Jerry McKay, founder of McKay Landscape Lighting and the Lighting Summit, is now offering one-on-one business consulting services for landscape lighting professionals. His areas of expertise include streamline operations, service department organization, key marketing strategies, connecting with strategic partners and more. Clients can visit the McKay Landscape Lighting facilities in Omaha, Neb., or McKay will visit his clients’ facilities to provide an on-site assessment after seeing the full operation.
Lambert Landscape Co. hired Bill Horn as vice president of garden services. With more than three decades of experience, Horn most recently served as senior vice president at Terracare Associates. He previously served as a National Association of Landscape Professionals (NALP) board member and is a recipient of its Lifetime Leadership Award. He was also treasurer of the GIE+EXPO and a Paul Harris Fellow with Rotary International.
PBI/Gordon promoted Dave Loecke as market development manager for turf and ornamental products. In his 15-year career with the company, he’s served in a number of roles, most recently as herbicide product manager.
The AmericanHort Interior Plantscape Hall of Fame will induct Terril Nell, Ph. D., and Janice Goodman at Cultivate’16 July 9-12 in Columbus, Ohio. Nell is Professor Emeritus of Floriculture at University of Florida, where he retired from in 2011. His research program focused on the production and postharvest handling of flowering potted plants and fresh cut flowers, and its results have led to changes in floral industry practices leading to improved flower and plant longevity. Goodman, with 34 years of experience in the horticultural industry, is the president of Cityscapes. The 24-year owner and operator has built the business into one of the largest interior/exterior landscape companies in the New England area with annual sales revenues over $5 million, according to AmercicanHort.
Arborjet’s Joe Aiken, along with the Archangel Ancient Tree Archive and Bartlett Arborist Supply, climbed Giant Sequoias and Coastal Redwoods—some of them 400-feet tall—in the Redwood Forest from May 19-29. The climb was part of an effort to preserve the trees by harvesting growth tissue, which is obtained from the top of the trees. The growth tissue contains the true DNA of the trees. One tip cutting harvested from a tree can be used to clone as many as one million trees, the company said.
Ruppert Landscape hired Aaron Blanton, Melissa Echavarria, Torin Garfield, Sergio Gomez and Andres Paredes at its newly opened branch in Houston. The branch will be overseen by Patrick Luzier. Blanton, who has seven years of experience, was hired senior estimator and holds a bachelor’s in landscape architecture from Texas Tech University. Echavarria, who has three years of experience in the industry, was hired as assistant project manager, is a licensed irrigator and holds a bachelor’s from Temple University. Garfield, who has five years of experience in construction and holds a bachelor’s in construction management from the University of Houston, was hired as contract administrator. Gomez, who has 11 years of experience in positions such as foreman and general manager at other companies, was hired as production manager. Parades, who has more than 15 years of experience, partially as principal owner of a landscape and vegetation management company, was hired as field manager.
Ruppert Landscape’s North Carolina landscape construction branch promoted Vincent Stio to production manager. He joined the company in January as a field manager. He has more than 11 years of industry experience in positions such as operations manager, account manager and commercial installations supervisor.
Ruppert Landscape promoted Sean Walters to production manager of the Virginia landscape construction branch. He interned with the company in 2009, while studying for his bachelor’s in agribusiness management and rural development at West Virginia University. Upon graduation, he joined Ruppert in 2012 as a crewman and most recently served as a project manager.
Ruppert Landscape promoted Dave Wakeling to assistant branch manager for the King of Prussia, Pa., landscape management branch. Wakeling has been with Ruppert for 15 years. He joined as a crewman and worked his way up to area manager, the position which he held for the last 10 years. He holds and associate degree in ornamental horticulture from Williamson College of the Trades.
