Event Details

Partnership with the Western Chapter of NCSS. Check-in begins at 7:30 am and concludes at 4:30 pm. Lunch is included

Topics:

• Ethics (1 PDH) & Standards of Practice (1PDH) by Tim Bowes
• Deed Fraud: Protecting the Record and Yourself by Doug Suttles
  Title and deed fraud is no longer a big-city problem — forged instruments, stolen identities, and fraudulent conveyances are showing up in western North Carolina courthouses. This session walks through how fraudulent deeds get into the record, the warning signs a surveyor sees before anyone else does, and where the surveyor's own work product becomes a tool for the fraudster. Includes a look at North Carolina's recent legislative response and what it means for how you release, recertify, and reuse survey records.
  Takeaway: know the red flags, and know how to keep your seal from being used against you.
• UgCS Mission Planning: Flying the Plan, Not the Guess by Doug Suttles
  When GPS was new, we said it was 99% planning and 1% execution. UAS is the same idea — 90% planning, 10% flying. This class covers professional mission planning in UgCS: importing your boundary, building photogrammetry and LiDAR missions, setting overlap and GSD for the product you actually need, and the terrain-following/custom DEM workflow that manufacturer apps simply can't do. Live demonstration on a real survey area.
  Takeaway: consistent ground sample distance and safe AGL over terrain that isn't flat.
• E-Recording for Surveyors by Doug Suttles
  Electronic recording changed how plats reach the record, and most surveyors are still working around it instead of with it. This session covers the submission workflow end to end, digital signatures and seals, what the register of deeds can and cannot require of you, common rejection causes and how to avoid them, and where the statutes actually draw the line. Presented by the North Carolina Electronic Recording Council for 17 years.
  Takeaway: get plats recorded the first time, and know your ground when a county asks for something the statute doesn't require.
• AI in the Surveying Practice by Doug Suttles
  Not theory — a live working session. Watch AI read and extract calls from a deed, check a plat against the recording requirements, draft a proposal, and turn a difficult client email into three ready-to-send responses. We'll cover what these tools do well, where they fail, and the professional responsibility questions that come with putting any of it near your seal.
  Takeaway: practical tools you can use Monday morning, with a clear-eyed view of the limits
  
• Surveying the Storm: Helene, Recovery, and Rebuilding Western North Carolina by Christopher Jordan
  When Hurricane Helene devastated Western North Carolina in September 2024, Holmes Geospatial was hit alongside the communities we serve. This is the story of how our firm went from storm victim to recovery partner — restoring critical water infrastructure, mapping landslides, and helping our region rebuild.

Instructors:

Tim Bowes, PLS
Tim earned his AAS Degree in Agriculture from NC State in 1984 and Surveying Certificate from Wake Technical Community College in 1988. He became a PLS in NC in 1990 and is a graduate of the Otis A. Jones Institute. In 1999. Tim co-founded BBM Associates, Inc. as a Surveying, Engineering, and Land Planning Business in the Raleigh area, where he was a Principal and Survey Operations Manager until BBM merged with VHB Engineering in 2016. He joined WithersRavenel, Inc. in 2021, where he currently serves as a Senior Delivery Officer. 

Doug Suttles, PLS
Doug Suttles assumed leadership of Suttles Surveying in 2016, but began his career in 1990 after obtaining an Associate Degree of Applied Science in Surveying Technology from Coastal Carolina Community College. He has been involved in surveying since 1986, and his expertise includes data management, AutoCAD and other software output, and information technology management. Doug has served as a Council member of the North Carolina Electronic Recordation Council for 15+ years and is also a member of the following associations and boards. The North Carolina Society of Surveyors (Foothills Chapter President), Director of the North Carolina Society of Surveyors Education Foundation, Member of the Western Piedmont Community College Advisory Panel, Member of the North Carolina Society of Surveyors Education Enhancement Committee, Chairman of the McDowell County Utility Coordinator Council (UCC), and is the co-chairman of the Burke/Caldwell Utilities Coordination Committee.

Christopher Jordan, PLS
Chris is a Geomatics Resource Specialist with Holmes Geospatial in Asheville, North Carolina, and a Licensed Professional Land Surveyor in both North Carolina and South Carolina. With over 20 years of experience spanning land surveying, engineering surveying, large-scale mapping, LiDAR, photogrammetry, and 3D scanning, Chris has built deep technical expertise across nearly every corner of the geospatial field. He holds two Associate degrees from Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College — in Surveying Technology and CAD Systems Management — and previously served as a Surveying Instructor there for two years. Chris is passionate about advancing the surveying profession through technology, documentation, and standards, and brings a hands-on, systems-oriented approach to solving complex geospatial challenges.