Larry Wade has found himself in some extraordinary situations over his eight years with GPRS.
As a Project Manager in Miami, he stood among the clouds above the Bahamas inspecting the roof of the towering Atlantis Paradise Island resort hotel.
As an Area Manager in Washington D.C., he stood on top of former First Lady Melania Trump’s desk in the East Wing of the White House to scan a concrete wall in her office. He took his shoes off for that job.
“I have experienced some pretty cool places and job sites,” he said. “This company has afforded me lots of opportunities, with a lot of neat experiences along the way.”
Wade recently accepted a promotion to become GPRS’ Field Service Director for the Great Lakes Region. In this new role, he will oversee and develop the region’s team members and handle strategic planning to ensure quality, stability, and growth.
“I’ve always felt that I’ve had that natural gift of leadership,” Wade said. “I have an innate desire to just have influence on people in a good way. I am all in on where we’re going as a company, and to be able to get this opportunity from a directorial level is an honor, truly I mean that.”
Wade’s introduction to GPRS began in the nation’s capital in 2015 when he met Josh Walker, our Engagement and Development Leader who was working as a Project Manager at the time.
“We became gym partners for a few months, and after a while he introduced me to GPRS,” Wade said. “Here I am, eight years later. When I initially applied, we didn’t have any open positions in the D.C. area. But my family and I were willing to consider relocation. That took us down to Miami, where I started in the field down there.”
Wade spent about three years in Miami working as a Project Manager, where practically every job brought him near enough to the ocean to hear the waves lapping against the shore.
“Can’t beat that at all,” he said.
During his time in Southern Florida, Wade or a member of his team was typically called out to a job on the nearby islands, such as the Bahamas, at least once or twice a year. Twice he visited the Atlantis Resort, a sprawling and luxurious vacation destination that boasts multiple restaurants, a casino, a waterpark, and an aquarium.
“To be able to have the opportunity to just continue to grow with people in different markets across the country in my tenure here with the company, that’s certainly something I don’t take for granted,” he said.
Eventually, Wade returned to the D.C. area to accept a position as an Area Manager. Over the next five years he handled projects at numerous government buildings, including the White House.
The day Wade found himself standing on that White House desk certainly stands out among the many jobs he completed. It should be noted that it was not his idea to stand on the furniture; he was instructed by White House staff to do so to reach where he needed to scan, as there was no room for a ladder.
“I spent about five minutes saying ‘Hey, are you sure this is OK?’” Wade recalled. “I didn’t want the wrong person walking in. But the White House staff said ‘Nope, you’re cleared to do whatever you need to do.’ We do work at a lot of government sites in D.C., so I’ve been able to have some pretty cool stories of some job sites.”
Wade and his family will relocate to the Toledo area as he begins this new chapter in his GPRS career. He and his wife, Diana, have two sons: 12-year-old Austin, and 6-year-old Aidan.
“I certainly look forward to meeting the Great Lakes team, spending time with them, getting to know them, and just kind of seeing where this goes,” Wade said.
GPRS is one of the fastest growing companies in the ground penetrating radar (GPR) industry, a place where you can use your talents and skills alongside state-of-the-art technology and unprecedented industry innovation. That growth has propelled us to push the industry forward in both technology and company culture.
GPRS is not only committed to industry success; we’re also dedicated to providing services that are driven by our five core values: integrity, mutual respect, growth mindedness, teamwork, and safety. We demonstrate these values in our everyday work, which has created a culture that is both exciting and enjoyable for team members who want to join us in our mission.
These values have pushed GPRS to earn and maintain a better than 99% accuracy rate for concrete imaging & utility locating. Join us in the pursuit of making our industry safer. Join us in the pursuit of 100% subsurface damage prevention.
Click here to view available job opportunities at GPRS, and be a part of our ongoing goal to Visualize The Built WorldTM.
