GIS Day - November 18, 2009 - Belmont County, Ohio

The Belmont County Commissioners issued a Proclamation for GIS Day at their regular morning meeting on November 18.  This marked the ninth consecutive year GIS Day was observed in Belmont County.  Commissioners noted the additional information available from year to year and its importance in efficient government.  County Engineer Fred F. Bennett, PE, PS, stressed the need for staff, the importance of keeping GIS data up-to-date, and the value of GIS in a disaster situation.  Frank Hodorowski of the Cumberland Trail Genealogical Society noted that online historic tax map scans are an asset for those pursuing their ancestral roots.  Commissioners were complimentary of Belmont County GIS’s involvement in various professional societies and organizations.

A presentation was made to the Belmont-Bethesda-Morristown Rotary that evening.  Earlier presentations had been made to the Barnesville Kiwanis on October 19 and the Barnesville Elementary Second Grade on October 22.

Delaware County's GIS team has been a GIS Day participant since this event started in 1999. In previous years, the event was held at the JVS North in 1999, from 2000 to 2006 at Dempsey Middle School, and in 2007 at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio.

This is the 10th year that Delaware County is celebrating the Geography Awareness Week and GIS Day.

The Geography Awareness Week is sponsored by the National Geographic Society, the American Association of Geographers (AAG), Environmental Systems Research Institute, Inc. (ESRI), the Urban and Regional Information Systems Association (URISA), and the University Consortium for Geographic Information Science (UCGIS). Since 1987, the National Geographic Society has sponsored Geography Awareness Week to promote geographic literacy in schools, communities, and organizations, with a focus on the education of children. This event was intended to promote the understanding of geography in schools around the world.

For the past 9 years, Delaware County GIS team has been visiting various schools within Delaware County educating students of various ages about GIS, Geography and GIS Day. This year, the GIS office held an open house, a map gallery, and several informational slide shows and games in the County's Hayes Service Administration Building. Over 250 students from Schultz and Conger Elementary Schools and Willis Middle School participated in the event. Volunteers from several other entities such as Delaware Soil & Water Conservation District, Delaware General Health District, and City of Dublin attended and/or presented.

The 2008 GIS story was showcased in Delaware's daily newspaper, the Delaware Gazette, on November 20th. To view the article click here.