Mississippi Board of Licensure for Professional Engineers and Surveyors
Front row from left: Blake Collins, PS; Carey Hardin, PE; Dr. Dennis D. Truax, PE (retired Board member)
Second row from left: Clint Tidwell, PS; Patrick Martino, PS; Steven A. Twedt, PE and William "Bill" Mitchell, PE / PS
President's Message:
The Board voted in a new slate of officers at it's June 3, 2026, Board meeting. Among those elected was Blake Collins, as the Board President. Blake has previously served on the Board as it's Secretary / Treasurer and most recently as Board Vice President.
Blake was appointed to the Board on June 29, 2021, by Governor Tate Reeves. He has been licensed as a Professional Surveyor in the State of Mississippi since May 2004 and is a Principal Owner and the Survey Manager for the Pickering Firm, Incorporated with offices located in Flowood, Mississippi.
In 2023, Blake wrote an article for the PepTalks newsletter where he asked the question "Has technology made the surveying profession obsolete?". You can read his article in the September 2023 PepTalks newsletter found at this link.
That article has since been reprinted twice by the following:
New York State Association of Professional Land Surveyors (2025)
The American Surveyor magazine (2024)
The Board is composed of nine (9) members - six (6) licensed professional engineers and three (3) licensed professional surveyors who are not licensed professional engineers. Board Members are appointed by the Governor. Each appointment is made from a list of nominees furnished by the Mississippi Engineering Society (MES) and by the Mississippi Association of Professional Surveyors (MAPS). Appointments are for a term of four (4) years, and each Board Member is eligible for re-nomination and reappointment.
The Board shall annually elect the following officers: President, Vice President and Secretary. Officers elected for the 2026 - 2027 fiscal year are identified below:
Board Members:
Blake Collins, PS Board President Brandon, Mississippi Post 7, 1st District Central Appointment expires 07/01/2024 | Steven A. Twedt, PE Board Vice President Biloxi, Mississippi Post 5, 2nd District, Southern Appointment expires 05/31/2020 | William "Bill" Mitchell, PE/PS Board Secretary / Treasurer Gulfport, Mississippi Post 2, 2nd District, Southern Appointment expires 07/01/2025 |
Clint Tidwell, PS Ripley, Mississippi Post 9, 3rd District, Northern Appointment expires 07/01/2026 | Patrick Martino, PS Biloxi, Mississippi Post 8, 2nd District, Southern Appointment expires 07/01/2021 | Carey Hardin, PE Starkville, Mississippi Post 3, 3rd District, Northern Appointment expires 07/01/2022 |
Vacant Post Post 1, 1st District, Central | Vacant Post Post 4, 1st District, Central | Vacant Post Post 6, 3rd District, Northern |
Annual Budget request:
Information on the Board's annual budget request can be found on the website for the Mississippi Legislative Budget Office. In addition, you can also find the requests for all previous years.
You can access this information at the following link:
Annual Report to the Governor:
You can view the Board's latest report to the Governor (per MS Code § 73-13-19) below: