Devon Wilson - Vista Landscapes

Devon Wilson is the co-owner and founder of Vista Landscapes located in Boise, Idaho. He graduated from BYU-Idaho in 2007 and started up this new business last July. Through his seminar he discussed what he did to get to where he is today. First he talked about scholarships. "Who doesn't want free money!?" Scholarships are wonderful things to put on resumes and can be what separates you from other applicants. Once you put hard work into one scholarship, others usually have similar requirements. (You can find scholarship information on the scholarships tab above or on our website) Next, he discussed the importance of networking and interviews. You can't just rely on one resource (or job offer); see what you can get and always have a Plan B. In interviews, he suggested to interview the employer; ask them smart open-ended questions that gives you the information you need to make a good choice. Then, Wilson talked about how hard work says a lot. You need to earn your respect from customers and employers. Step out of your comfort zone and show them what you are worth; remember to charge what you're worth as well. The old adage still holds true, "Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise." Have a great portfolio that looks professional and document everything! You never know what a customer may ask for. Next, he talked about running your business, your way. Build your image and challenge yourself (you'll be surprised what you can do). Also, use common sense in all your business decisions. The next topic was education and beyond. He talked about how graduation is only the beginning. There are licenses, certifications, seminars and classes. You must learn to roll with the punches because everyday will be different and you can't control everything. Another thing that he said that I thought was interesting was to keep your textbooks. He said that he looks at them all the time. Finally, rely on the Lord. When you show forth your faith, you will receive blessings. Overall, this was a great way to end Seminar this semester. He summed up a lot of the things that the other seminar speakers talked about. If you are interested in contacting Devon Wilson, his email is devon@vistalandscapesidaho.com and his office number is 208-954-0671.

Job Postings

Susan Hanley - Signature Landscapes

This was a much anticipated seminar by all students. Signature Landscapes has done more for our program than any company in the Horticulture industry. They need interns and we need internships. They love our program and the hands-on emphasis we have. They also love the energy and good ideas our students have. Susan Hanley is the head of Human Resources at Signature, and is in charge of hiring.

The first thing she talked about during her presentation was the phenomenon of the Teflon grad. These graduates find a company to work at and quickly move on to the next one for an unknown reason. They are coated with a non-stick material.

The reasons she has found for the Teflon grad:

• Too high of expectations when starting a job (They think they will be a project manager in 3 weeks and they don't become one.)
• Sticker Shock (They didn't do their homework in looking at the price of a bag of groceries, gallon of gas, and the cost of living. Now they can't afford to have that job in that location.)
• Home sick blues (They miss their mom and call every day.)

Then she suggested ways to help us as generation Y to avoid being the Teflon grad. First of all, we need to disprove the stigma given to generation Y. We need to be hard workers, lack entitlement, and use our techno savvy skills for good and improving the companies we work for. We can avoid the 3 reasons she gave for the Teflon grad by asking the company we are interviewing with important, relevant questions. She said to ask, "Where will this company be in five years? What promotions will I have access to? Will you pay for any certification I complete? How often do you get together with employees outside of work? What associations are you a part of and are you active in those?" This will help you to realize your potential growth in the company and prepare you for the company culture and expectations.

Next she talked about Signature's culture. Their unofficial slogan is, "We work hard and have fun doing it." The interns they take on during the year hop around to every part of the company to get a good feel about each aspect. They do expect hard workers and a good number of hours every week, but you are not giving your life for your job. She said they realize that you need a life outside of work. Signature is involved in the community, in PLANET and in Career Days at many universities. Some of the skills Signature is drawn towards include critical thinking, leadership, flexibility, patience, humility, honesty, and integrity.

Finally, she talked about Mike Ethington who is an alumni of our program who has been working at Signature since his internship there about 3 years ago. Susan suggested that if we really wanted to know the reality of a company we should talk to a new hire (like Mike), not a recruiter (like her). New hires are more likely to be honest and not sugar coat reality. Mike and other successful employees grow their division, love their job, work hard and are honest.

If you are interested in Signature, contact Susan Hanley at susan.hanley@signaturels.com or call her phone at 425-868-5885.

Upcoming Horticulture Seminar Speaker

GREEN INDUSTRY SEMINAR
WHAT EMPLOYERS LOOK FOR IN A RECRUIT

Is ‘book knowledge’ valued by the green industry employer?

Susan Hanley of Signature Landscape Services, Inc. will present a lecture on the skills, knowledge & abilities green industry employers appreciate in employees. This lecture will resonate with anyone seeking a career, internship or summer employment.
Susan will be interviewing on campus for employment and internships. Email Brother Dewey if you are interested in interviewing with Susan.

