MRGAC meeting next Friday, December 18th

NOTE - the meeting time has been updated:

Date: December 18, 2009

Time: 8:30am - 10:00am

Location:

• Asheville - Buncombe Technical Community College
• Balsam Building
• Room 002 - come in the front bottom entrance at the bottom of the large glass section of the building.

• Directions and campus map - http://www.abtech.edu/maps/asheville.asp

Meeting Agenda

8:30 - Call meeting to order

8:40 - Presentation

"GIS as Land Management tool, Science Platform, and Advocacy Base"

Drew Stephens (The GIS Institute)

9:15 - Presentation (2 parts)

Phenology - Tracking Seasonal Change across the Continental U.S.

Stephen Creed (EFETAC, U.S. Forest Service)

Bringing phenology datasets into viewers for online mapping

Matt Hutchins (UNC Asheville's NEMAC)

9:45 - Update on statewide GIS coordination activities. Gene Hume

9:55 - Quick thoughts on the meeting format and closing

• Training to follow immediately after meeting.

• Maps and directions to campus and the Balsam Building - http://www.abtech.edu/maps/asheville.asp

December MRGAC meeting followed by training

The next MRGAC meeting will be held on Friday, December 18th at A-B Tech. The meeting will run from 9:00am - 10:15am (earlier and shorter than usual) and will be followed by a CURISA sponsored training event.

The training information is below:

Date: Friday, December 18, 2009 (following an abbreviated MRGAC meeting)

Time: 10:30 to 4:30 pm Following MRGAC Meeting

(Lunch to be determined)

Location: AB-Tech Computer Lab / Main Campus - Balsam 108

Instructor: Kent Rothrock from Highland Mapping

Cost: $95 for member $145 for non-members (registration fee will support the Carol Paxton BCT Student Scholarship Fund)

This course will be a one day mix of lecture, presentation, and hands-on exercises in the creation and basic management of SQL Server-based ArcSDE Geodatabases. An introduction to SQL Server databases will be provided, focusing on the SQL Server 2008 model. ArcSDE Technology will be introduced and basic concepts explored.

Additional lecture and exercises will cover the following topics:

• How to create ArcSDE geodatabases.
• The ArcSDE Repository “Under the Hood” - how SQL and SDE work together to manage geographic data sets.
• Creating and Loading Data (vector and raster).
• Managing users – how to create logins and grant access to data sets.
• Versioning – how it works and how to manage correctly.
• Replication – how it works and how to use correctly.
• Managing spatial and attribute indexes.
• Tuning the geodatabase.
• Best practices for managing ArcSDE databases.
• Advanced topics (time permitting).

Student questions will be welcomed and other related topics can be explored as time permits. As designed, the workshop will be conducted using SQL Server Express and Personal SDE licensing. While these types of databases do differ from full-blown Enterprise databases, most of the underlying concepts related to ArcSDE are the same. During the lecture, the instructor will make note of critical differences and demo accordingly (Instructor will have Enterprise SQL and SQL Express on their PC).

Registration: Contact Kathryn Brewer via email at kathrynb@msdbc.org to have a registration form sent to you. Reserve your spot early as space in this workshop is limited.

Next MRGAC Meeting: 6-12-09

The next MRGAC Meeting will be held Friday, June 12th, from 10am to noon in Hendersonville, hosted by the City of Hendersonville and Henderson County. The agenda has been posted:

http://groups.google.com/group/mrgac/web/meeting-agendas

Stay tuned for more details..........

MRGAC Meeting - 3-27-09

The Next Mountain Regional GIS AllianCe Meeting will be Friday, March 27th, at the Metropolitan Sewerage District of Buncombe County (MSD), hosted by Kathryn Brewer. An exciting agenda is planned, as we meet for the first time in over a year. You can find the agenda in "Meeting Agendas" on the right side-bar link. Hope to see everyone there.

MRGAC December Meeting Details

Please plan to attend the 4th 2007 quarterly MRGAC Meeting, December 14th, 2007, at the CGIA offices in the DENR building in Swannanoa. Click here for an agenda:

http://groups.google.com/group/mrgac/web/meeting-agendas

Please note that we are allocating about 20 minutes to an open discussion and networking period – as requested by everyone at our last meeting. Part of that time will be for you to submit questions or thoughts to the group and hopefully generate a dialogue. Part of the time will be on break when you can network directly with other MRGAC members. Please bring your questions and ideas that you want to share so that we can make this time productive and useful.

Lunch Plans:

At 12:00, we will adjourn and drive to the historic Monte Vista Hotel in Black Mountain. It is about a 7-10 minute drive east on Hwy 70 from our office. We ate there the last time CGIA hosted MRGAC. They offer a full buffet with lots of choices. The meal includes dessert and a drink (tea, probably coffee; not sure about soft drinks.) Unfortunately, since the date falls within their “holiday season”, the cost of the buffet is $10.99 plus tax. This is $3 more than they charge the rest of the year. I realize that this may be a bit rich for some folks but presumably the fare will measure up to the increased cost. Hopefully you can look at it as a holiday treat. If not, you are on your own in beautiful downtown Swannanoa.

Please notify Tom Tribble (tom.tribble@ncmail.net) if you plan to have lunch at the Monte Vista. He needs to give them a count!

Directions: http://groups.google.com/group/mrgac/web/event-documents



View Larger Map

Collect GISP Points at GIS Day Events and MRGAC Meetings

GISP certification points can be collected through participation with a GIS Day event. They can also be collected for participation with MRGAC quarterly meetings. Below is the breakdown of available points:

• Conference / Event Attendance - 0.1 EDU-3
• Event Participation / Moderation (Presentation) - 1 CON X
• Event Organizer - 2 CON W

You can collect points for all three categories, for instance, if you organize, present at, and attend the event, you could collect 3 CON points and 0.1 EDU-3 points. The more you participate, the more you earn.

As for documentation, point claims of 2 points or less do not require documentation until December 31st, 2008. At that time, a letter from the event organization would be sufficient. We have talked about some official letter head for MRGAC, perhaps we can discuss all of this at the December meeting. For more information, please visit:

http://www.gisci.org/application_materials.aspx.

MRGAC December Meeting, Save the Date!

The fourth 2007 quarterly MRGAC meeting will be held on Friday, December 14th, from 10:00am - 12:00pm hosted by Tom Tribble and the NC Center for Geographic Information and Analysis (NC CGIA) at the DENR Building in Swannanoa. Please mark your calendars and plan to attend if possible. We have actually not met as a group since April.

If you have program ideas, please contact Tom Tribble at tom.tribble@ncmail.net or 828-296-4600. A meeting agenda, lunch details, and directions will be posted later and sent through the MRGAC Google group e-mail. Stay tuned!