Davey Tree Flipbooks

75 74 Growth Rings Chapter 4 utility clients. He oversaw the Tampa Electric, Florida Power and Light, and Florida Power Corporation accounts, relying on his 18 years of Utility services experience at Davey. At the time a 17-year veteran of Davey, Howard Bowles was working as an account manager and union steward for the Davey Tree Surgery Company – a year later he would become vice president of utility services for the surgery company. Ken Celmer, shoring up the middle-management ranks of residential services, was an area manager then. Celmer started with Davey in 1971 and was promoted in 1980 to area manager, residential services, for the Midwest region, which included responsibility for territories in Pittsburgh, Kent, East Cleveland, West Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati, Charleston, Louisville, Indianapolis, and St. Louis. In the 1980s, Celmer worked on programs to improve sales and management training for the company's residential district managers and sales arborists. By 1986 he was promoted to vice president, operations, residential services. He would also eventually serve on Davey's acquisition team, helping to acquire companies that, like Davey, were committed to superior client service, excellent employees, safety leadership, and a desire to grow their markets. Further supporting R/C services, Jim Westlake served as area manager of the central region in 1983. Westlake had started at Davey in 1972 as a trimmer at the North Detroit residential office. He later transferred to the North Pittsburgh office, where he became a sales representative and ultimately district manager. Following his service as area manager, in 1992 he was promoted to regional manager, followed by a promotion to operations manager in 1995. An original employee-owner, Westlake was also a graduate of D.I.T.S. Tommy E. Davis, an area manager in Utility services in 1983, would oversee the utility operations in Florida and Georgia for much of the 1980s. Davis had started with Davey in 1962 on a line clearing crew in North Carolina, graduated from D.I.T.S. the next year, and spent the bulk of his career supervising utility crews. In 1983 Jed Day graduated from D.I.T.S. – one year after starting with Davey as a supervisor on the Houston Lighting & Power account. He would quickly amass several promotions in Utility services within the next five years before transitioning into residential operations. Ed Johnson joined Davey in 1972 as part of the Parr and Hanson Tree Co. acquisition. He was named vice president for field services in 1981. Larry Abernathy started at Davey in 1968. He would eventually rise to vice president and general manager of the surgery company before retiring in 2018. Jim Stief started with Davey in 1978 as a trainee but quickly excelled in residential services. He would eventually be promoted to executive vice president, U.S. R/C operations. Dan Joy started at Davey in 1976 as a groundperson. He would eventually be promoted to executive vice president, Commercial Services. Roger Funk, who started with Davey in 1973, was named vice president of research and development after the employee acquisition. Funk taught his final D.I.T.S. class in 2013. In 1983 Davey combined its Lawnscape and residential tree care territories in the Rochester, New York, area. e territory became an early incarnation of the Residential/Commercial service line, which provided a broad spectrum of landscape care services to clients. Richard Foote, at the time an area manager in residential operations, had spent time as a lawn care technician – he would eventually become a vice president of operations in residential services. In 1982 George Gaumer worked as an operations manager for residential services. He'd started at Davey in 1977 as assistant advertising manager and was appointed to sales coordinator of the tree care division in 1979. He would become an area manager in 1983 as he continued climbing the corporate ladder to vice president and general manager of Commercial Landscape Services. Ed Johnson, vice president for field services, had been a manager with Parr and Hanson Tree Co., which was acquired by Davey Tree in 1972. He had 26 years of experience in the industry. Steve Marshall, district manager of the Akron office in 1983, had spent time in lawn care services early in his career. He would soon start managing residential operations for the Davey Tree Surgery Company out West before transitioning to Utility services in 1997. Gordon Ober, like Marshall, also spent his early Davey years in lawn care operations, starting in 1975. But by the early 1980s he was working in the corporate office in residential services management. A Best Richard Foote started with Davey in 1976. He would rise to vice president of business development and client services for R/C services.

• Cover