PDX GIS Day Strike again in 2024!

On November 20th (the 25th anniversary of GIS Day worldwide), the Portland geospatial community came together for our 12th annual PDX GIS Day event held at Ecotrust's beautiful and spacious Irving Street Studio. There’s something quite special about getting hundreds of geospatial professionals, students, and enthusiasts together in Portland each year to celebrate our favorite day of the year. The energy in the room was electric! Many new connections were made and old ties strengthened as people chatted and nibbled in this welcoming space.

The keynote speaker, Julie Stringham, inspired the crowd with her talk: DIY Tooling: A Meditation on Doing Things “The Hard Way.” Stringham compared building a small end table to her work as a geospatial developer. In both instances, she has an end goal and the skills to build what she wants, but is faced with a problem that the tools she has available to her might not do the job. While attempting to build her own end table, Stringham had the realization that “you can build tools that work for people and places that a tool, off-the-shelf, might not work for.” As a geospatial developer, Stringham builds the tools that she needs to do the job. The presentation was heartfelt, witty, and impactful.

Before the keynote presentation, attendees had opportunities to engage with our sponsors and their interactive spatial activities - Gartrell Group, NV5, 3j Consulting, Parametrix, Jarrett Walker & Associates, ASPRS, Bureau of Indian Affairs, ECOnorthwest, Cascadia Partners, Greentop Consulting, Portland Community College GIS Club, OS-GEO, and Portland State University Geography Department.  Attendees contributed to a mental map of Portland, guessed point types (bars, bike shops and more) based on their distribution in the region, and tried to identify locations based on elevation maps alone. We appreciate our sponsors' willingness to create a welcoming and fun environment for attendees. The support from our sponsors provides an amazing space, food (including GIS Day cakes!), and beverages. A special thanks to OR-URISA, who supported the event by serving as the event’s financial custodian and advertising the event through their member list.

After Julie’s presentation, excitement continued when people were awarded raffle prizes: four copies of Mt. St. Helen’s prints, each one at a different year in the 1980s post-eruption by Joe Bard; and three copies of Willamette Ways Map Series by Juupi. 

After cutting into the PDX GIS Day cakes, attendees were able to bring home a wide variety of maps that were generously donated by the Bureau of Land Management, DOGAMI, and the Washington Geological Survey. We were also able to giveaway five Esri One-Year Subscriptions to ArcGIS for Personal Use licenses donated by Esri.

Every year we call it the largest PDX GIS Day event - and it is! Yet again, it was the most attended event we have held. Our community is filled with friends, colleagues, peers, and those who are all of the above. Spirits are high throughout the evening and it always feels like a reunion, where you get to see familiar faces and also meet a few new ones.  

We appreciate the vibrant PDX GIS community, Ecotrust’s Irving Street Studio, our amazing sponsors, and the tireless efforts of the student volunteers who ensured the evening flowed without issues. We are also grateful to the dedicated planning team, whose commitment brings this event to life year after year. A huge shoutout to Hot Lips Pizza for their delicious food and for taking care of all our food and beverage needs. This gathering is a true testament to the power of community, and we’re thrilled to continue fostering connections and celebrating the Geospatial world.