The Concise 2015 Year in Review...A Good Year!

Professionally

• ~ 300 maps made...roughly
• Numerous analyses done, some big, some small
• 15 clients
• Co-authored Mastering QGIS with Packt Publishing
• Authored Discover QGIS with Locate Press (in press)
• Updated the GeoAcademy Curriculum twice: once to QGIS 2.8 and once to QGIS 2.12
• Learned Git
• Won the 2015 New Mexico Geographic Information Council Green Chile Outstanding Service Award
• Won the GeoForAll Global Educator of the Year Team Award
• Voted in as an OsGeo Charter Member
• Continued to migrate all GIS work to QGIS
• 3 Community Health Map workshops conducted in Charleston, SC
• Presented at FOSS4G-NA in San Francisco
• Presented at the first QGIS conference in Nødebo, DK
• Presented at the New Mexico Geographic Information Council Fall Meeting
• 10 blog entries at  http://communityhealthmaps.nlm.nih.gov/
• Taught GIS 2020 – Introduction to Open Source GIS at Central New Mexico Community College
• Taught 2 GIS courses at UNM Continuing Education
• Taught 5 FOSS4G online courses for Del Mar College
• Became recertified as a GISP for the second time

Personally

• Celebrated my grandmothers 100^th birthday
• Travelled to Denmark, Vermont, New York City, San Francisco, Colorado, Bisbee AZ and Charleston SC.
• Worked out 184 times...not bad for an aging GeoHipster!
• Walked 370 miles...ah technology!
• Climbed my 20^th 14’er (Mt Yale)...a work in progress
• PR bench press – 215lb 3x
• PR dead lift – 300lb – 5x
• PR back squat – 205lb – 4x

NMGIC 'Green Chile' Outstanding Service Award

At the most recent New Mexico Geographic Information Councilmeeting I was honored to be awarded the NMGIC Green Chile Outstanding Service Award. Dr. Ken Boykin, from the New Mexico Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, won the Red Chile award. Not sure which is hotter:) 

I'd like to thank NMGIC for this award. I was very surprised and as I told the NMGIC President, "I feel like I'm just getting started!"

Dr. Ken Boykin and Kurt Menke

Geo For All Announces Nominations for Global Educator of the Year!

As a part-time educator it is exciting to be nominated for the Geo For All Global Educator of the Year Award! I've been passionate about promoting FOSS4G for many years and am excited to see it gaining more traction in eductional programs. I was fortunate to be nominated for a course I developed, and have been teaching for the last 6 years, at Central New Mexico Community College. I have also been part of the GeoAcademy team. I developed 3 of the 5 courses and have been teaching them on line through Del Mar College. Our team was nominated for that work as well. As we say everyone can 'Steal this curriculum for Free'! https://foss4geo.wordpress.com/