10
The Davey Bulletin | January/February 2017
"
I do a lot of safety training
with the crews. One thing
I always tell them is that I
want them to go home
happy and healthy at the
end of every day. It's foolish
to take chances with your
life and your health. If you're
unsure about something,
ask. Ignorance kills. Davey's
focus on safety has made
me reexamine how I act
outside of work, too. My
wife used to tease me that
I'd talk about safety all day,
but then not be the safest
guy in the world at home.
There's been a pretty
dramatic change. For safety
to really mean something,
you need to practice it –
even when you're not
at work.
"
— Tom Reiner
Plant health care coordinator
The Care of Trees
Hamden, Connecticut
OWNER'S BOX
NOTES
FIELD
RIDING, FUNDRAISING IN A HURRICANE'S WAKE
The 24th Annual STIHL Tour des Trees
Cruise the Carolinas tour took place
only days after Hurricane Matthew
hammered the East Coast (see p. 14
for hurricane coverage).
Although weather conditions were
not ideal, nothing was going to stop
the 100 passionate cyclists from riding
the entire 610-mile loop – from North
Carolina into South Carolina – to support
the Tree Research and Education
Endowment Fund (TREE Fund).
Since 1992, the Tour des Trees has
represented the TREE Fund's primary
public outreach and engagement
event. Davey has continued to support
this event annually through sponsorship
and employee participation. This
year's cycling team included Davey
employees Jeremy Baker, Beth
Buchanan (retired), Laurie Skul, Ward
Peterson, Don Roppolo and Tom Wolf.
Baker, district manager of the Dulles,
The Care of Trees, Inc., R/C office,
has cycled in three total tours. What
made this tour different for him was
the compassion and support riders
received from the communities.
"We were riding through these areas
that had downed trees from the storm
that knocked out their power," Baker
said. "In many cases their power had
just been restored, yet community
members were waiting for us to
arrive to take part in our events and
contribute in meaningful ways."
Every 20 miles to 30 miles, tour riders
stopped to facilitate a community
tree event. After 610 miles, the riders
planted 17 trees and completed five
children's education programs. In total,
the 100 cyclists raised more than
Davey's Al Zelaya, right,
explains to native Filipinos
how i-Tree can quantify
the benefits of trees.
