DIXON, IL – May 15, 2007 – Willett, Hofmann & Associates strives to keep their licensed surveyors and surveying technicians well-trained in the latest technology and software, but WHA surveyors took a step back in time when they learned about surveying in the 1830s.

The state of Illinois was first surveyed in the 1830s, and with complex parcels a surveyor of today may have to trace a property back to an original 175-year-old record.  As a result, today’s clients are better served if their surveyor knows how to read a survey from the 1830s, and fully understands the methods an earlier surveyor used to map a parcel. 

To teach modern surveyors the old ways, “Ol’ Josh,” portrayed by professional land surveyor Charles L. Bevington, appeared in 1830s period clothing to teach surveyors about the drafting and field equipment of the time period in a State of Illinois Division of Professional Regulation approved class titled “Read ‘Em, ‘Rite ‘Em & ‘Rithmetic.” 

Class participants wrote with a quill pen, used a replica surveying scale, and learned about the day-to-day hardships of an 1830s surveyor in the wilds of Illinois.  The class was created after researching diaries and notes of deputy surveyors along with the written instructions of the Surveyor General’s office, and comparing them to standards used today.  The writings, surveying and mapping of Lewis & Clark were studied, including the story of a mapper who stumbled upon two grizzly bears in 1805, the earliest known recorded sighting of a grizzly bear by an American, and fortunately a danger that WHA’s surveyors have never faced.      

Participants also learned how the English language has changed and studied a surveyor’s manual from 1768 to compare the terms of the 1700s, still used in the 1830s, with modern surveying terms of today.   

Representing the Dixon office of Willett, Hofmann & Associates was John Huseman, PLS, of Dixon; Curt Bender, PLS, of Morrison; and Chris Higgins of Sterling.  Gary Holt, PLS, of Pecatonica attended from the Rockford office of WHA, and Craig Geiser, PLS, and Jeff Rohde, both of Freeport, attended from the Freeport office. 

Willett, Hoffmann and Associates, Inc. provides land surveying, civil and structural engineering, architectural services, and grant and loan funding application preparation from offices in Dixon, Freeport, Rockford, Joliet and Sterling, Illinois and Monroe, Wisconsin. 

DIXON, IL – February 15, 2007 – Willett, Hofmann & Associates, Inc. is proud to announce that employee Curt Bender has passed his state examination to become an Illinois Professional Land Surveyor (PLS).  As part of their employee growth program, WHA encourages all employees to further their education and attain professional licensing.

To become a PLS, candidates must complete four years as a surveyor-in-training (SIT) under the guidance of a PLS and pass a written examination. The examination covers legal aspects of surveying in Illinois, such as subdivision regulations and condominium plat laws, as well as general surveying analysis and how to retrace surveys and determine property boundary locations.

Bender has been employed at WHA for 23 years, starting as a survey crew rod man and working his way up to his current position as a licensed professional land surveyor in the Dixon office of Willett, Hofmann & Associates.  Along the way he has attended various Illinois Department of Transportation Survey classes and Professional Development classes. He is also a member of the Winnebago Chapter of the Illinois Professional Land Surveyors Association and was recently elected by his peers to serve as the Chapter’s secretary/treasurer.

Bender lives in Morrison with his wife, Corinne, and their two daughters.   

Willett, Hoffmann and Associates, Inc. provides land surveying, civil and structural engineering, agricultural engineering, architectural services, and grant and loan funding application preparation from offices in Dixon, Freeport, Rockford, Joliet and Sterling, Illinois and Monroe, Wisconsin. 

FREEPORT, IL – September 25, 2006 – As part of Willett, Hofmann & Associates, Inc.’s continuing education program, engineers Mike Leslie of the Freeport office and Brian Frickenstein of the Sterling office attended the American Council of Engineering Companies’ “Illinois Department of Transportation Bridge Seminar - 2006.”

Engineer Brian Converse and engineering interns Megan Small and Dustin Damhoff of the Dixon office of Willett, Hofmann & Associates, Inc. will attend the same seminar in Springfield later this week.

Topics of the two-day seminar include the IDOT bridge program and an explanation of how highway funding works, common bridge construction issues, ground reinforcements, updates to the 2007 IDOT specifications, and case studies of existing Illinois bridges. 

All engineers in the state of Illinois are required to participate in 30 hours of continuing technical education programs every two years in order to keep their license valid. 

Willett, Hoffman and Associates, Inc. provides land surveying, civil and structural engineering, architectural services, and grant and loan funding application preparation from offices in Dixon, Freeport, Rockford, Joliet and Sterling, Illinois and Monroe, Wisconsin. 

Gastel & Associates, P.C. was founded in 1970 and has been providing professional civil engineering, agriculture engineering and land surveying in the Freeport area for the past 35 years.

Willett, Hofmann & Associates, Inc. was founded October 1, 1966 as the product of the merger between two Dixon firms: C.K. Willett, Consulting Engineers, established in 1935, and Robert Hofmann and Associates, established in 1953.  For 70 years Willett, Hoffman and Associates has been providing land surveying, civil and structural engineering, architectural services, and grant and loan funding application preparation from offices in Dixon, Rockford, Joliet and Sterling, Illinois.

Ronald J. Steenken, P.E., S.E. serves as the president and general manager, with Craig L. Geiser, P.L.S. and Mike Leslie, P.E, S.E. serving as co-managers of the Freeport and Monroe offices.

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