Davey Tree Flipbooks

Davey Bulletin May-June 2024

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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Catherine M. Kilbane was re-elected to the board of directors. Kilbane was first elected to the board in 2018. She is the retired senior vice president, general counsel and secretary of The Sherwin-Williams Company. Both will serve a three-year term ending in 2027. 'ICONIC' BOARD MEMBER RETIRES Two members of the Davey board of directors retired this year. Donald C. Brown, retired executive vice president, administration, FedEx Freight, retired from the Davey board after eight years of service. During his tenure Brown served on the audit, compensation, and nominating and corporate governance committees. "Don brought a tremendous amount of big-company experience to Davey and has been a real value to our board over the past eight years," Covey said. "We wish him great success in his retirement." Karl Warnke also retired from the board after a combined 44 years of service to the company as an active employee and board member. Warnke started at Davey in 1980 as a spray/feed technician in the West Cleveland office and rose through the ranks over the years to be elected president in 1999 and later was appointed CEO in 2007. He retired as CEO in 2017 to serve as board chairman until 2020. Covey called Warnke an iconic leader for the company. "Karl's legacy over his 44 years was that he was always all in, whether as an employee, a board member, chairman of the board, and all the other things he meant to the company, which are significant," he said. "I can't say enough about the contributions Karl had to the company, to me, and to all of our employees." Warnke, speaking after the live broadcast concluded, pointed to four company leaders who shaped his career through profound advice they shared with him about their life and business philosophies. "The first was the very first person I worked for in the company, Minor Lucal, district manager in the West Cleveland office," Warnke said. "He represented the men and women in the field, and he gave me a climbing rope, a speed saw, and a climbing harness. And he said in his southern Ohio twang, 'I want you to have this to remember where you come from.' I didn't think about it until later on in life, but it is really important that we remember where our roots are." Warnke said the second person was Jack Joy, who retired as Davey CEO in 1990 after 44 years of service. Warnke said the last words Joy shared with him before he died in 2014 were to "take care of the company." The third person was Martin L. Davey, Jr., who served as company president from 1946 to 1962 and played an instrumental role in the employee-ownership acquisition in 1979. "My last words with him, what he said, was 'This is a good company and good people.' And that was it, so profound and so simple, but they lay the groundwork for what you experience throughout your career at Davey." The fourth person whom Warnke said made a significant impact on him was his immediate predecessor, Doug Cowan, who retired as CEO in 2007. Cowan was a "tremendous individual" who emphasized the need for the company to home-grow its top executives, Warnke said. Warnke said he wanted to share those stories at his last meeting as a board member because he believes Covey shares many of the same leadership qualities and philosophies. "I think the company's in very good hands," he said. "Pat has the right philosophy and is moving the company forward in the same fashion, with the same resolve and expectations as his predecessors." Davey Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Joe Paul was elected to the Davey board of directors at this year's shareholders' meeting. DAVEY BOARD ON SHAREHOLDERS' MEETING AGENDA 23 May/June 2024 | THE DAVEY BULLETIN

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