Davey Tree Flipbooks

29 July/August 2020 | THE DAVEY BULLETIN BEEKEEPING, CYCLING OCCUPY DRG RETIREE'S GOLDEN YEARS 1. Take care of our clients. Give them what they expect, when they expect it, and expect the same in return. Remember, they're doing the best they can with the constraints of their jobs. Negotiation has to be a mutually constructive and beneficial process. 2. Appreciate other people. Look for creativity and drive in others and build on their strengths. 3. Look for the best opportunities and act decisively. Make opportunities for everyone on the team, those who supervise, those who are supervised and especially clients. 4. Listen. It's hard work sometimes but it always pays off. It was 7 a.m. on the morning of June 13, 1975, when Ward Peterson's phone rang. On the other end was Ted Baer, then an executive vice president at Davey Tree calling to offer Peterson a job. Peterson had just graduated from the University of Illinois with a degree in urban forestry, was working each day climbing trees for a local company in Peterson's hometown of Chicago, and was eager to start his career in the tree care industry. In 2017, 40-plus years later, Peterson retired having worked his way from a trimmer in Memphis, Tennessee, to the corporate office in Kent, Ohio. "I decided early that tree care was what I wanted to do with my life and was lucky to have my dream come true," said Peterson, recalling formative days climbing trees infested with Dutch Elm Disease. Having worked in arboriculture before college, Peterson was sent to Memphis alongside Rob Smith, the office's first district manager, and John Oswald, the office's production manager, to establish Davey clients. A year later, he traveled to Kent to attend D.I.T.S. "I wanted to work for Davey because they had the best training in the world at the time and now. I was enamored with their in-depth approach to tree sciences," he said. "I still have my notes and frequently recall many of the classes on tree physiology and the indoor forest." Peterson moved to Kent, transitioning to a research assistant at the Davey Technical Service Center under the direction of Roger Funk. During that time, Peterson worked on developing Arbor Green, new cabling techniques and wound healing methods, and wrote a new extension course curriculum. Peterson later became Manager of Human Resources, with a particular interest in education and training. Ultimately, he would work with Funk to help establish Davey Resource Group (DRG) in 1992. DRG was "a wild idea" for Davey at the time, Peterson said. He and a few others saw environmental consulting services as an extension of Davey's arboricultural mission. There was no model for how to make it work, but through trial and error, the team laid the groundwork for what is now DRG. Peterson ended up working on several formative DRG projects, including the development of TreeKeeper, ROWKeeper, and other utility and urban forestry-focused processes, and the eradication of the Asian Longhorned Beetle. "In everything that we did, we took the John Davey approach. When working with clients, focus on research-based arboricultural practices that benefit the client and the environment." In retirement, Peterson has continued personal and professional research projects. Professional projects involve UAA Research Committee and advancing "Municipal Tree Care and Management in the United States." Individual interests include beekeeping, sailing, and biking (Peterson is one of the co-founders of the TREE Fund Tour des Trees fundraising ride, representing Davey 14 times and has cycled across the country twice since retiring). PETERSON'S ADVICE FOR A SUCCESSFUL CAREER: 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. Ward Peterson's career at Davey spanned four decades and included lecturing at D.I.T.S. and myriad special projects for DRG. RETIREE CORNER

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