GIS Day Heroes are GIS Day event organizers known for dedicating countless hours of time and innumerable resources to planning presentations and demonstrations that allow everyday people to experience the extraordinary power of GIS technology.
We hope the stories featured below will inspire you and your organization to become involved in this global educational mission and encourage you to join us as we celebrate GIS Day!
No Stranger to GIS Day
Oklahoma Conservation Commission GIS Specialist Shellie Willoughby is no stranger to GIS Day. She has been involved in GIS events at the Capitol in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, for nine of the past 11 years. Participating in the first two events as an Oklahoma State University graduate student, Willoughby began taking on more responsibility and has been organizing GIS Day since 2002. Her coordination tasks are endless, including choosing and setting up displays, contacting exhibitors, and inviting dignitaries.
Sponsored by the State Geographic Information Council, the event is held on the 4th floor of the state capitol rotunda in Oklahoma City and features more than 30 exhibits representing not only state agencies but also cities, county assessors' offices, health departments, and federal agencies. GIS Compatibility: Coordination Through Cooperation served as the 2004 theme with GIS demonstrations highlighting a variety of disciplines.
The number one goal of the event each year is to educate local legislators about GIS and showcase the fact that GIS can help everyone throughout the state to make better-informed decisions. Participant Charles Brady from the City of Ardmore commented on the wonderful success of the event saying, "Overall, the attendance was up this year and the participants were a much more diverse group than ever before."
"Coordinating GIS Day at the Capitol is one of the highlights of my year," said Willoughby, "Not only do I get to see the wonderful GIS work that is going on throughout the state, it also gives me the opportunity to work with some fabulous people who I might not have the chance to work with otherwise."
Kudos and thanks go out to Ms. Willoughby for her integral roll in planning and executing this flourishing event!
Smiling next to one of the GIS Day at the Capitol booths, GIS Day Hero Shellie Willoughby shows her passion for GIS by devoting her time and talents to the coordination of this flourishing annual event.
GIS Day Faces Off in Ontario, Canada
You might think this group of Canadians are getting ready to "face off" in a friendly guys vs. gals hockey match, but the "puck" stops there as this group of smiling faces are not getting ready for hockey at all, but are instead posing to commemorate their GIS Day 2004 celebration.
The first-ever GIS Day celebration in Greater Sudbury—the GeoSmart project, part of Smart-Sudbury, an initiative of the city's Growth and Development Department—hosted 500 ninth grade students from local schools on GIS Day 2004. Deputy Mayor Ron Dupuis kicked off the November 17 event by welcoming the attending students and teachers and announcing the city's official GIS Day Proclamation.
City staff conducted educational sessions in French and English throughout the day, introducing students to the basics of GIS explaining its use in local city government functions. A map gallery was set up in the City Hall foyer, and students were asked to fill out surveys at the end of the day. The survey found that 49 percent of the students were currently using GIS in school and that 92 percent would like GIS to be part of their geography courses. Ninety-five percent of the students recommended that GIS Day be offered to ninth graders next year.
One of the event planning leads, Guy Gionet said, "The day was a huge success! I was shocked with how much the kids knew already and surprised by how much they enjoyed our event. I am glad the city was able to share GIS with a large group of people who may not have otherwise been exposed to the wonderful world of GIS."
From the sound of their survey results, there's a good chance we will hear from the City of Sudbury team of volunteers on GIS Day again this year!
The City of Greater Sudbury GIS Day Volunteers
Back row from left to right: Guy Gionet, Anne Robert, Bill Tanos, Tom Endleman, Dave Grieve, Brian Laine, Krista Carre, Alison Taylor.
Front row from left to right: Michaeline Richer, Claudette McDavid, Tina McCaffrey, Lana Mckinnon, Sue Scherzinger, Chad Bouchard
Back to School
What would you do if you could go back and visit your high school roots and teach the youth in your community about something you experienced or learned about in your adult life? What would you talk about? Dan Rose knew exactly what to do, and for three straight days last November he spent more than 100 hours preparing for and conducting five different GIS Day seminars at three schools in the school district from which he graduated in southeast Kansas. More than 150 students, including second grade, middle school, and high school, attended Rose's GIS and GPS technology lessons. The 1993 graduate of Erie High School now works as a computer-aided drafting and GIS Specialist for the Engineering Division of the city of Topeka, Kansas, Public Works Department and spends his free time volunteering for the United States Geological Survey National Map Corps project. His work was covered by several local newspapers and was greatly appreciated by the participating schools' principals and teachers.
Commenting on his GIS Day experiences Rose explained, "I want to give these kids the opportunity to experience a science in ways that I never had the chance to when I was in school. Technology has come a long way since I attended school in Erie, and I feel as though students might sometimes be missing out on this type of knowledge because of the budgetary problems facing our school systems—I'm doing my part to counteract that, by bringing the technology to them at no cost."
"If I can get just one of those students to consider this line of work, then I've done my job."
We agree and thank Dan for doing such a great job!
Erie High School graduate Dan Rose goes back to share his love of GIS with students at his alma mater.
First Honorees
In winter 2004/2005 we introduced a new feature here to honor GIS professionals for their remarkable efforts on behalf of GIS Day. This new "GIS Day Heroes" section is a place for you to showcase the creativity, talent, and dedication that GIS Day event planners and organizers have exhibited in your region.
Our first two heroes were Dr. Joseph Kerski of Denver, Colorado, and Deborah McCaffrey of Lebanon, New Hampshire. 
Congratulations!
Dr. Joseph Kerski
"Do you love maps and GIS?" This is an important question Dr. Joseph Kerski, geographer, Education/GIS at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in Denver, Colorado, has been asking on his GIS Day announcements for the past several years. 
Read more in ArcNews.
Deborah McCaffrey
In the small town of Lebanon, New Hampshire, another GIS Day hero emerged in the offices of Geographic Data Technology, Inc. (GDT), an ESRI Business Partner. In 2003, Marketing Coordinator Deborah McCaffrey organized a GIS in Literature program, which culminated in GDT employees visiting 40 schools to teach students at three different levels about GIS. Read more in ArcNews.