Member Spotlight: David Buehler
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I'm very pleased to interview David Buehler, our WLIA President-Elect! David is a GIS Solutions Specialist for the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, as well as business owner of Terra Firma Analytics. He has been extremely active in WLIA over the years, as recognized through his Outstanding Contribution Award. Read on to learn more about your President-Elect!
How did you come to your current profession or job?
The path into the field of GIS was started because of a trifecta of timing, place, and a fateful meeting with a college advisor. I was under a ROTC scholarship time crunch (four years without having to fill out a ton of paperwork and delay in my military career). I had my first advisory meeting in the school of business. I was just told by my advisor that it would probably take five years to complete the degree, and “Oh by the way. You will be three credits shy of a double degree with no way to get those last three credits.” That would just not do. I soul searched and landed on teaching. I had made just made the switch to get a teaching degree, and one of the optional classes for that degree was some geography class.
One morning during PT (Physical Training), the cadets, I being one of them, were doing hand-to-hand training and I was kneed in the chest. It was epic. I walked away with bruised heart, lungs, diaphragm, bones, and I am sure other internals. Luckily no broken bones. However, it was very painful to breathe… wonder why. Well, that morning was my first class… the geography class. The professor noticed that things were not quite right with me and investigated. After a short attempt to wave her off, she took me by the ear and led me across the street to the campus clinic. After my recovery, I had a chat with her and immediately switched degrees. The rest is history.
What’s your most favorite part and least favorite part of your job?
This is going to be a generality of my career change and scope. Change and the vastness of what GIS is capable of are both my favorite part and least favorite part of my career. Just when I think I have something mastered there is something new that comes out or something gets updated. It can be frustrating to keep up with all the changes, but also exciting when something comes along that makes your work life easier or learning something that makes the change worthwhile. The limitlessness of what GIS can be applied to is mind blowing. I am the type that wants to know and understand everything that goes into a project, a system, a process, the five W's and How, etc. It just isn’t physically possible to know it all, but that doesn’t stop me from trying. What makes that effort worth it is the conversations, connections, friends, and family that I have made along the way.
What’s the best advice someone has ever given you?
If you can answer this one question with honestly and with integrity, “Did you do your best?” and if the answer is “Yes” then that is all that can be expected of you and life goes on. If “No” you know you have work to do. From that I have learned not to dwell on things I cannot change, focus efforts on things I can improve upon, accept my limitations, and ask for help.
What do you like to do for fun? (Hobbies, volunteer work, etc.)
When my two kids and wife are not keeping me busy, I enjoy learning new skills and trying new leisure pursuits. My current hobbies include HAM radio, white and black smithing, learning to fly, archery, martial arts, leather working, woodworking, armoring (making medieval armor), writing, tabletop gaming, gardening, and wine making.
That’s an impressive list of fascinating hobbies! Can you explain what HAM radio is and your involvement?
HAM radio is just amateur radio. It means I get to talk on special frequencies on a radio. I am learning how to build antennas, how different radio bands work and what they are good for, talking to people from around the world for free by bouncing signals off the earth’s atmosphere. All around though, it is a great group of people that also volunteer for emergency management situations.
Learning to fly: are you going for your pilot’s license?
I am planning on getting my license. I am only a few hours in, but it's terrifying and amazing at the same time. Driving with my feet (no hands on the ground) is the hardest part.
Now I have Tom Petty's "Learning to Fly" in my head. Although he says that "Coming down is the hardest thing."
What’s something most people wouldn’t guess about you?
I was the third shortest kid in 7th grade. Then grew a foot in a year during 8th grade. I didn’t stop until I was 25.
I was a male cheerleader (a stunt guy) in college.
Where would you most like to travel to and why?
This one is tough for me. There are the pie and sky types of travel such as travel to a different planet or solar system and make it there and take them all in, temporarily visit to a different timeline or alternate dimension, or visit some places out of books. Those places would be both terrifying and amazing to experience.
The realistic answer is in 2026 the plan is to visit old friends in Europe (Netherlands and France), have my kids meet their pen pals, and see the eclipse in Spain.
I can totally relate with your pie in the sky answer; I was going to go with the moon! And your realistic plan for next year sounds amazing. Love that your kids have pen pals overseas. Anything that they’ve learned from their pen pals that have surprised them or other fun things that came of that?
My kids have learned a lot actually. They have exchanged foods, toys, clothes, etc. They have learned all about wheelchair basketball (my daughter’s pen pal is in a wheelchair). They learned they want to ski by watching them do it. My kids also found out that root beer is a thing for us but not for them. It is the flavor of their medications like cherry is to us.
Check out all of the other member spotlights here! And remember to nominate someone for a future member spotlight.