ORLANDO, Fla. – Joe Di Benedetto, PLS, LS, has spent 50 years developing his expertise in surveying, from right-of-way mapping to Mobile LiDAR. As he prepared for retirement from DRMP, colleagues spoke about his personal mission to mentor younger surveyors and the time he has invested in their work and their lives.
Di Benedetto entered the surveying profession in 1976. Some of his earliest lessons came while riding in a truck with experienced surveyors. “They made sure we were reading books in the truck while the truck’s moving,” he recalled.
They also taught him to question results that did not make sense and to understand the responsibility behind the work. In a March 2026 DRMP Q&A, Di Benedetto described mentoring younger surveyors as “a way of returning the investment that others made in me.”
His career includes 17 years with the Florida Department of Transportation in Districts Four and Five. He led DRMP’s DeLand office from 2003 to 2010, returned in 2015 to lead surveying in central Florida and later served as senior vice president and director of surveying and mapping/geospatial before moving into an advisory role.
When Di Benedetto returned to DRMP, he brought experience with Mobile LiDAR and was tasked with establishing the service at the firm. He helped make the case for the investment, select the equipment and hire the staff who launched the service in 2018.
Mobile LiDAR uses vehicle-mounted laser scanners to collect data used to create detailed 3D representations of roadways and surrounding infrastructure. That means less time spent collecting measurements in or near traffic. “It makes the surveyors a lot safer than us being in the roads like we were,” Di Benedetto said. He described crew safety as his main reason for pursuing the technology.
When an opening became available to lead the Mobile LiDAR team, Brent Bass, PE, PSM, offered to take it on. Di Benedetto gave him the opportunity, and Bass continues to lead and grow the service.
Since its launch, DRMP has upgraded its equipment to the RIEGL VMX-2HA mobile mapping system, which can collect as many as 3.6 million data points per second, and added a second Mobile LiDAR system. That expertise now extends to DRMP’s North and South Carolina offices, and the firm mobilizes the service for projects beyond the Southeast, including a recent turnpike survey in New Hampshire.
Bass, now a DRMP vice president and southwest Florida survey manager, had also worked for FDOT. He said Di Benedetto helped him adjust to the private sector and understand the broader decisions behind their projects. “He’s willing to teach you as much as you’re willing to learn,” Bass said.
Di Benedetto’s interest in Bass’ life extends beyond work. “He cares about my family. He knows my kids’ names,” Bass said. Di Benedetto has joined Bass and his wife for dinner and checks in when one of their children is sick.
Along with individual mentoring, Di Benedetto helped create an in-house training space at DRMP where staff can build technical skills and learn how field data becomes a finished survey. He also invites developing surveyors to breakfast or lunch, where the conversation can move beyond their current assignments. “It’s not always about the actual project or work,” Di Benedetto said. Getting to know people outside the office, he explained, helps them feel comfortable asking questions.
For Garrett Salmon, SIT, survey analyst, those conversations have become a weekly routine. Paired with Di Benedetto through DRMP’s mentorship program, Salmon initially met him for occasional lunches. They now meet for breakfast at 6:30 a.m., often talking for a couple of hours about surveying history, maintaining technical standards and training others. Di Benedetto’s colleagues, some from the construction industry, sometimes join them, bringing their own experiences to the table. “It’s fun. You get a different perspective,” Salmon said.
Bass described Di Benedetto as “one of the best mappers in the state of Florida.” Salmon is applying that expertise to his own right-of-way mapping work, learning to consider how earlier surveyors’ methods affect the interpretation of their work today. Di Benedetto also discusses preparing project estimates with him. “I’m not a manager yet,” Salmon said, but those conversations have helped him understand decisions made behind the scenes.
For Di Benedetto’s successor, August Thick, PLS, PS, PSM, that exchange of knowledge is part of what will remain with DRMP after his retirement. Thick, now director of survey, credits Di Benedetto with strengthening the team’s mapping expertise and recognizing the opportunity Mobile LiDAR presented early in its development. He said the relationships Di Benedetto has built throughout his career also continue to open doors for the firm.
Thick has seen the effort behind that work firsthand. “He’s up sending emails at 5 in the morning. He’s sending emails on the weekend,” he said. “His judgment and his generosity and his commitment to developing other leaders is what stands out to me.”
After colleagues spoke about his influence on their careers at his retirement celebration, Di Benedetto offered them a challenge of his own: “We should all be mentoring someone, more than one.”
Just as experienced surveyors made time to teach him, Di Benedetto plans to keep making time for younger surveyors after retiring from DRMP.
About DRMP
Since 1977, DRMP has earned a reputation as a trusted multidisciplinary civil engineering and surveying firm delivering innovative infrastructure solutions that strengthen communities. What began as a Florida-based surveying practice has grown into a leading Southeastern engineering consulting firm with more than 1,000 professionals across 32 offices.
Today, DRMP’s engineers, planners, surveyors, and scientists partner with state transportation agencies, municipalities, federal clients, and private developers to plan, design, and deliver critical infrastructure. Our integrated services span surveying and geospatial services, civil engineering, land development, and community planning by supporting projects that improve transportation infrastructure and mobility, resilience, and quality of life across the Southeastern United States.
Ranked among Engineering News-Record’s Top 500 Design Firms in the United States, DRMP is recognized for helping clients solve complex infrastructure challenges through technical excellence, innovative thinking, and trusted partnerships.
At the heart of our success is a collaborative approach built on long-standing relationships with the clients and communities we serve. By combining deep technical expertise with responsive service and local insight, we deliver solutions that are both forward-thinking and grounded in the needs of the communities they support. Learn more at https://drmp.com.
