Davey Tree Flipbooks

27 November/December 2023 | THE DAVEY BULLETIN Board of directors retiree R. Cary Blair passed away on Oct. 5, 2023, at the age of 84. Blair retired in 2007 following 18 years of service on Davey's Board of Directors as the compensation committee chairman. In addition to his work with Davey, he was the retired chairman and CEO of the Westfield Group, as well as a director of Bristol West Holdings and First Merit Corporation. We are saddened by the loss of Renan Perez, who passed away Sept. 21, 2023. Perez was a trimmer, FirstEnergy account, Eastern Utility services. Jim Westlake, retiree, passed away Sept. 10, 2023. Westlake retired in 2009 as vice president of Eastern operations, Residential/Commercial (R/C) services. He began his Davey career in 1972 in Troy, Michigan, as a landscape and tree surgery apprentice, and was later promoted to sales arborist and district manager, Pittsburgh office. In 1983, Westlake was named R/C manager for the Central area. In 1995, he was named operations manager, and in 1996, he was promoted to vice president, Central operating group, R/C services. He later became vice president, Eastern operations, R/C services until he retired on January 30, 2009. Westlake held a bachelor's degree in forestry from Michigan State University and was a Davey Institute of Tree Sciences graduate. Carolyn Weiss, retiree, passed away Nov. 1, 2023. Weiss retired in 1987 as a clerk in personnel administration, corporate office. J.C. Willis, retiree, passed away Aug. 15, 2023. Willis retired in 1997 as a supervisor on the Carolina Power & Light account, after 28 years of service. We are saddened by the loss of Joshua Wood, who passed away July 29, 2023. Wood was a vegetation management inspector, DRG Pacific Services, LLC. MEMORIALS A PASSION FOR PAINTING REDISCOVERED Jason Gaskill, assistant district manager, Wilmington office, has been painting as long as he can remember. However, growing up with multiple interests including military modelling and playing the guitar, as well as attending college, caused his painting endeavors to take the occasional backseat in his life. In recent years, Gaskill decided to turn his garage into an art studio and has been consistently creating art ever since. He likes to repurpose wood and objects like antique saws to use as his artistic canvases for painting and wood burns, also known as pyrography, which is the art of decorating wood with burn marks. DAVEY PEOPLE R. Cary Blair Jim Westlake "I love trees, and a lot of my paintings and wood burns are filled with them," Gaskill said. "They are one of my favorite subjects to paint." Gaskill is currently working to create 100 paintings and wood burns by July 2024 to provide options for a selection of his work to be displayed in the Wilmington Art Loop. He currently has 20 oil paintings and around 40 wood burns. "I think everybody should find a hobby they can be passionate about, and that helps them zone in on their ability to relieve stress and focus on mindfulness," Gaskill said. Jason Gaskill and his son Jaxson are pictured with some of his current work. Gaskill is holding the first oil painting he has created in 40 years. The painting is done on a wood plank and depicts sunset at Brandywine Valley, Pennsylvania. Located in Chester County, Brandywine Valley is known as "America's Garden Capital."

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