Five new staff members have been added to the L.I. Smith & Associates (LIS) team as the company continues to expand. Each of the new team members adds a unique knowledge and skill set that will undoubtedly benefit LIS and our increasingly diverse workforce. LIS is pleased to introduce Amanda Perry, Carolyn Dotson, Chris Mills, Angela Dortch, and Madison Bickerstaff. Each new hire joined LIS over the past few months and is located at our headquarters in Paris, Tenn. Perry and Dotson filled vacant positions, while Mills, Dortch, and Bickerstaff were hired for the new positions of project administrator and communications specialist.
“Growing a company requires expanding the infrastructure, reinforcing working processes and initiating new processes,” said LIS President Patrick Smith. “This is not possible without a talented, educated, and engaged workforce. It is a testament to the current staff that we were blessed to attract these awesome hires!”
Perry, the new billing specialist, is an Atoka, Tenn. native and a two-time University of Tennessee at Martin alum. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Accounting and a Master of Business Administration. With this education, Perry plans to earn her certified managerial accountant certification in the future. Her professional background includes extensive experience in accounting, bookkeeping, and tax preparation. As the billing specialist, Perry looks forward to learning the civil engineering and land surveying industry’s financial aspects, creating relationships with clients, and growing with the company.
Dotson has joined the LIS team as the new human resources officer. Along with more than 15 years of human resource (HR) experience, she also holds two degrees: a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a marketing concentration from the University of Tennessee at Martin and a Master of Business Administration from Bethel University. She holds certifications in Senior Professional of Human Resources (SPHR) and Society for Human Resources Management Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP). Throughout the years, Dotson has worked with benefits and compensation, talent management, training and development, areas of compliance for human resources, and safety. She has also facilitated classes for human resources, management, and marketing.
Mills has also joined the LIS team as the new project administrator of civil engineering. In this role, Mills will be a liaison between the civil engineering team and clients and remove some of the client-related responsibilities from the engineers to allow them to dedicate more time to the projects. Before arriving at LIS, he was the general point of contact for over 25 VA-contracted ramp installers. These experiences will allow him to comfortably work in-house with the engineers and client base simultaneously, while also supporting our vision for the company and community. Additionally, he holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Tennessee at Martin.
For the survey department, Dortch will be taking on the role of project administrator. Dortch will handle similar tasks as Mills, such as keeping in contact between the client and the surveying team, keeping projects on track and within allotted budgets, and collecting client information to prepare proposals and contracts. Over the past 30 years, Dortch has worked with the public in a medical capacity or as a customer service representative, which will help with ensuring that demographic information is received to communicate effectively with the customer and collect payment for services rendered in a timely manner. She holds two degrees from Murray State University, a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice and a master’s in human development and leadership.
For the new position of communications specialist, Bickerstaff joined our team in early August. Bickerstaff has a Bachelor of Arts in English for Corporate Communications and a professional writing certificate from Christian Brothers University, as well as a Master of Science in Leadership and Policy Studies with a concentration in Student Affairs from the University of Memphis. Bickerstaff has experience in higher education, which will allow her to raise awareness of the importance of education, both in the staff relations aspect and our community outreach efforts. She will also be able to leverage her background in student affairs to help with upcoming interactions at local career fairs and within our internship program.