On Oct. 20, 2005, Cooper Aerial Surveys Co. sent Mr. Philip Gershkovich (product manager) and Ms. Shaun Loretz (director of communications) to Baton Rouge in order to attend the LAGIC meeting. The Louisiana Geographical Information Center, founded by the LGISC (Louisiana GIC Council), is held monthly at different locations in Louisiana to discuss upcoming events and issues that deal with GIS. Headed by Bill Blair of the LA House of Representatives, the council includes members from the LA DOTD, DEQ, depts. of education, recreation, environmental quality, social services, health and hospitals, and staff members from LSU, as well as David Gisclair of the LA senate.

Among the topics discussed were issues dealing with the sharing of information and government funding. Daniel Cotter was present from FEMA to give a presentation and answer questions and concerns from the council members. A new database has been created and organized through LSU to help ensure the sharing and exchange of information for public use. This database will be available for use in the near future. This creation was made in hopes to organize information that is being published and filter through to the most professional and credible sources. With FEMA sending out over 8,000 maps per day, there is a high demand for information, and the new LSU database will do its best to keep up.

Government funding was another large issue at the meeting. Most organizations are lacking the needed funding to proceed with projects and get the information needed to help in the disaster relief. One presentation informed LAGIC of the inaccurate control points in southern Louisiana due to destruction of the points. Since the Hurricanes hit Louisiana, almost a third of the control points were either destroyed or shifted out of place. There are now a new set of control points for GIS, but there are substantially fewer than before. This problem extended to most of the agencies that were present. There is a high need for help and information, but little funding to back it up.
The purpose of Cooper Aerial getting involved in the LAGIC meeting was to offer the council its help and assistance wherever needed. There seems to be only a small amount of companies flying over Louisiana, so Cooper Aerial wanted to jump in and lend a hand.

About Us
Cooper Aerial Surveys Co. is an enthusiastic, multi-disciplinary aerial mapping company that caters to all industries including engineering, architectural, and mining firms; real-estate developers; and municipal, local, and state government agencies. Our expertise includes topographic and orthographic mapping methods through state-of-the-art photogrammetry technologies providing extremely-high resolution imagery. Backed by highly-qualified and customer-oriented geoapatialists, our projects are achieved with the utmost professionalism and efficiency to uphold our highest of quality standards. Cooper Aerial also utilizes all aspects of the mapping process in order to create incredible accuracy in production as well as the final product. With our knack for excellent customer relations, Cooper Aerial can help you accomplish the right solutions for your needs.