Doug Flath always stays grounded, even when flying a drone. After all, he’s a land surveyor.
But that barely scratches the surface. He’s also an environmental manager, mentor, drone pilot, stormwater expert and wellness advocate. Over the last 30 years, he’s worked on more than 1,000 projects in one role or another. He even found new ways to contribute while recovering from a major heart attack.
Most of the time, he’s the first man on site, surveying land and mapping contours before the first shovel hits the dirt. Sometimes, he’s called back years later to help troubleshoot issues, retracing and analyzing projects from the ground up.
It took him years to master so many skills. But it all started with a love of building.
From Tonka trucks to total stations
Doug grew up as the youngest of three in Collinsville, Illinois. His dad worked in computer repair, and his mom balanced raising kids while working jobs at a hospital and photography studio.
Doug wasn’t interested in working indoors. “I don’t want to be behind a desk. I want to be out working with my hands,” he said.
As a kid, Doug was a visual learner who liked to play construction worker while watching equipment on the job.
“I was always out there watching the equipment and the tractors,” he said. “I think there’s a picture out there somewhere of me playing with a Tonka truck in the rain. That Tonka truck got ran over by a bulldozer, because they were putting sewers through our backyard at the time.”
Doug’s first chance to graduate from toy trucks to real-world projects was in a high school drafting class, in which he helped design and build a house.
He enjoyed it so much that he went into engineering at SIU Edwardsville. But engineering felt too much like office work and his grades suffered.
It wasn’t until Doug met his future wife, Vicki, that he got motivated to make a change. “I figured out right away that she was the one for me,” he said. “So, I figured I better get myself in shape and get a degree.”
Doug switched majors to construction management, where he found his true place in the industry.
Finding the perfect fit
Doug joined The Korte Company before he even graduated in 1994, based on a tip from a college friend.
There weren’t any openings at the time, but Tom Korte saw something in him.
“Tom Korte said, ‘Well, I don’t really need anybody, but I like you, so I want to keep you on.’”
Doug floated between crews until landing a full-time role on a major project in Quincy, Illinois. After that, opportunities were his for the taking. He was young, new and surrounded by veteran carpenters.
He also came on site with fresh ideas about new surveying methods and technology. But he had to earn the respect of the veterans first. “I was working with a bunch of older carpenters,” Doug said. “I finally told them, ‘I know I’ve got a lot to learn from you, but I’ve got a lot of stuff here that I can teach you, too, to help you.’”
Everyone worked well together once they understood what Doug brought to the table. He helped the team build smarter, faster and more accurately.
From the ground up
Doug went on to take over The Korte Company’s internal survey crew from his mentor, Mark Grinter.
“Everybody loves Mark,” Doug said. “He’s probably one of the smartest people I know. So, it was a little bit intimidating, but I figured I knew I could do it.”
Surveying felt like the perfect fit for the (now grown) kid who like to play with Tonka trucks. “I enjoy being outside, being around tractors and moving dirt and getting dirty. And it’s important work, because the whole project gets built from what I lay out for them.”
The project that stuck with him
Of all the jobs he’s touched, one still stands out. That’s the wide-ranging Boeing Leadership Center project. Its challenging location and stunning appearance made it hard to forget.
“It was basically a hotel and conference center built on a big hill overlooking the Missouri River,” he said. “There were no straight lines in the addition to their dining room. Come to find out, if you look down on it, it’s the shape of the nose cone of a 747.”
The site layout was steep, and the logistics were intense — one mistake could cause a lot of damage. “I watched a skid steer roll over down a hill,” he said.
The project also included work on a nearby mansion. Doug helped measure every wall to help architects redraw plans from scratch. “It was cool,” he said. “One of those jobs that really covered all the bases.”
Recovery leads to new opportunity
In 2013, Doug suffered a major heart attack and was sidelined for nearly two years.
Even then, he stayed involved, doing work like writing environmental and stormwater plans. It also gave him the chance to start a new project, launching The Korte Company’s first wellness program.
“I presented on my heart attack a couple of times,” Doug said. “A couple guys had some scary situations and said if they hadn’t gotten to a hospital, they might not be here. They said my talk inspired them. That made it worth it.”
Doug isn’t involved the Wellness program anymore, but it’s still running strong, promoting healthy lifestyle choices as well as events throughout the year like Walktober, the Fitness Challenge and annual health assessments.
The long view
These days, Doug feels good and stays hard at work in the field, juggling drone piloting, layout, environmental compliance and stormwater permitting.
“I was recently called a jack of all trades,” he said. “I still have a lot to learn, but they’re not wrong since I do play a part in lots of different things.”
Among his accomplishments, he’s especially proud of being one of the first members of The Korte Company’s surveying department to implement advanced technologies like GPS and robotics.
“When I started, things looked a lot different,” Doug said. “Technology started to change everything — and fast. I began using GPS in 2000 and robotic total stations shortly after that. Suddenly, what used to take two or three people could be done by one. Then the dirt crews started using GPS on their heavy equipment, and that changed the whole game — fewer stakes in the ground and a lot more precision.”
Life outside the layout
Doug and his wife, Vicki, raised three kids together. Nicholas is hard at work as a plumber. Anna is engaged to be married and plans to graduate with a pharmacy PhD in the spring. And Elyse, the youngest, just left for college.
But the family still spends a lot of time together. They take summer weekend trips to northern Arkansas, trout fishing on the White River and relaxing in the cooler air.
As for retirement, Doug’s not ready for that quite yet. But he isn’t sure how much longer he will want to play outside.
“With the heat and humidity, I’m starting to wonder how many more years I have at this,” Doug said. “I can’t physically do it as well as I used to. But Korte’s always been good to me. I wouldn’t be afraid to ask for a change.”
Until then, he’ll keep getting all his jobs done. Whether it means digging in the dirt or flying his drone overhead.
