The 2023 AGIC Education and Training Symposium was another great success, thanks to the tireless efforts of the AGIC Conference Committee and the generosity of the vendors.  Even though this was the 30th annual AGIC conference, this year we saw a lot of new faces.  Of the 302 that attended, nearly 40% were first-time attendees!  People came from a variety of backgrounds, including federal, state, local, and tribal governments as well as academia, private, and non-profit organizations.  Amazingly, there were some attendees that came in from other states and even Canada!

The event had a good mix of presentations, workshops, and fun events.  Attendees had the pleasure of listening to our keynote speaker Joesph Kerski, Esri Education Manager, as well as our lunchtime speakers: Steve Lewis from the US Department of Transportation and Wellington “Duke” Reiter from Arizona State University.

This was the first year the symposium hosted an AGIC Iron Cartographer event, which pitted Garrett Raubinger from the Maricopa County Accessor’s Office against Patrick “P-Dub” Dubberly from Tucson Electric Power, to create the best cartographic map they could of the fictional “El Tour De AGIC” bicycle race.  In addition, to celebrate this being the 30th AGIC conference, a new Maps & Apps competition category was added, encouraging our community to submit something to celebrate the anniversary.  To view the winners and other submissions received for the Maps and Apps contest, check out the AGIC Symposium Maps and Apps Gallery.

We want to especially thank the sponsors who came to the event and helped cover costs for the meals, events (such as Iron Cartographer), and the Tony Gonzales Student Scholarship.  Without their help, this event would not have been as successful and fun.