Ohio LCO elected to state legislature

Rodney Creech

Rodney Creech, the owner of Lawn Plus in West Alexandria, Ohio, was elected as State Representative, serving as a Republican for the 43rd District in southwestern Ohio. He was sworn in on Jan. 4.

Part of his journey from lawn care operator to the state legislature was documented in Landscape Management. In our feature on Creech in the September 2017 issue, while he was serving as county commissioner for Preble County, he stated his goal of being elected to state legislature by 2022.

Here he is, a year ahead of schedule. “I forgot I said I wanted to run for state rep in that article, and now it’s full circle,” he said.

Creech stepped away from the day-to-day duties of running Lawn Plus in 2012 after hiring Bob Brower as general manager in 2011. The $3.5 million company is growing, and in the past couple of years, it has added residential site development to go along with its existing lawn care, pest control and athletic field renovation and installation services.

“COVID-19 kept us from maximizing our potential,” he said, “but we’ve had good growth for the year. We’ve been meeting our growth goals, and the green industry’s been good to us.”

Before he became county commissioner, Creech’s political career began in 2007 as a township trustee. In those roles, he said, you’re serving the people around you, whereas, as a state legislator, you’re affecting the entire district and the entire state.

“With the passion I have for serving people, I love to learn, make decisions and do research. I felt like it was a good fit, so I threw my hat in the ring,” he said. “Luckily, it worked out well.”

Creech said his main focus as a state representative will be on workforce and economic development. He looks forward to bringing his green industry experience to his new role and hopes to serve on the agriculture committee, which would affect issues such as water quality.

“We all know how important lawn care and agriculture are in Ohio — they are top industries in the state,” he said. “That’s where I could be a voice not only for my district, but a voice for the industry.”