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The Davey Bulletin | September/October 2016
WORKING TO WRESTLE
Davey's James Halicki, foreman, (pictured second from left), Nigel Bond, groundman, (pictured
back row second from the right) and Jason Buce, general foreman, (pictured front row third from
the right) stand with their wrestling team during a fundraising event.
Davey's Kansas City R/C crew gave
young men a chance to play baseball
who otherwise would not have had
the opportunity to.
DAVEY OFFICE HELPS KIDS PLAY BALL
Wrestling has always played a role
in the life of Davey's Jason Buce.
A general foreman for the Portland
General Electric account, he
started wrestling as a boy and
continued through college. After
graduating, Buce started coaching
the Wilsonville High School wrestling
team in Oregon.
Buce challenges the team to dream
big. One dream was to compete in
the 2016 Sierra Nevada Classic in
Rio, Nevada. After a few fundraising
attempts in 2015, Buce thought to
visit Davey's Portland R/C yard.
There he found lots of cut wood,
which sparked an idea. Buce asked
Terry Brier, district manager of the
Portland R/C office, about donating
the wood to the wrestling program.
BOARD
BULLETIN
Davey's Jeff Newborn, district manager at the Kansas City office, sponsored a Wyandotte County
Sports Association baseball team for the first time.
"Terry said 'Take every bit that you
want, just send the office a thank
you card and picture of the team,'"
Buce said.
For five weekends, the wrestlers
loaded the wood and then gathered
for "wood-cutting parties" to cut it
and share a hearty barbecue meal.
"This was great exercise and a good
team bonding activity out of the
wrestling room," Buce said.
The team raised $2,800 selling and
delivering the wood. Now they can
compete in the 2016 Sierra Nevada
Classic in December – thanks to
the generosity of Davey's Portland
R/C office.
Wyandotte County Sports Association
backed out two weeks before the
2015 season started.
The boys were enthusiastic to play,
but many of their families were unable
to afford the new baseball equipment
on their own, Newborn said.
Newborn's office stepped up to the
plate and sponsored the team by
providing Davey Tree uniforms, bats,
balls, gloves and a pizza party at the
end of the season. Newborn even
surprised the players and their families
with tickets to a Kansas City Royals
Major League Baseball game.
"They only won two games," Newborn
said. "But they had fun, as you can
tell by their smiles."
Jeff Newborn, district manager for
the Kansas City, Missouri, R/C office,
stepped in to help out when he
discovered a team coach in the