About Us

In January of 1990, 16 people met in Nashville and formed the Tennessee Natural Resources GIS Users Group. The preliminary purpose of this group was to share information about technology development and data to avoid duplication of effort. This group met twice a year at different locations across the state. Each meeting created a chance to share information and demonstrate what different individuals were working on, creating sessions of instructional and educational value. Realizing that the same people were attending the meetings, a decision was made to expand the effort by reaching out to others through a forum.

On December 23, 1993 the first TNGIS users forum was held at the Garden Plaza in Murfreesboro. There were over 200 participants!  The majority of participants were from the state of TN and a few from adjoining states.

From that first meeting TNGIS developed a few goals:

• Create a cohesive GIS community
• Improve communication between users and institutions
• Promote and facilitate data sharing
• Meet the needs of our customers through an interdisciplinary approach
• Promote professional development
• Promote data standardization
• Avoid duplication of effort

In 1994, TNGIS became what we now know as TNGIC. From the initial goals mentioned above, the TNGIC Bylaws were established.  TNGIC has had a variety of presidents from state, local, and private companies. In 1998, TNGIC started awarding a GIS Championship Award to recognize an individual for their work in, and their promotion of, GIS in Tennessee.