Davey Tree Flipbooks

A ccording to Shawn Fitzgerald, "There's a real interest among Davey's top Commercial Landscape Services (CLS) employ- ees to learn the latest industry trends and best practices in order to better serve their clients." Fitzgerald, who organizes the Davey Institute of Grounds Management (DIGM) in Kent, Ohio, each year, has noticed the program's popularity increasing since its inception in 2000. "We had a great class," he says, reflecting on the group of Davey landscape professionals that visited the Davey Institute in March for the one-week program. New Davey employees from all over the country attended. Anthony Montalvo, spray technician for the Tampa territory, appreciated the opportunities he had to visit and tour Davey's corporate offices, learn new skills in the classroom and meet and work with other students and instructors during the program. "DIGM was everything I expected and more," he says. "To see the everyday process of different departments within Davey operations during our tour was mind-blowing. DIGM will have a direct effect on my work ethic, especially when it comes to attention to detail." DIGM attendees and instructors, pictured left to right, front row: Matt Dunlap, Mark O'Neil, Chad Tyson, Chad Bogner, James Huckleby, Brad Keeney, Steven Jenkins, Corey Lauler, Brian Lopez, Luis Hernandez and William Jones; pictured left to right, back row: Carlos Cruz, Mark Svozil, Gary Fergusson, Gary Bridgewater, Tom Faught, Darrius Wright, Joe Howke, Jesus Aparicio, Danny Wojciechoski, Shawn Chalker, Greg Myers and Rick Hannah. Eager to Learn Fitzgerald recalls additional employee comments, such as, "DIGM was a life- changing experience;" "The program was very energetic and made me want to learn;" and "I've been doing this for years and never knew how important all this information was." Attendees participated in classroom discussions focused on proper mulching techniques, annual color tips, tree insect information and other topics related to commercial grounds management, but they also had an opportunity to approach the learning experience outdoors. 14 | May/June 2015 Houston, Texas, Liquid Services Workshop participants, pictured from left to right, front row: Manuel Aguinaga, Shawn Cressman, Juan Rico and Brandon Mathis; middle row: Len Burkhart, Raul Gutierrez, Isai Escovar, Mark O'Neil, Josh Rongish, Juan Guzman and A. D. Ali; back row: Jon Woods, Beto Duran, Michael Tellez, Chris Engelbrecht and Jason Dremsa. Training X2 Houston, Texas Davey is committed to training its employees —scheduling numerous year-round workshops all over the U.S. and Canada. This year's training took off in January with the Liquid Services Workshop in Houston, Texas, for employees from Residential/Commercial (R/C), Commercial Landscape Services (CLS) and Davey Surgery. They covered topics from relationship building to disease management. Workshop leaders, A.D. Ali and Len Burkhart, technical advisors at the Davey Institute, led the 12 participants in two days of classroom instruction and one day of outdoor training. "I believe this kind of recurrent training is important to sharpen the skills of our plant and health care technicians and sales arborists," Ali says. "No matter your position at Davey, there is room to grow and improve; these workshops give employees the platform to do so." Orlando, Florida Training continued in February when 18 employees representing Commercial Landscape Services (CLS) territories in the southeast region gathered for the Southeast CLS Plant Health Care Workshop in Orlando, Florida. The workshop, instructed by A.D. Ali and Shawn Fitzgerald, included many topics from turf management to tree and shrub cultural practices. Students also learned the importance of client service and relationship building. The workshop included two days of class- room instruction and a half day of hands-on equipment maintenance and safe use training. "I believe this kind of training is important to hone the skills of our account managers and crew leaders," Ali says. "They are the front line troops representing Davey to our clients." These workshops help employees harness their craft and grow as industry professionals.

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