Gulfport, MS - The Mississippi Association for Spatial Technologies (MAST) is pleased to announce its incoming Board of Directors.   The board, which serves a term of two years, is chosen at the annual meeting, and manages the affairs and business of MAST.

 "We are really pleased with the experience and talent represented in the incoming MAST board," said Paul Barnes, President of MAST and GIS Manager for the Southern Mississippi Planning and Development District.  "They are already providing excellent direction for the future growth of MAST and we look forward to increasing our promotional and outreach activities." 

 MAST is a non-profit organization that promotes, educates, and provides assistance in professional development for the use and application of spatial technology in the state of Mississippi.  MAST members include software developers, environmental technicians & managers, economic developers, facility managers, oceanographers, city & county planners, tax mappers, 911 Coordinators, GIS specialists and more.  Members are offered the opportunity to meet and network with people in the Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Remote Sensing (RS) related fields.

Incoming MAST Board Members include:

 ·       Roger Colwell, Business Development/GIS Analyst with Hartman Engineering, Inc.  Roger has worked in the spatial technologies field for about twenty years from the U.S. Army to Mississippi Department of Marine Resources as well as the Stennis Space Center.

·       David Hansen, GIS Analyst with Southern Mississippi Planning and Development District.  David Hansen has worked for a variety of organizations including Coast Electric Power Association, Southern Mississippi Planning and Development District, and the City of Gulfport. His areas of experience include crime analysis, utility asset mapping and GIS based web development.

·       David Holt, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Geography with University of Southern Mississippi where he teaches GIS and Cartography.  David is also serving as the new MAST Vice President.

·       Heath Prejean, GIS Technical Lead with the Mississippi Department of Information Technology Services under the auspices of the Mississippi Coordinating Council for Remote Sensing and GIS.  Heath has been directly involved within the Geospatial community for more than 16 years doing a wide range of data collection, cartography, surveying, operations management and GIS system design and administration.

·       Scott Samson, Ph. D., Associate Extension Professor and Geospatial Extension Specialist with Mississippi State University's Geosystems Research Institute.   Scott is one of the top ESRI instructors in the nation, teaching GIS workshops to more than 300 students in a nine-month period.

·       Lisa Stone, Associate Director for the Enterprise for Innovative Geospatial Solutions, a statewide program that coordinates support activities for a cluster of geospatial companies.   Lisa has worked with Mississippi's geospatial industry since 1997.

 Remaining officers also on the board include:  Paul Barnes, MAST President.  Paul is the GIS Manager for the Southern Mississippi Planning and Development District; Mike Miller, MAST Secretary.  Mike is the Senior GIS Analyst for the City of Gulfport; and Heidi Roberts, MAST Treasurer.  Heidi is a Geospatial Developer with NVision Solutions, Inc.

 MAST membership is open to all who are interested in geospatial technologies.  Annual dues are $35.00 with the application available on-line at the MAST website, www.mastgis.org.