Rex Bastian, Ph.D., technical advisor for The Davey Tree Expert Co., recently received a 2017 Award of Distinction from The International Society of Arboriculture (ISA).
The Awards of Distinction were presented during the opening ceremony of the ISA’s 93rd Annual International Conference and Trade Show. Bastian was honored with ISA’s 2017 Award of Merit, the ISA’s highest honor for outstanding service in advancing the principles, ideals and practices of arboriculture.
Bastian started with The Care of Trees in 1989 and joined Davey in 2008 through the former company’s merger with Davey. He works as a regional technical adviser with emphasis on education and training and diagnostics.
U.S. Lawns inducted Ben Harrell, franchise owner of U.S. Lawns Northwest Arkansas, into the U.S. Lawns Hall of Fame. The hall of fame recognizes franchise owners for outstanding and unselfish contributions to the success and growth of U.S. Lawns. This recognition is awarded to a franchise business operator who consistently contributes their time, talents and spirit to making their franchise business successful, while also inspiring and leading others to achieve success.
“Ben has always shown a consistent connection, passion and focus for his family, his employees, his customers, his community and his business,” said U.S. Lawns President Ken Hutcheson. “That kind of drive is what built this country and molded it into the most powerful nation in the world.”
AmericanHort hired Tal Coley as director of government affairs based in its Washington, D.C. office. Coley’s first initiative with AmericanHort is Impact Washington, a two-day summit in September with industry leaders from around the country and designed to strategize on mission-critical issues–labor and immigration, horticultural research and innovation and tax reform–and highlight legislative reforms and concerns with congressional members and their staffs. Prior to AmericanHort, Coley led congressional outreach efforts at Concerned Veterans for America, spearheading a variety of endeavors to include annual fly-ins, policy initiatives and external affairs. He is a veteran of the U. S. Air Force, where he served as a Russian cryptologic linguist at Fort Meade, Md.
FMC Corp. named Zack Zaki business director for FMC Global Specialty Solutions. He assumes the role from Pramod Thota, who was named India country president and agricultural solutions business director for FMC. Zaki joined FMC as director of strategy and development in 2013 and led several strategic efforts across all FMC’s global businesses. He has a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from the Institute of Chemical Technology in India and a MBA from Duke University.
