Richard Parrish Inducted into USIC Hall of Fame

When Hurricane Rita struck the Gulf Coast in 2005, Richard Parrish had just joined SM&P, one of the utility locating companies that would later become part of USIC, as a locator. The storm left widespread power outages and disrupted everyday life across the region.  

With no electricity at his own home, the company provided Richard a place to stay and also helped accommodate his elderly parents, who needed access to electricity for his mother’s dialysis. For someone just beginning his career, the experience left a lasting impression. 

“They were loyal to me, so I'm loyal to USIC,” Richard said. “You're not just a number here.” 

More than two decades later, Richard is an Advanced Locate Technician with Blood Hound and one of USIC's 2026 Hall of Fame inductees. 

Richard's career has taken him from Locator to Damage Investigator to Lead Technician and, in 2021, Advanced Locate Technician. Along the way, he has located thousands of miles of utilities and worked across different parts of the country. 

Advanced Locating brought a new level of complexity. Richard describes the work as “putting together a puzzle,” with in-depth projects that can span multiple days and include hospitals, schools, subdivisions and other critical infrastructure. The work requires experience and confidence, but Richard believes one of the most important lessons is recognizing that there's always more to learn. 

“I learn from others who haven't been doing it as long, and I hope they're learning something from me too,” he said. 

It's a lesson he learned early. Richard still considers his very first locate one of the hardest he has ever completed. Fresh out of training and on his own, he remembers questioning everything he was doing and worrying about getting it wrong. Over time, hundreds and eventually thousands of successful locates built his confidence. Just as importantly, experience taught him when to step back and ask for help. 

Today, some of Richard's proudest accomplishments aren't the locates he has completed, but the people he has helped along the way. He has trained and mentored employees who have gone on to successful careers of their own and knows how valuable it can be to have someone to call when a job doesn't go according to plan. 

Early in his career, Richard was the employee calling someone more experienced. Today, he is often the calm voice on the line. His advice to employees just starting out is simple: “Breathe, and if you need anything, call me. If you have to call me 100 times a day, call me.” 

That willingness to help others was echoed in Richard's Hall of Fame nominations. Colleagues describe someone who travels wherever he is needed, builds trusted customer relationships and readily shares his knowledge. 

“Richard understands that helping others succeed makes the entire team stronger, and he consistently leads by example,” wrote Bryce Johnson in his nomination. 

Richard received two separate nominations for this year's Hall of Fame, something he describes as humbling. 

“When someone sits down and writes something on your behalf, that means more than you know,” he said. 

The recognition has also prompted Richard to reflect on a career that began just before Hurricane Rita. More than two decades later, he sees something fitting in that beginning. 

A long career comes with good days and bad ones, difficult jobs and moments when you question yourself. For Richard, it's about learning to weather those storms and knowing that another opportunity awaits tomorrow. 

After 21 years, Richard is still learning, still answering the phone when a teammate needs help and still showing up for the people around him. It's a career that has weathered plenty of storms and one that has earned Richard Parrish a place in the USIC Hall of Fame.