Employee Spotlight Background
Our Employee Spotlight for the month of September is Bill Wetzel!
As Sidwell’s Senior Account Manager, Bill is responsible for GIS sales to local government in the states of Illinois (northeast), Iowa, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Kentucky, Wisconsin and Minnesota with a focus on county government. Bill provides technical information on the benefits of GIS, related mapping products and services, and offers practical solutions to address mapping and data needs throughout all county offices. Bill uses GIS to show local government users how they can benefit by using data, software, and methodologies to better serve their job, their county, and the public. He assists prospective local government clients by providing educational presentations, needs analysis surveys, funding studies, and proposals on GIS technologies.
Bill even supports marketing and sales efforts to clients by providing technical software demonstrations, applicable workshops, co-authoring educational papers, and participating in conferences throughout the country. Bill maintains an active membership in numerous state and national organizations to keep abreast of the evolving issues and how GIS technology plays a role in their decision making processes.
Bill first joined Sidwell as a Project Manager. His duties included managing cadastral, farmland assessment, and orthophotography projects and acting as a liaison for Sidwell’s mapping services clients. His duties also included supporting sales efforts with technical and conference presentations.
Q & A
What do you enjoy the most about your job and/or working at Sidwell?
Meeting with people to talk about modernizing operations using GIS. I think the people who work here are the best part of working at Sidwell.
What do you like to do when you aren’t working? (hobbies?)
Running, yard work, matching movies, reading, and spending time with friends/family.
If you had different plans in mind as you were growing up, what were they?
I’ve always loved maps, that is the main reason I’m in this industry. I wanted to make maps for Rand McNally or National Geographic, because those were maps I poured over and studied. Their maps told great stories about places far across the globe and the galaxy. I wanted to explore, travel and hoped for the chance at adventure…just like Luke Skywalker.
What’s your favorite thing about GIS?
Looking at things from a different perspective and figure out how it is all related/impacted.
Where would you travel if you were given the chance?
Anywhere. There is so much to explore.