ABOUT

Greg Engelgau

Project Manager

Greg’s experience in land surveying goes back more than 17 years to when his father, Randy Engelgau, owned and ran SWLS. If you ask Greg about who he might choose as a mentor, he’ll tell you that he would choose his dad, who is a fine man, solid businessman, and excellent land surveyor.

Greg’s role with SWLS goes beyond project manager. As co-owner, he is directly involved in all operations at a high level, and follows the work right into the field. This sense of scope and ownership allows him real visibility to the provision of accurate results and precision data, and keeps him up to speed on everything from industry trends to day-to-day details.

When Greg is not at work, he’s hanging out with his daughters, or on the river chasing salmon and steelhead.

Dan Hoekstra

Principal, LS

Dan has been a land surveyor since 1966 and brings a depth of experience and wisdom to the business that is unparalleled in the region today. Dan loves client interaction and enjoys helping clients to really get at the problem they’re trying to solve. He enjoys the business side as well, seeking to optimize the scope of field and office work to deliver the best product at the best possible price.

In his free time, Dan is a tournament-level bridge player, and travels around the country to participate in tournaments. He is a direct person who knows what he wants to do. In fact, Dan was asked a simple question the other day: If you could travel to space, would you go?

Dan’s reply was simple and direct: “Yes, but to the moon only. No further.”

Greg Spurlock

Staff Surveyor PLS OR & WA

A staff surveyor and project manager licensed in both Oregon and Washington, Greg Spurlock began his career in Surveying with a degree in 1976. Over the length of his career, Greg has seen significant changes: Given the evolving technology landscape, in Greg’s opinion, the survey deliverable is changing from classic mapping provided on a sheet of paper to a three-dimensional dataset embedded in a multi-media format. In this form, it speaks to a much broader range of project stakeholders.

That said, Greg believes that even with the changes, surveyors will continue to be the go-to profession for collecting the physical data of this planet and beyond. “After all,” says Greg, “We are the original explorers.”

When he’s not out in the field, Greg spends time hiking, swimming, and reading. Need additional proof that Greg knows his way around the outdoors in the Pacific Northwest? His favorite possession is his raincoat.

Jason Churchill

Crew Chief

Jason has one thing to say about life in general: “I do not like to be inside.”

This philosophy works well for Jason as he spends his work days in the field as a crew chief for SWLS. His favorite recent project was a set of cross sections acquired along the Crooked River in Central Oregon, accomplished to provide data for a fish habitat study. Over 18 years in surveying, Jason has seen a lot of change, especially in the expansion of applied technology. The integration of GIS with survey, in particular, has been a big change in how crews work in the field.

When Jason is not at work, he’ll be found out on the trail, on the links, or playing baseball. But he will not be found inside.

Eric Hyatt

Crew Chief

Eric Hyatt operates as crew chief for Statewide. When asked what the best piece of surveying he saw this year, Eric’s reply was quick: “We needed to find an old monument in the middle of a big piece of forest. It was basically just a stone, and it was like looking for a needle in a haystack. We ran the transit in, kicked around, and found the stone, still pretty much where it was supposed to be, even after so many years.”

After 13 years in the field, Eric has seen some surveying, and he has seen some technological changes. He cites GPS as the area that has changed the most and sees the potential for even more improvement in the coming years as satellite imaging and positioning become more and more accurate.

In his time away from the office, Eric spends time with his daughter or riding his Harley Davidson motorcycle. He is also an avid hunter. In fact, when asked what he would grab on his way out of his burning house, Eric mentioned his hunting rifle first, but then looked around, smiled, and changed it to his daughter.

John Ramirez

Crew Chief

John loves two things in this world: land surveying and exercise. If he’s not in the field—in the woods, on a construction site, or in the middle of a river—John will be found stair-climbing or cycling. Given a free hour, after exercise of course, John prefers to read; books, magazines, whatever is at hand.

John was asked this question: If your house was on fire, what’s the one item you’d grab on your way out the door?

For John, the answer was easy: “My field bag for work.”

Johnny Franklin

Boat Captain

Johnny Franklin wakes up every morning thinking about one of three things: surveying, operating boats, or fishing. Which topic comes first depends on the day but, taken together, they all combine to prove one thing about Johnny. This guy was born to be on the water.

Johnny holds a USCG Operator’s License (6-Pk) and, after five years with Statewide, is the primary boat operator for the company. He runs crews out on to estuaries, lakes, reservoirs, and rivers — anywhere they need to go on water. Given the depth of his expertise, Statewide also hires him out as a boat operator to other organizations and companies.

Johnny takes his job seriously. “It’s safety first, and then the matter at hand,” he says. “The first thing I say to anyone in my boat — guests or crew — is this: While we’re on the water, I’m the captain. I’m in charge. We will do it my way until we hit the beach. Any questions?”

Outside of work, Johnny is still on the water. At these times, it’s all about fish — mostly salmon and steelhead. Asked about his favorite activity? Fishing. Asked what he does when he has an extra half hour? Ties up fishing rigs. Asked what he would grab on his way out of his burning house? Fishing rods.

Asked if he would travel to outer space if it was possible? No. Wants to go fishing instead.

Keith Clevenger

CAD Technician

Keith Clevenger is a paradoxical mix. At work, he is a patient and highly skilled draftsman, providing precise renderings of collected data. Outside of work, he likes speed: cars, motorcycles, anything fast. Oh, and cats. After more than 35 years as a draftsman, Keith has seen it all, from technical pens and mylar to highly interactive, computer-based drafting tools. In the future, he sees an expansion of data, integrated from both GIS and field, with real-time connects between office and field.

Asked about his favorite survey project? “Finding the stone on the Deschutes River. That was an amazing piece of surveying.”

Fred Weichmann

Aerial Drone Operator

Fred serves as Statewide’s UAS (Unmanned Aircraft Systems) pilot and, as such, is finding more and more applications for his talents and skills. As unmanned vehicles — in the air or on the water — gain in reliability and bandwidth, they are becoming increasingly useful in the surveying field.

Fred augments his flight skills with his long interest and expertise in photography, his primary hobby. Taken together, drone flying and photography, or cinematography, form the backbone of all kinds of inspection and audit services, and Fred finds himself right at the nexus of the two fields. Fred counts Ansel Adams, the famed nature photographer, among the mentors in his life and works hard every day to bring that level of craft to both his job as a UAS pilot and as a photographer.

By the way, if asked if he would head to space if a trip was offered, Fred was succinct. His reply: “Yes.”