DATE: Tuesday, October 27th
TIME: 12:45-1:45
LOCATION: Benson 232

Don’t miss the annual “Signature Pizza Fest” to be held @ 4 p.m. in Benson 232.

Davey Tree - Seminar Speakers

Mark Noark and Bill Whitmire came to visit the campus again and to speak to the Horticulture Seminar students and also, in a few select classes. Mark Noark is the main recruiter for the business. He goes out and visits universities about nine months out of the year. Bill Whitmire is the Vice President of Operations and specifically in charge of the Western Operating Group. Davey Tree is the 4th largest company in the green industry and the largest full service tree care company. If you want to do anything in arboriculture, you need to talk to these guys. They love the students that come from our program; in fact, they have one working there now.

One thing they emphasized a lot during their presentation was customer service. Davey has amazing customer service, the best in the industry. They understand that if you burn bridges with one customer, it can ruin your reputation instantly. However, it also happens to work the other way. If you work your hardest to make it a good experience for your client, they will be customers for life and most likely refer family, friends and neighbors. This principle applies to all areas of business.

They are more than just a tree company. Davey Tree is so diverse with a great skill set and many departments. Not only do they do full tree care, they do utility line clearance operations, large tree moving, commercial and residential care, and golf course maintainance. They also have a resource group (primarily women) who give it their all when it comes to project. Mark Noark said, "There is nothing they don't do, or will not try." The resource group checks electrical lines, performs surveys, conduct tree inventories for national cemetaries etc.

Davey is the 16th largest employee-owned company. Each employee invests in themselves which helps to motivate even more. They help their employees to grow within the company to become the best they can be. Davey has great employee retention; you are still a newbie if you have worked there 15 years. They value hard work, honesty, a good attitude and creativity. Bill Whitmire said, "You need to be able to roll with the punches and think on your feet." Good things (such as promotions) happen to people when they least expect it and are not looking for it. They said that they always are watching their employees even when they are going their routine jobs, they are watching for dedication and service.

Check out their website at http://www.davey.com/ and/or join their FaceBook group. They are an excellent business doing all the right things. Bill Whitmire's email address is bill.whitmire@davey.com.

Successful Horticulture Internships

This last seminar was great and really fun to attend. We got to hear from four of our very own about the internships they served over the summer break. We learned a lot about how to get internships. One main concept was to be persistant. Most of them had to check back with the various companies a couple of times to make sure they were considered for the job.

First, we heard from Rachel Arnold. She got an internship at Every Blooming Thing in SLC. They were the 2009 National Florist of the Year! They are a high end florist and try to do everything different and unique. Once Rachel would do an arrangement, her supervisors would say, "Now make it different." They always go the extra mile and are really creative. Every design they do is different than anything else they have done before. Rachel learned some great ways to be creative with just moss and to make the design have a totally different feel than before. She said about her experience there, "When I look at my first arrangements compared to now, I can see a tramendous difference. I don't think I would have learned as much if I went anywhere else." You can check out her internship blog at everyrachelsthing.blogspot.com.

Next, Jane McNaught told us of her internship in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia working at Helen Olivia which is also a very high end floral shop. Some of their clients include the Vice President's residence and the State Department of Protocal. Most of their advertising is through word of mouth. The Helen Olivia style is very compact, tight, roundy-moundy arrangements in a square vase wrapped with satin ribbon. You can see some of their designs at their website, http://www.helenolivia.com/. A few things that Jane pointed out that she had learned was to be very personable with your clients and that floral design is a trade and the best way to learn is to do it and learn from advanced designers. She said that no amount of formal education can teach you the art of floral design. You need hands-on experience and that is what she got this summer. You can check out the actual designs that Jane put together at her blog, janelillianflowers.blogspot.com.

Then, we heard from Jackie Nielson who actually had the opportunity to serve two internships throughout the summer. First she worked at Signature Landscapes out of Redmond, Washington. Signature is a big time supporter of our horticulture program. They are actually setting up a scholarship for our students because of the students like Jackie that have been so valuable to them. Signature does large residential landscapes and commercial. One of their trademarks is seasonal color and they love to display that in the landscape. Jackie was a labor hand for them in installing some landscapes but she also learned some managerial techniques. Once she finished up with Signature, she had time left in the summer before school. She got set up with T&L Nursery down the road from Signature. T&L is a wholesale only nursery so they don't sell product to the general public. They use recycled water and propagate a lot of their own product. Here she learned to work in the greenhouse and out in the fields. They gave her a field to care for and grow during the time she spent there. She loved feeling in charge of caring for those plants.

