Paris, Tenn.–Frank Burch began his 35th year with L.I. Smith & Associates in February of 2023, making him the longest continuously employed staff member outside of the Smith family. Having worked alongside three generations of the Smiths, he has established himself as a well trusted member of the LI Smith team and is largely relied on by his colleagues.
LI Smith President Patrick Smith said, “Frank has been surveying at LIS since I was a teenager. If I have any questions about the surveying industry, I always go to Frank.”
While attending school at Murray State University, Andrew Kelly, an engineering professor, referred Burch to LIS. Kelly had taught numerous LI Smith staff members throughout the years, including company founder, Larry Smith. Burch earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering from Murray State University in 1988 and began his career at LIS soon thereafter.
Burch began as a Rodman just one year later in 1989. At the time, he was one of only eight staff members. Within one year of employment, he was promoted to Party Chief. At the time, the company focused exclusively on land surveying and had not yet introduced full-service civil engineering work.
Burch said, “I started out doing boundary surveys because that’s primarily all they (LIS) did at the time… I was happy doing what I was doing, so I’ve accumulated a little bit of experience.”
Burch has remained in his role as Party Chief since his promotion in 1990, as he prefers to work in the field instead of in the office. However, after more than three decades in the industry, his role has shifted to that of a mentor to his team members.
“It seems like I teach and train new people all the time. I’ve trained a lot of people, some of whom have licenses now. It’s an ongoing process, especially during the summer. There are always new people coming in and I get to teach them. I’m proud of that,” Burch said.
Outside of acting as a mentor to less experienced staff, Burch is responsible for survey crews, deed research, and calculating necessary fieldwork. He has surveyed lots, large acreage locations, as-builts, topographic surveys, Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) wetlands, route surveys, and subdivision layouts.
Throughout his career with LIS, Burch has completed more than 6,000 jobs in the survey industry. His vital role as Party Chief has allowed him the opportunity to travel across the region and work on numerous unique and interesting projects.
Burch said, “One of the coolest jobs I have done is when they were putting up 5G towers in downtown Nashville. I got to survey on top of the Omni Hotel, Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital, and the Nashville Music City Center.”
Another unique job Burch has worked on was a topographic survey of the floor of the Tennessee River at Pickwick Landing State Park Marina. In order to have new boat slips designed, a topographic survey of the floor of the marina was required, along with the identification of the location of all underwater objects in the vicinity of the existing marina. Mainstream Commercial Divers located these underwater objects and then tied a buoy to each one. Burch, along with other LIS staff members, then surveyed each buoy while in a boat. Some of the objects discovered were cable anchors, bicycles, and tires.
Vice President and Founder Larry Smith said, “Frank is one of the most knowledgeable and hardest workers I have ever known. He has been an outstanding asset to LIS throughout the years.”