Davey Tree Flipbooks

11 July/August 2020 | THE DAVEY BULLETIN Above: A screenshot from the virtual meeting shows how shareholders were able to view PowerPoint slides from the presentations, could type and submit a question, access meeting materials and cast their votes – all digitally. The call peaked at a total 369 participants, which is almost triple the typical attendance number for the in-person shareholders' meetings held each year at the Davey Institute, and the final viewership is expected to be much larger as people take advantage of the recorded version of the meeting. represents 0.44 percent of Davey's total workforce as compared to a .60 confirmed positive rate in the U.S. at that time. "We were inundated with every state doing something different, every state having different rules and guidelines around when and where we could work, whether we needed face coverings, and what we needed to do for social distancing," Covey said. "We made a lot of adjustments and throughout it all, we consistently relied on our Davey values and the best available science from the experts to guide our decisions. As we communicated with our employees, our values proved to be a valuable touchstone for us to collectively rally around as a company. I am exceptionally proud that we were able to perform as a company during a pandemic, while living our Davey values, relying on science and making the right decisions for the safety and health of our employees, clients and shareholders." Executive leadership is prepared for a potential second wave of the virus in the fall, as many U.S. states were experiencing an increase in confirmed COVID-19 cases this summer. Covey said the company's focus continues to be on keeping our employees, clients, and communities safe. "Having gone through it this spring, we're much more prepared," he said. "However, we have to stay diligent. We cannot suffer from COVID-19 fatigue. We cannot lose our focus." SOLID 2020 PERFORMANCE Both sales and operating profit were up for the first quarter of 2020 compared with the first quarter of 2019. "We saw about two to three weeks in March where R/C tree care and commercial grounds operations started to get shut down in different states, and we started having questions about whether we were considered an essential service," Covey said. "Utility services were consistently deemed essential, which was huge for the company. At the worst point, we still had better than 93 percent of our capacity as a company that was deemed 'essential' and able to work. Overall, we feel very fortunate about how we came through the first quarter and April and May when the economy was really struggling." Covey reported that Davey continues to see strong demand for its services, and that is expected to continue to be solid for the remainder of the year. "It's obviously been a challenging time with a lot of change in the last three months, but it's also been a rewarding time to experience the Davey spirit, the resilience of our people, and the way we stepped up as a team and company to meet challenges," Covey said. "It speaks volumes to the competitiveness and perseverance of Davey employees, to fight through a once in a 100-year pandemic and come out the other side stronger, and better prepared to take on the next challenge."

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