Davey Tree Flipbooks

28 THE DAVEY BULLETIN | September/October 2021 RETIREE DENNIS CHRISTY STILL MAKING THINGS RUN Dennis Christy never intended to be a manager at Davey. He always wanted to work with trees, so the early days of climbing came easy. And as the company grew, so did Christy. In December of 2011, Christy retired after 37 years, having worked his way up from a trimmer on a residential crew in Cleveland to district manager of the residential office in Northern Virginia. Along the way he attended the Davey Institute of Tree Sciences (D.I.T.S.), worked alongside great Davey leaders, and helped establish Davey's presence in Washington, D.C. "I really enjoyed my Davey career," Christy said. "The attitude of excellence was what made Davey worth working for. You went into the office and you knew you would be doing good work every day." While attending Kent State University, Christy's wife, Susan, was working as a waitress in Chardon, Ohio. One day she met a few Davey executives and bragged about her husband who was interested in trees. Christy started with Davey shortly after in 1974. The couple bought a house in 1979, so when the time came for the employees to buy the company the same year Christy did not have the financial resources to contribute. Eventually he was able to accumulate stock and started building for his retirement. Christy is now happily retired and living in Bluffton, South Carolina, a few miles inland of Hilton Head Island. His current house is their 7th real estate transaction in three years, and he's learned to buy and sell homes pretty well over the years. He volunteers as an arborist for the local historical society, often partnering with the local Master Gardener program to keep his community looking healthy and growing. He also enjoys hunting deer all around South Carolina. Christy's love of cars and tinkering with engines started in his youth. Nowadays he enjoys working on old cars and recently completed a restoration and sale of an old MGB. Christy is currently restoring a 1973 Triumph GT6. Those skills came in handy at Davey, where Christy often repaired equipment on the job. "It's about making the day work with what you have. Sometimes things might not work out the way you want, but Davey teaches you to get the job done right, the way it should be done to make the client happy," Christy said. "Life is a lot like that too, sometimes. You just make it work." Davey makes planning for retirement easy, Christy said. You have to plan ahead, contribute to your 401(k) and invest in the company through the Employee Stock Purchase Plan as soon as possible, he said. "Looking back, I feel good about the company and my career. We always went for quality and reputation, the things that matter to people. That's what Davey stands for. It's not just about getting the work done. It's doing it right," he said. Retirees! Have stories to share about retirement or your life at Davey? To be featured, call 800-447-1667 ext. 8615 or email bulletin@davey.com. ADVICE FROM DENNIS CHRISTY: 1. Buy stock. Even if it's $10 each week, you can increase your investments over time. Grow as the company grows. 2. Invest in the Davey 401KSOP. 3. Enjoy the Davey clients. They're good people. Get to know them and they will take care of you. 4. Routine isn't always fun, but it builds upon itself and pays off in the end. RETIREE CORNER Dennis Christy encourages Davey employees to plan for retirement by taking advantage of the company's employee-owner- ship opportunities.

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