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July/August 2025
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THE DAVEY BULLETIN
CLS CREWS FROM 11 OFFICES GET LOUISVILLE RACE READY
A month before the Kentucky Derby™ on May 3, its host
city of Louisville, Kentucky, had experienced one of its
largest floods ever on the Ohio River. Mud submerged two
miles of road, at least 5,000 tons of debris sat scattered and
water levels even covered a three-story highway overpass.
The city had been so impressed with the work Davey crews
had done in Louisville the previous winter that it called upon
Davey Commercial Landscape Services (CLS) again – and
30 crews completed the job in record time.
Project manager of this Louisville Disaster Relief effort
William Kirby, project specialist, CLS, said they cleaned up
13 city parks, including baseball fields, memorial parks and
an 18-hole golf course.
"It was 100% teamwork," Kirby said. "Every morning, we
stretched and put on hard hats, safety goggles, high vis,
earplugs, everything – safety would be proud. I told them,
'We are only going to succeed together.' They lived that out."
Ninety people from 11 different CLS offices worked 12-hour
shifts for 13 consecutive days.
When the Davey crews first arrived in Louisville April 5, the
area was desolate. By the time they finished, Kirby said it
looked like the flood had never occurred.
"It was encouraging to see how many offices came
together," Kirby said. "The day we finished, the city flooded
with tourists."
The city, according to Kirby, said its crew usually takes six
weeks to complete what Davey crews did in two.
"One of the biggest things we teach in my office is we
need to celebrate people, and these crews were amazing,"
Kirby said. "They were the best workers I've seen. They
took ownership and put on a great face for the company.
It's everything my bosses have modeled for me. This is
what Davey values."
PERSEVERANCE
Davey crews clean up wreckage
leftover from historic flooding
in Louisville, Ky., before large
crowds were expected in the
area for the Kentucky Derby™.
CLS Territories That Assisted Included:
Cleveland North, East and West; Detroit SW;
Dulles; Jacksonville; Mickman; Minneapolis;
Montgomery County; Nashville; Yorktown
