Though he grew up around the industry—his father and uncle started R.M. Landscape, a western New York landscape company—Brett Lemcke says he was never pushed into it. But he loved it. After earning a horticulture degree at the State University of New York College of Agriculture and Technology at Cobleskill—and completing an internship at Gachina […]
Michael Kravitsky IV, CTP-CSL, owner and president of Grasshopper Lawns Inc., in Larksville, Pennsylvania, has always run a family business. It got its start in 1964 when Kravitsky’s father (Michael III) joined the Lawn-A-Mat franchise. In 1980, his father went independent and Grasshopper Lawns was born. Kravitsky joined the business full-time in 1980. “For 36 […]
As one of eight kids—his mom a nurse and his dad an architect—Craig Ruppert, CEO of Ruppert Landscape, says money was often tight. As a teenager in the early 1970s, Ruppert started mowing neighbors’ lawns with his brother, Chris, to earn extra income. “We were motivated and enjoyed working hard,” Ruppert says. “People began to […]
Although he grew up around landscaping, Dean DeSantis, owner of DeSantis Landscapes in Portland, didn’t initially imagine he’d follow the same career path as his father, who started the business in 1974. At the time, DeSantis was just eight years old and says he spent most of his summers helping out. Even so, he just […]
Joshua Pool, chief operations officer of Timberline Landscaping, says he has always been one to gravitate toward the outdoors. Growing up in Central Kansas, Pool admits he loved playing in the dirt and being outside as often as he possibly could. After working with a local landscape company during his last year of high school, […]
Like many other landscape business owners, Richard Arlington says he got his start in landscaping as a kid. Mowing grass, raking leaves and shoveling snow was an easy way to earn some income. Upon returning home from some time in the Marines, Arlington says he couldn’t find a job—so he returned to doing what he […]
Chris Lee admits he can’t pinpoint exactly what got him into the landscape business. But he is certain that the opportunity to “do his own thing,” and to “put his stamp on something bigger than himself” were driving factors. Since founding Earthworks Inc., in 1979, Lee—who serves as president—has adapted and evolved the business many […]
A high school summer spent working on the grounds crew at a local golf course set Krisjan Berzins on a path toward the green industry—he just didn’t know it yet. At the time, he says he was just trying to earn some summer income. “One of the best perks was that we’d start really early […]
Bob Grover was a self-described “outdoorsy kid” growing up. “I grew up in the 1960s and 1970s,” he explains. “We had three television channels. Kids’ TV shows only happened on Saturday mornings. There were no video games. We went outside and played. I had the fortune of living on 1 acre in suburbia. It was […]
The first time NALP member Jarod Hynson mowed a lawn with a push mower at 8 years old, the smell of fresh grass, the symmetry of perfect stripes and the sense of accomplishment made the outdoors a place that he wanted to forever call “home.” He started his company, Earth, Turf & Wood, based in […]