As a senior majoring in landscape contracting in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences, Jack Pohutsky has already been actively involved in recruiting for the industry both to high school students as well as undeclared majors at Penn State. He may still be a student but he’s that excited about what the landscape industry has […]
With more than 15 years in the industry, Brigitte Orrick joined The Davey Tree Expert Co. from the Tree Care Industry Association, where she was the workforce development director. Prior to that role, Orrick was the dean of trade, industry and apprenticeships at Nicolet College. She has experience in both the collegiate and professional affiliate […]
Lisa Fiore, founder and CEO of LandscapeHub, grew up in the nursery business. In 1916, her great-grandfather started Charles Fiore Nursery in Chicago. Fiore spent her childhood roaming around the nursery fields and falling in love with the industry, as a whole. In early 2000, she joined the business, learning all aspects from buying to […]
Before coming to work for Utopian Landscapes LLC full-time, Terra Phelps, the “handler” (because she “handles it all”) had already been consulting on various jobs and tasks. As the wife of Nikos Phelps, the Harrisburg, Pennsylvania-based company’s founder and co-owner, she’d offer design advice or contribute to projects, even though she was working for the […]
Shayne Newman, founder and president of YardApes in New Milford, Connecticut, credits his upbringing to his ultimate career choice in landscaping. Having spent so much time outdoors as a kid made it seem virtually impossible to choose a career that involved the confines of four walls every day. “I don’t just like being outside; I […]
For years, H. Jaclyn Ishimaru-Gachina, president and CEO of Gachina Landscape Management, was by her husband’s side as he ran the company. A “Game of Thrones” fan, Ishimaru-Gachina jokes that she was like the “hand of the King.” Though she was at home raising her boys, Ishimaru-Gachina’s husband, John, spoke about every aspect of the […]
During a UPS strike while Ben Carruthers was working there, he needed a way to make some additional money while attending college. He started mowing lawns and quickly found that he liked the outdoor work. In fact, he enjoyed it so much he decided to switch from a business major to horticulture. That ultimately led […]
In high school, Mark Borst, owner, Borst Landscape & Design, mowed lawns and worked for a local landscaper to earn an income. And for a long time, he was content with being a one-man-and-a-truck type of business. But when he started college, he realized there was so much more to the profession. “I suddenly realized […]
Coming to the lawn and landscape industry from the Marines, Joe Lewis, account manager for Environmental Management Inc. (EMI), based in Plain City, Ohio, has found more crossovers than he ever imagined. His experience and training in the Marines gave him effective training tools to use at EMI. And that’s important, as Lewis believes effective […]
Jack Moore spent three decades in corporate America before he realized it wasn’t what he loved. After many years cooped up in a boardroom and flying on airplanes, Moore relished the idea of a career that would get him outside. In 2017, after looking seriously at 100 different companies in different industries, Moore and his […]