Employee-Owner Spotlight | Terry D. Bennett | Vice President, Survey-Geomatics

What places have you lived in throughout your life?

Rangeley, ME; Berlin, NH; Durham, NH; Weare, NH; Henniker, NH; and Hopkinton, NH

What three traits define you? 

Reliability, integrity, supportive

What is your favorite part of the type of work that you do?

The impact we have as surveying & geomatics professionals on the world around us. We literally capture today to create tomorrow.

What was the most unusual or interesting job you had before Sebago?

Woodlands Manager for Coos County Farm in NH.  Each county has its own farm with large forested land holdings dating back many decades. The unusual part is your work crews/help are all county prisoners doing work furloughs during the day.  Many enjoyed doing forestry work so much they went into that career when they got out.  Happy to have helped them in a small way to be successful in their second chance at life.

What are your hobbies outside the office?

Hunting, Fishing, Cycling, Hiking, Kayaking, Dog training & most anything outdoors.

Favorite thing to do in Maine?

Explore its woods, waterways and coastlines.

If you had to eat one meal, every day for the rest of your life, what would it be?

Wild game, the ultimate free range naturally fed food.

Top three life highlights?

  • My family, wife and 2 kids
  • Helping to survey, scan and map for historic preservation, the Moai and other scared places on Rapa Nui (Easter Island) in areas that no tourists ever get to see.
  • Having lunch with Peter Hillary at a conference and hearing him tell stories of his two summits to Mt. Everest, his trek to the South Pole and stories of his dad Sir Edmund.

What is your hidden talent?

Guess what many people fear most – public speaking.  I have given industry keynotes to audiences over 5,000 people. 

If you were an animal what would you be?

Snow leopard comes to mind.

Where would you like to go on a dream vacation?

Queenstown, New Zealand. Went there once to speak at a conference and could only see the beautiful mountains and landscape from distance.

What is the best concert you attended?

Toss up on opposite ends of the spectrum – Shania Twain at TD Bank Garden, Billy Idol at the UNH Auditorium. One gave me a touch of tinnitus so I leave you to guess which one gets the edge.

What are you excited about at Sebago?

The professionalism and talent of its people, and by extension the company’s potential to do great things in service to our clients and the public.

Tell us something that might surprise us about you.  

I spent a few summers teaching a wilderness survival class for a Girl Scouts camp in NH.

Favorite place(s) to go in Maine?

Any place from the Rangeley Lakes region north & west to the NH border.  I grew up traveling that area with my Dad, crisscrossing the forest lands and logging camps made famous in the book Tall Trees Tough Men.  Those lakes, forest & mountain areas always bring back found childhood memories.