😎
Our amazing crews, sales and office teams are working at max capacity right now, helping as many people as we can in the aftermath of this devastating storm. 👷♂️👩💻👨🔧Thank you to everyone that is coming together to help our communities. 💛 First responders, linemen, tree crews, volunteers, neighbors and friends, your hard work and dedication does not go unnoticed.🚨And to our customers and those in need of our services, thank you for your patience, understating and support during this time. Our phones have been ringing off the hook, at times over 100 calls an hour, and we’re doing our best to help as many as we can. ☎️🌳
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Stephen Carlson added 152 new photos to the album: Derecho 2020 through the eyes of an arborist.
August 14 at 9:01 PM ·
At work as a sales arborist I take pictures of every tree I write up a proposal for. I’m not going for aesthetic value with these as much as a work tool for our production crews. These are pictures I took this week at work in the aftermath of the horrific storm.
We are here for our community. We are saddened by the loss of our beloved trees and property and promise to continue to help out.
QCTIMES.COM
Watch Now: 116 year-old Rock Island home hit by falling tree
KWQC.COM
Tree Damage You Can’t See
Nice picture from one of today’s job sites! #arborist #trees
Phil met a new friend in the tree today! #trees #hawk #birdsofprey #arborist
❤️ 🌳 🙏
Jeremy Bowling
January 22 at 4:27 PM ·
So I was out of town this entire week visiting some friends. I come back to this.... Almost the entire crew learning and teaching each other about what we do! All the jobs for the week were complete, so what better to do than learn how to do next weeks jobs safer and more efficient. I want to give a shout out to Jerry and Paula for sure as they seemed to be the ones that led this, but the cool thing I noticed when I walked through the shop was that everyone was participating, multiple leaders, combination of classroom and hands on. I saw Phillip Schissler, Kiet Kieu, Dave Miller and Sam McGuire all teaching and instructing. Paula put on a couple great team building activities. Great job Advantage Team. I’m very proud to be a part of this team!
Doing some various training today including some introductions to climbing! #arborist #womenintrees #womenintreecare
Yee Haw!
Studying, learning, growing. #arborist #bcma
DEUTERONOMY 31: 6 Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”
JOSHUA 1:9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you
JOHN 14:27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
I just re read my journal from March 20, 2020. Above are three verses that I meditated on as I wondered how bad 2020 could get. We had just spent more money on expanding our business and were completely maxed out. We were not hitting our projections and were having trouble establishing if we were allowed to do the work we had scheduled.
These verses encouraged me to act based on the love I had for our company and our employees. I decided then that we would not hunker down and protect what we had. I decided that we would press on an continue to battle. Stick to the plan God had laid out.
What happened next was astounding. In 2019 we had the best year we have recorded in 17 years. In 2020 we doubled that year. More importantly I feel like the people that performed the services improved exponentially, and I was blessed with great relationships with these amazing people.
Daniel Hatfield was a mowing employee who in just a short time has become a great climber, bucket operator and foreman. His talent and demeanor as a crew leader was unexpected but greatly appreciated.
Nick Robertson who came on board when we purchased a company early in 2019 as a laborer without a license has now become a person people look up to and respect. He is a licensed driver now and has learned to operate everything. His fiery personality really adds to the diversity in our organization.
Joe Amaya has learned to climb, run a bucket, do crane removals and lead a crew. Joe was barely introduced to arboriculture before 2020 and is now already a leader in our company that we rely on heavily.
Sam McGuire has worked with us for longer than a few years and when he started we weren’t sure if he would make it, but he has worked so hard to improve. Sam has gone through just about every type of training we offer, he has earned his CDL his ISA Certification and has turned into a world class climber. He is very professional and absolutely irreplaceable.
Brian Ewers is a long time friend that has been part of our family since pretty much the beginning of the company. He is the guy everyone wants on their crew. Steady and experienced and just fun to be around. For years Brian has just kind of hung out behind the scenes and labored. This year he earned his ISA Certification, maintained his pesticide applicator license and has really become more of an active participant on the crew. I observed a job just yesterday where he was the one behind the saw on a difficult felling project.
Matt Schettler has been in the industry for years, but started with us in 2019. He is now a crane operator and an ISA Certified Arborist. It’s always impressive to me when someone who has been in the industry for years all of a sudden picks up more skills. He has done a great job finding motivation to grow.
Tony Reed is a 20 year vet that this year has expanded his set of skills. Tony is a PHC specialist who has learned our sales system. In just one year Tony has basically learned 2 new jobs both of which he has excelled at.
Kiet Kieu who started in 2015 with almost no experience as a laborer is now a trusted member of our leadership team. He has learned our sales system and always finds a way to contribute everyday. He started from the beginning pursuing every training opportunity we offered and quickly learned it all. The man is good at pretty much anything he puts his mind to and I am proud to call him my friend.
Dave Miller has been a model of consistency and excellence. Always learning, always thinking, very aware of others and very committed to our cause. He lives his life in a way that gives me something to strive for. I’m very thankful for his leadership and his contribution to our success.
Stephen Carlson has been a man who is a model for following processes. As a sales arborist and the leader of our sales team he has absolutely revolutionized our organization. He is a great listener a talented advisor and very emotionally mature. He is a deep thinker that never loses sight of reality. A great friend and for real a trusted advisor.
Jerry Sheese is another who started as a laborer long ago in search for a different career. He has completed pretty much every training class we offer and has turned around and taught many of them as well. He has picked up his CTSP, learned how to climb and operate every piece of machinery involved in tree work. He knows how to fix everything. He is committed and he cares so deeply about not only the success of our company, but the success of our employees individually. He would do just about anything for anyone on our team. He is a great friend, a great provider and very humble.
Rhonda Bowling aka mom, has held the office down since our humble beginnings on Grant St. She has mastered arborgold, dispatching, receptionist, book keeper, team mom, dishwasher, breakfast bringer, customer listener, prayer giver skills better than anyone could imagine. I think she loves what she does and she certainly loves everyone she works with.
Tom Shumate has worked off an on for years in many different positions and now has found a home in his duties as systems supervisor. Always has his work done. Always done well. He changes the dynamic in our office with his humor and is always fun to be around. My brother, my friend and also a trusted advisor on our leadership team.
I could type for hours about each person on our team and their contributions, but as I typed about these people my attitude and outlook on life improved. I feel better!
So I challenge the people above to type and send something about Signey Bowling, Bill Andresen, Jeff Dennison, Wendy Bratcher, Nicole McNair, Phillip Schissler, Ty Bender, Phillip Boardman, Jacob Struss, Josh Reed, Ron Abbott, Ben Dickinson, Caleb Rodriguez, and Chris Terry.
There is so many more good things to say. I’m so grateful for each and everyone of these people. I’m proud that our team is diverse; old, young, different races, different political views, male, female, different religions, different leadership styles, different personalities. I feel like we are a true reflection of how God wants a business to be. Well done Advantage Team. What a year! I can’t wait for 2021
