We're excited to launch a new ILGISA Board Spotlight series, designed to introduce you to the dedicated members of our Board of Directors. Each installment will highlight a different board member, offering a glimpse into their professional background, current role, and passion for GIS. Through this series, we hope to foster stronger connections within our community and celebrate the individuals guiding our organization. 

Steven Spradling, Secretary

Can you tell us a little about your background and how you got started in GIS?

I was originally a physics major in college and realized you needed a PhD to go anywhere with a Physics degree.  I started browsing NIU's degree catalog and saw Geography, which I had always enjoyed in school, and then after looking into it further found out about GIS and my first course was Intro to GIS, and I was hooked from then on, getting my B.S. in Geography with a GIS Certificate.

What is your current role, and how does GIS play a part in your work?

I am the GIS Analyst at the City of St. Charles. GIS is everything I do day-to-day. We just implemented the Utility Network for our Water system and worked with Public Works to provide GIS data for their new Asset Management system. Maintaining the utility GIS is a big part of my day-to-day processes, with Water, Storm, Sanitary and Electric data to maintain. 

What motivated you to join the ILGISA board?

My boss, Eric Creighton, had served on the board and as president and he talked about all the opportunities and experience that comes with serving on a professional organization board.

What are some key initiatives or projects you've been involved in as a board member?

Attended the board retreat workshop and joined the finance committee.  Planning to attend more committee meetings and get involved in the program side of the organization.

What challenges do GIS professionals face today, and how can organizations like ours help?

I personally think GIS is in a very good spot at the moment. Online resources have been able to help me through most issues I've come across.  I think figuring out a way to structure a networking event that groups up individuals that would be facing the same challenges would help expand the networking that we need to continue to enhance. Have a county government employees meetup, for example.

What advice would you give to someone looking to enter the GIS field?

Having experience both from school and an internship are a great way to make you stand out on an application. Take some time to learn coding basics and complete a GIS project that shows off those skills and show that at your interview.

Are there any GIS tools or technologies you’re particularly excited about right now?

The Utility Network has been a very exciting project, and in general all of the advancements that have happened in my 15 years of doing GIS keeps me excited for what the future holds.

What’s your favorite GIS-related project you’ve worked on?

Any project that helps streamline a workflow, I enjoy.  A specific project is one I worked on with our City Engineering Department. They had a paper-based form for collecting where debris and erosion was happening along all of our natural waterways. That data was then all transcribed into a spreadsheet and had a separate file folder with images that were manually re-named to match a location identifier in the spreadsheet. Then that data was delivered to the County as part of our annual inspection program.
I took their information and modernized it significantly.  I recreated the old paper form in Survey123, so they could fill out the required information and attach pictures directly and added a reference layer of the streams that we inspect, with a link to the S123 form to automatically pull in the segment id for that location.  After the fact I compiled their inspections into the excel form and run a script to export all of their pre-named attachments to a folder for them to submit.

Do you have a favorite map or GIS application that has inspired you?

I like to occasionally look around at what other municipalities are working on and draw inspiration from their projects.  The ESRI Adopt-a-hydrant solution was one of the first times I combined Survey123 and a dashboard and webhooks into one initiative and that taught me a lot about how to think through projects and how to present ideas to non-gis users.

Outside of work, do you have any hobbies or interests you would like to share?

I've gotten into 3d printing the last couple of years, spending time with my wife and Weimador (Weimeraner/Labrador Retriever), and working on the St. Charles Emergency Management team.

What’s one fun fact about you that people might not know?

I'm an Eagle Scout, and have an Associates Degree in Music.

What goals do you have for the organization moving forward?

As we work on more events, I think growing the organization will help with many of the other goals in our mission statement.  Increasing networking and providing more resources will come from more people at the events and more attendees of webinars thus more people to present a webinar.

How can members of the GIS community get more involved in ILGISA?

Come to both the annual and your regional meetings, and if you have an idea for anything feel free to reach out and make a suggestion.