May/June 2017 | The Davey Bulletin 35
• Take part in the Davey
community. "My dad's buddy
worked at Davey. He hired me
right out of high school and was
my first foreman. I was so proud
to work at Davey Tree, and I loved
wearing my Davey shirt – even in
the evenings! Everybody knew
Davey. Every Friday night, I'd
go to the local chicken house
restaurant, and you'd see all kinds
of Davey green shirts. They were
all good guys. We had fun, and
they taught me what I needed
to know to succeed."
• Pull your own weight. "Show
up every day and work hard
'cause if you don't someone else
has to pick up your slack. Once,
my foreman had me cut up this
gigantic tree all by myself. I was
having a hard time, struggling
and sweating all day. When I was
done, he said another man could
have helped me, but he wanted
to remind me that you have to
work hard and carry your own
weight. I learned that lesson
then, and it all worked out."
RETIREE CORNER
WESTOVER'S 3 PIECES OF WISDOM:
JIM WESTOVER'S WISDOM
For over 40 years, Jim Westover worked
at Davey. He joined as a groundman on
the Ohio Edison account in 1971, eventually
became a foreman and worked at the
Kent Shop in later years.
Looking back, he reflects on all the good
times and lessons he learned along the way.
• Working at one place doesn't
mean doing the same job for
years. "I never thought I would
work at a job for as long as I did.
I feel very lucky that I did that.
Davey took care of me. They've
made me very comfortable –
especially with Davey stock. Plus,
I got to work in different areas of
the company and travel all over
Ohio. Those were good times! I
miss Davey. I still have dreams,
honest, where I go to work with
the crew. That was the best. Every
tree, and every day, was different."
Jim Westover can't just sit back and relax. He
finds joy in being busy. In his retirement, he
works on a few cars, does his own yard work
and even got a part-time job to keep in contact
with people in his community.
"
Safety should be a value–something you never leave home
without, like your phone or wallet. You simply never walk
out the door without them. Safety should be the same way.
You never walk out the door and start the day without it.
"
— Jason Collett
project manager
Davey Resource Group
Grand Rapids, Michigan
OWNER'S BOX
