Horizons to present at largest GIS event of the year

Rapid City, SD (June 7, 2006) – Horizons' Becky Morton and Michael Schonlau, GIS coordinator for the City of Omaha-Douglas County, Nebraska, will co-present a moderated session at the twenty-sixth Annual ESRI International User Conference. The moderated session entitled “Partnerships: Data Sharing” will take place on Thursday, August 10, 2006 at 1:30 pm at the San Diego Convention Center.

Schonlau will share his experience working with the Metropolitan Area Planning Agency (MAPA) to acquire, store and distribute GIS data among a consortium of 16 local associations and government agencies. MAPA shares goals and resources in addressing both local and regional issues for sixty-four member organizations from five counties in Nebraska and Iowa. According to Schnolau, “This highly successful coordination of efforts proved to be a catalyst in the Metropolitan Omaha area’s drive towards shared GIS services and resources.”

Horizons, Inc., an aerial mapping firm located in South Dakota, provided LiDAR mapping, floodplain mapping, ADS40 digital data acquisition, "true ortho" production, and survey and planimetric updates for the MAPA program. Becky Morton, CMS, and Horizons regional manager of sales, will offer insights into the project’s success. “We [Horizons] are proud to be associated with the MAPA project and are thrilled at the opportunity to share the program’s success in a venue that offers the potential to reach so many GIS professionals,” said Morton. The ESRI Annual User Conference is probably one of the world’s largest and most innovative assemblies of professionals who use or support GIS tools in their organizations. For information about the conference visit www.esri.com.

About Horizons, Inc.
Horizons, Inc. has provided high-quality photogrammetric mapping services since 1968. Based in Rapid City, South Dakota, with an office in Minnesota, Horizons serves public- and private-sector clients in government, mining, oil and gas, and engineering. Capabilities include digital and film-based aerial imagery acquisition, LiDAR acquisition and processing, digital orthophotography, topographic/planimetric mapping and GIS services. (www.fugrohorizonsinc.com)

About MAPA The Metropolitan Area Planning Agency is a voluntary association of local governments created in 1967 under the terms of an interlocal agreement to provide a forum for coordinating local planning and development activities. As an organization of local governments, MAPA exists to help member governments address problems which are regional in scope and which may cross jurisdictional boundaries. (www.mapacog.org)