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an executive officer of CLSA and during the next 5-7 years I educational programs. She was with WFPS from the beginning
relied on Dorothy regularly. Her wisdom and experience with the and has fostered this regional group to provide a collective voice
association was beyond compare and she seemed to always have for the Western states. Our profession is better off for all that
an idea on how to approach or solve a problem, sometimes even Dorothy has given us. Thank you for your dedication.
before it was apparent there would be a problem. Rarely would a
week go by without us speaking about CLSA issues during my year From Carl C. DeBaca_
as president and we often discussed other worldly issues. I have been acquainted with Dorothy Calegari for a long time. In
that regard I consider myself to be very lucky. I recall getting to
Dorothy’s commitment to excellence coupled with her dedication know Dorothy on a quarterly basis over the course of my first
and professionalism place her in a league of her own. I proudly couple years serving on the Board of Directors for CLSA. Hard as
display an award that I received from CLSA, “The Dorothy Calegari it may be to imagine now, I was very shy and did not participate in
distinguished service award”, and I must say that without the any of the great debates of the day when I first came to the Board. I
leadership, mentorship and relationship with Dorothy, I would not preferred to sit back and watch the action and learn. What I saw at
be where I am today. every BOD meeting was Dorothy deftly running the business of that
organization with both a gentle touch and firm sense of direction.
I know we have all had the opportunity to work with and be Imagine trying to keep 40 plus Directors moving forward, making
around many fine people throughout or careers and some of us travel and lodging and meeting accommodations, organizing
have even experienced being around a hand full of great people. conferences, keeping track of all those committees and… taking the
For those of us who are able to know Dorothy and consider her time to make the rookie directors feel like they were welcome and
our friend, we truly have experienced greatness. As a non-land could contribute to the group. She seemed tireless and endlessly
surveyor Dorothy Calegari deserves to be in the Land Surveyor’s helpful. They say there is no such thing as a dumb question but I
Hall of Fame and she truly is A Living Legend. beg to differ, because I had lots of them. And she answered them
all, like we had been friends for years. And in no time, that’s how I
From Rita Lumos_ felt about her, like we had been friends for years.

Once upon a time, long ago, in the very early days of NALS, a She somehow always made time to assess every member of
very wise officer or board of directors hired Dorothy and her the Board and help them find a role where they could be most
Association Management company to be the executive of the effective, using subtle suggestions to read this, or look into
association. that. Of course, her real job was to keep the ship sailing straight,
but she also made better sailors out of all those serving on the
Dorothy would never offer an opinion on any matter being ship. What a positive outlook she always has! It was Dorothy
discussed or debated by the board or members, even when asked. that found the appropriate committees for me to serve on, and
She quietly led from behind, offering expert advice on procedure she who got me assigned to review the NAFTA MRD (a story
and requirements. She was always gracious, cheerful, and deadly for another time), she who gently pushed me into editing the
efficient. I’m sure she saved the association from more than California Surveyor magazine, and she who suggested I should
one catastrophe by handling NALS’ business, membership, and serve as the NSPS Governor for CLSA, which led to… oh hell, if I’m
conferences. not careful this will turn into a blame-fest. Ha Ha!

From time-to-time folks would complain that the association Over the years Dorothy and NALS have had a fantastic relationship.
had an out of state mailing address or that the service was She was our first Executive Director when the organization was
expensive. Wiser heads normally prevailed and Dorothy young and fresh. Foote, Mott and the rest of that bunch always
remained. Even though there might have been a few gaps in her said the organization would not have stayed afloat if not for her
tenure, her influence remains. Her knowledge and organization help. I wonder… how much better off would NALS be now, if we
of conferences and dealing with venues, vendors, etc., is had never let her get away? Many of the problems that NALS faced
unparalleled. in the Nineties and early Oughties would never have happened. I
suspect that her work with both NALS and CLSA directly led to her
I am proud to count Dorothy as a friend and mentor in the ways long years serving as the central office for the Western Federation
of professional associations. Her knowledge and manner of doing of Professional Land Surveyors, which has been a steady force
business have served me well in my own adventures. for good and a role model for other regional and national survey
organizations. She is well thought of by a lot of surveyors in a lot of
From Matt Gingerich_ western states, and for good reason.

Dorothy Calegari has been a tremendous asset to those of us In 2015 we at NALS were extremely fortunate to secure the
who survey in the Western States. She has served as Executive services of Dorothy and her firm, AMS to serve as our central
Director of the California Land Surveyor’s Association, Nevada office. We were pretty small potatoes compared to other
Association of Land Surveyors, and the Western Federation of organizations she had run but that didn’t seem to matter and I
Professional Surveyors. Having served as Chair of both NALS and defy anyone to suggest that we haven’t received less than the
WFPS I can attest to the professional manner she has kept these full attention and commitment from Dorothy and Crissy since
organizations moving in a positive direction. Each year brings a they came on board. Which brings me to another very important
revolving cast of characters on the board for these organizations, point. Dorothy hired Crissy way back when, and then provided
and Dorothy has been the constant rock to keep them steady. such great mentoring to her, like maybe she was grooming her
Her dedication to the organizations has benefited the profession eventual replacement, which I guess she was. I saw those early
of land surveying by providing quality first rate conferences and years when Crissy was in more of CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE u

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