Reston, VA, December 5, 2007- Sessions on technical trends in GIS, remote sensing, photogrammetry, LIDAR, and new and potentially disruptive technologies will be among agenda topics at the MAPPS annual winter conference, to be held January 31-February 4, 2008 at the Westin Mission Hills Resort and Spa in Rancho Mirage (Palm Springs), California.

Conference attendees will learn about business trends, such as teaming and partnering, raising capital support for firm's growth, issues in professional services contracting, potential new markets and the challenges facing the geospatial profession. Additionally, such topics as imaging processing, LIDAR, SAR and automated elevation extraction, data fusion, software for processing LIDAR data, UAVs and GPS navigation will be covered.

"MAPPS meetings are a unique and special experience, bringing together the principals, owners, partners, and senior professionals from the community's leading firms. The Winter Conference sessions feature the experts who can help professionals understand important issues that affect the multi-million dollar decisions made by private firms including the purchasing and implementation of aerial sensors, aircraft, data conversion and processing systems, and other hardware, software and products. These meetings are designed to spur thoughtful, in-depth analysis by fellow professionals," said John M. Palatiello, MAPPS Executive Director.

The preliminary program also includes updates on important decisions made by the government that affect the private geospatial profession. "No organization comes close to MAPPS in monitoring government policies and activities, or is more effective in lobbying for a favorable outcome for the private sector," Palatiello said. "All this information is presented in a-one-of-a-kind setting. MAPPS meetings are known for their relaxed atmosphere, beautiful settings, cordial interaction and most notably, fun! MAPPS has created a unique conference structure, which emphasizes networking and business-to-business relationship building. The meeting experience creates an environment which provides principals and decision makers of the nation's top private geospatial firms with information and education that positively affect the business aspects of their professional practice."

Early registration and the preliminary conference schedule can be found by visiting the MAPPS website, http://www.mapps.org/WinterMeetingAnnouncement.asp. The conference is open to all private firms in the geospatial profession, including those that are not currently MAPPS members. However, there is a significant savings for MAPPS member firm principals.

About MAPPS
Formed in 1982 and currently celebrating the 25th anniversary of the association, MAPPS is the only national association exclusively comprised of private firms in the remote sensing, spatial data and geographic information systems field in the United States. Current MAPPS memberships span the entire spectrum of the geospatial community, including Active Member Firms engaged in satellite and airborne remote sensing, surveying, photogrammetry, aerial photography, hydrography, charting, aerial and satellite image processing, GPS, and GIS data collection and conversion services. MAPPS also includes Associate Member Firms, which are companies that provide hardware, software, products and services to the geospatial profession in the United States and other firms from around the world. MAPPS provides its members opportunities for networking and developing business-to-business relationships, information sharing, education, public policy advocacy, market growth, and professional development and image enhancement. For more information on MAPPS, please visit www.MAPPS.org.

---

Contact
Nick Palatiello
MAPPS Marketing Communications Manager
703-787-6996