TSPS NOV. FINAL - Flipbook - Page 20
FEATURED MEMBER
Michael Hoover, RPLS, LSLS, CFM
PRESIDENT ELECT
How/Why did you get into surveying?
My close friend Randy McClendon (RPLS 4079, Tejas Surveying, recently retired) convinced me to
help him out during the summer of 1987 while his Crew chief attended Marine Reserve Duty in
California. I was a Navy veteran (1975-1977, USS Howard W. Gilmore AS-16, and USS Saratoga
CV-60) still attending the University of Houston and working intermittently in construction. He said he
thought I might enjoy the work. Was he ever right! On day 1 he dragged me out to the early phase of
a construction site – I was totally lost setting hubs and tacks. Nevertheless, I caught on fairly quickly
and I soon learned to love the thrill of the hunt during field work exercises, the art of drafting, the
history of the research efforts, the discussions about law cases and legal principles, and the
interesting interaction with clients. I haven’t looked back, ever! I didn’t earn the RPLS license until
2000 for a variety of reasons, but it was worth the wait – the experience I gained over that time was
invaluable. I ultimately earned the LSLS license in 2012 – it seemed like the right thing to do.
Mike and Ray Huffman, Seacoast Surveyors, with an
1914 City of Houston field notes showing location of
Sid Bouse, Bill Merten, Mike Hoover at Seacoast
old pipe monument from rural Galveston County
SE corner of John Austin survey downtown Houston
Surveyors office in Crystal Beach, Bolivar Peninsula
Why did you join TSPS?
I knew fairly early in my career that I would want to be a member of the State Society. To me, it was
a no-brainer. I wanted to meet others in my profession, and to learn from them. Why wouldn’t you
want to make new friends with your colleagues, trade stories on your latest projects, learn new tricks
of the trade, hear about the latest gossip, and in general benefit from that interaction amongst
peers? At the first TSPS meeting I attended I was a little intimidated. I didn’t know anyone! The
featured speaker was a gentlemen discussing Lyme disease. He had indeed been attacked by a tick
and contracted the disease. It turns out that he survived and was okay, but he did convey to us the
seriousness of the threat. I later learned to hate both ticks and chiggers, maybe chiggers worse than
ticks! I don’t know why, but the memory of that meeting is etched into my memory. I’ve been to
hundreds of meetings since then – and I still enjoy every one of them!
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