The Davey Tree Expert Company provides residential and commercial tree service and landscape service throughout North America. Read our Flipbooks for helpful tips and information on proper tree and lawn care.
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35 September/October 2019 | THE DAVEY BULLETIN CANADA RETIREE IS AN ORIGINAL EMPLOYEE-OWNER 1. Be fair: "You have to be honest and treat your employees and your customers fairly, if you want them to continue to work for you or continue to be a customer. That's really important." 2. Leave work at work: "Keep your work and your home interests separate." 3. Buy stock: "Buy stock. Be smart about it. I know some of the young people I used to hire would get some stock and have it for awhile and then they would sell it all. You're not making money doing it that way. Buy stock and hang on to it." 4. Hire good people: "Some people came along and they were good people. You could see immediately that they wanted to work and get ahead. Some were goofing off and putting their day in. It's important to appreciate your job. There are good people to pick up out there. It's important to keep an open mind about people and remember that while hiring." 5. Do an honest day's work: "My advice is to do an honest day's work and earn an honest day's pay. Sometimes with sales and profits, you get a bonus. You should hang onto that and enjoy the fruit of your labors." Murray Linton saw the beginnings of Davey becoming an employee- owned company, the inception of the President's Council and had a wonderful 45-year career with the Davey Tree Expert Company of Canada, Limited. Linton joined Davey in September 1953 as a groundman on the Ontario Hydro account. The following year he became a trimmer on the Canadian utility and residential operations. In 1955, he was promoted to foreman. He attended the Davey Institute of Tree Sciences in 1956. In 1963, he was promoted to assistant district manager at the East Ontario residential office and the following year was transferred to the Toronto residential office. "I enjoyed, even though it was hard work, the move," Linton said. "I had full reign in Toronto, and it was a big area." In 1971, he became district manager of the Toronto office. He was the district manager there for 27 years until his retirement in 1998. Linton was a charter member of the President's Council, which he says was one of the highlights of his career. He enjoyed spending time with then president and CEO Doug Cowan and the 11 members and their wives. "When we went to Vancouver Island, British Columbia, that was very special," Linton said. "It was a beautiful place." Another highlight for Linton was being at the start of Davey's employee ownership. Linton recalls when the employee ownership committee members were still soliciting key managers in the company to take part in the acquisition. Linton is among the first 114 employee-owners to take part in the original stock subscription in 1979, when the employees bought the company from the Davey family. "The thing that stands out to me is that so many people had the opportunity to buy stock and could have and didn't," he said. "If they added up the numbers today, they would find that they made a mistake." LINTON'S 45 YEARS OF ADVICE: Retirees! Have stories to share about your life at Davey? To be featured, call 800-447-1667 ext. 8615 or send us an email at bulletin@davey.com. RETIREE CORNER Murray Linton, left, checks in at the 2017 Annual Davey Shareholders' Meeting with his grandson, Austin Linton, a foreman in the Toronto Northwest office. Murray Linton retired in 1998 and is among the original employee-owners from the 1979 acquisition.