On August 21, 2021, the City of Waverly, Tenn. faced a devastating flood. Now, with the help of L. I. Smith & Associates (LIS) and other companies, the students of Waverly Schools will be able to attend class in their temporary school beginning in the spring semester.

Waverly Elementary and Waverly Junior High School were destroyed in the flood. Until the new schools are built, the students will be placed at a 73,000 square-foot temporary school.

Nathan Grasfeder, a LIS Civil Engineer working on the project, said, “LIS takes pride in working with local communities. We were up to the task of delivering a quality plan in a very short period of time to help the community get back on its feet.”

The former Dan Post boot factory will be repurposed and fitted with classrooms and a cafeteria. At one end of the building, a new gymnasium will be built, and the other side will have a playground and parking lot for staff and visitors. The school district chose to utilize this site because it sits up on a hill and would be safe from any future flooding events in the area.

LIS met on site with Meridian Architecture, the prime contractor on the project, in January of 2022. The companies also coordinated with the Director of Schools, Richard Rye, to ensure that their vision would ultimately be constructed.

Rye stated, “LIS has been very accommodating in helping us with our temporary school and understands our small-town needs and timelines…. I like local companies and supporting the economy around us.”

The surveying and designing portion of the project took five weeks to complete. Now that the site plan has been finalized, LIS is continuing its involvement by performing civil engineering oversight and construction layout.

Grasfeder said, “The construction is ongoing, the goal is to have the facility open in time for the spring semester classes.”

The temporary school was previously set to open for the fall 2022 semester, however, due to numerous roadblocks including supply chain issues and scheduling conflicts, the school is not projected to open until spring 2023.

 The L.I. Smith & Associates (LIS) Staff Photo Competition is a unique opportunity for staff members to share the interesting, behind the scenes aspects of their roles, while also getting creative! Our workforce is comprised of professional surveyors, field crews, professional engineers, and administrative personnel. Our field personnel travel throughout the Central and Southeast regions of the country, while our office staff commute to three separate office locations. Each staff member’s role is different. No two workdays are alike. 

In order to showcase the unique experiences of our staff, we challenged them to submit images that reflect their day in the workplace- wherever that may be. 

Each month, one photo is chosen as the winner. Additional photo(s) are also highlighted as honorable mentions. A grand prize winner will be selected at the end of the year. This month’s winning image and honorable mentions are featured below along with submission descriptions and the photographer’s name. Congratulations to all of our staff members for their incredible, creative images.