being incorporated into changes to the Articling Process. In addition, the changes will be useful to all potential future OLS candidates.

Bruce has over 40 years of experience in education and learning and has been involved with adult learning and educational reform for the last 30 years.  The Pathways Team is a substantial resource to the AOLS and their work will serve the members well for many years.

Maria joined the AOLS earlier this year in March as a Pathways Project Coordinator.

She is primarily involved with the Mapping New Pathways and the York-AOLS Projects.

Maria also interacts with new AOLS candidates and is helping to implement a competency based evaluation approach.