Mr. Garner started his career serving in the United States Marine Corps at Camp Pendleton, CA. His specialty was in software/hardware development aboard a secured, internal base known as MCTSSA. During his duties at the Tactical Air Command Center, he received high-honors in IT and Communications Security, and was awarded a Meritorious Mast Commendation.

After an honorable discharge as a USMC Corporal he served at the Department of Energy under a Final Secret clearance, where he provided technical support at DOE locations in D.C. and Germantown, MD.   Blessed with a son, he and his wife, Susie, returned to Garrett County, MD in 1989 to work in the new robotics section for Bausch and Lomb.

While back “home” Mr. Garner created the county’s first TV station and production studio. This was his third successful business undertaking and operations continued until its sale in 1997.  Soon after, Mr. Garner became the Hardware Product Development and Technical Support and Sales Manager for HealthNotes, Inc., a Portland, Oregon technology information company.

Mr. Garner decided to go back to work for the government in 2001. This time he worked for NASA at Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, MD.  Mr. Garner was an Information Systems Manager for the TDRS satellite project, and finished his non-traditional degree in Computer Science in 2003. Acting as the System Administrator he developed, programmed and maintained PINS (Project INformation System,) a dashboard system for NASA managers and officials.

Part of this system involved moving millions of pages of circa 1973 hard-copy manuals, for satellite communication systems, into the digital age for reference and archive.  This part of PINS, alone, created a system where engineers and scientists now had immediate and accurate search access to the configurations and information that continues to keep NASA’s communications systems functioning in orbit.

Finally, using his knowledge in presentations and production, Mr. Garner presented to multinational groups of visitors at Kennedy Space Center during the last launching of the Atlas 2A satellite launch-vehicles. The PINS successes specifically were acknowledged through a Letter of Commendation from NASA to Mr. Garner.

Summary Experience

After almost a decade of working full time with NASA, Mr. Garner decided to move permanently into the Oil and Gas industry by providing GIS/Mapping and Database Administration for a company in Dallas,TX. He realized then that there was a unique need in managing the efforts of OG land development, especially in field-office environs, and in particular, in the Appalachian states.

In 2008 Mr. Garner formed GroundScouts, LLC., a company designed to bring data technologies into the energy industries.  Based on a personal belief that technology can bring quantum advances in productivity, Mr Garner has assembled unique systems from his prior “space-age” endeavours.  Although conscious that new approaches can cause disruption, to date his solutions in automated abstract package delivery, seismic permitting methods, and recent compliance surveying, have only brought increased productivity and savings to clients.

Now specializing in pipeline permitting, surveying and compliance mitigation, Mr. Garner utilizes ground-penetrating NASA technologies to find, map, and analyze legacy pipeline systems; saving clients millions of dollars in avoided state penalties.   His company has become very unique in its ability to field train ground-crews to interact with managers, tenders, and the private property owners, and to accomplish accurate permitting, compliance, field reports, pictures and GPS coordinated GIS maps showing every pipeline and feature of a system.

Coupled with Mr. Garner’s experience in managing large data projects and the ground crews needed to acquire accurate data, his young company has seen unexpected growth and has gained favor as an excellent provider of just-in-time services, hedged by cutting edge technologies..