Finally, Kyle Steadman ended the presentations with his internship at Heads Up Landscape out of Albuquerque, New Mexico. They are a full service landscape company that does commercial design, build and maintain. The way that he got this internship was when they came to campus to recruit. They had a pizza party and he started talking to them, networking and then following up. Heads Up is an amazing company and they were rated #54 in the Lawn and Landscape magazine. Since the recent 'green' movement and with their location in New Mexico, they have worked a lot with xeric landscaping and drought tolerant material. During his internship, Kyle was given the chance to do an outdoor paver project from start to finish which included designing and installing the area. He had a great experience and was given some great opportunities.

This was a great seminar to learn about what our peers are doing and learning. One main ideato take from this seminar was to "get out of dodge" whether it is New Mexico, Washington, Utah or Virginia. There are great opportunities out there for amazing internships and to be able to be representatives for the school. Great job guys!

Walt Disney Company Job Postings

Golf Course Maintenance Internship
Each participant will learn the day to day responsibilities and tasks associated with maintaining a golf course. They will be trained to use all equipment used in Golf Course Maintenance as well as irrigation and pest management.
Deadline to apply: October 23rd, 2009
Starts: January 2010
See link for more information: https://disney.recruitmax.com//main/careerportal/job_profile.cfm?szorderid=205018&szR

EPCOT Science Plant Science Internship
This internship is designed to provide qualified college students with the opportunity to work in the unique agricultural greenhouses that are part of the Living with the Land boat ride attraction at EPCOT.
A few exciting opportunities with this internship: Maintain a high-quality greenhouse show of over 50 hydroponically-grown food crops from all over the globe & lead informative and interactive Guest tours through the greenhouses, labs and aquaculture facility daily.
Deadline to apply: October 23rd, 2009
Starts: January 2010
See link for more information:
https://disney.recruitmax.com//main/careerportal/job_profile.cfm?szorderid=204922&szR

EPCOT Science Biotechnology Internship
This internship is designed to provide qualified college students with the opportunity to work in the unique biotechnology laboratory that is part of the Living with the Land boat ride attraction at EPCOT.
A few exciting opportunities with this internship: Prepare media and tissue culture for a wide variety of plants & lead informative and interactive Guest tours through the greenhouses.
Deadline to apply: October 23rd, 2009
Starts: January 2010
See link for more information:
https://disney.recruitmax.com//main/careerportal/job_profile.cfm?szorderid=204921&szR


For more information on any of these internships, contact Sister Bass.

Blake Connell

Today in Horticulture Seminar, we heard from Blake Connell, of BYU-Idaho Buldings and Grounds. Blake was among the second graduating class in horticulture at Ricks College--consisting of only fifteen students, and he shared with us the details of his career, having owned four businesses, which includes two landscape businesses.

Blake has over 30 years of experience installing and maintaining beautiful natural-looking landscapes. He has been installing water features since 2004 exclusively using Aquascape, Inc. quality products. In 2007 Lawns. Ponds & Lights became a Certified Aquascape Contractor, one of about 300 Certified Contractors in the United States.

Before Blake came to work at BYU-Idaho, he was doing landscaping work in the Idaho Falls and Jackson, WY areas. He still does pond work in his free time, and you can find his blog at http://www.lawns-ponds-lights.blogspot.com/, which includes Blake's contact information.

A little more PLANET fever!

Here is a look back at Student Career Days, 2009. www.studentcareerdays.org



Student Career Days, sponsored by the Professional Landcare Network (PLANET) is an annual event for higher education students in landscape career programs nationwide. The 2009 event was held at Cal Poly Pomona, Pomona, CA, March 25-29, 2009. The 2010 event will be held at the North Metro Campus of Chattahoche State Technical College, Atlanta, GA.

We Are The Champions!

A sixteen member student team recently returned from Pomona, California after taking first place in a National Horticulture Competition. The Professional Landcare Network (PLANET) sponsored the 33rd annual event, which has the format of Horticulture Olympics, consisting of 25 events.
Approximately 60 schools from across the nation participated. In addition to the competition, there was a Career Fair in which the top green industry companies came to recruit and hand out scholarships.

The BYU-Idaho team was awarded $5000 for the university and captured eight individual scholarships of $1000 each, plus job offers. In addition, Eric Ball received the Presidential Scholarship for $2500, and Seth Reed received the Superstar Scholarship for $1500.

Important incidental highlights:
Seth Reed – first place in Superstar category, the student receiving the highest total points
Catherine Zimmer – First place in Cost Estimating
Eric Ball – Top Presidential Scholarship
Greg Galbraith and Kyle Steadman – first place in Paver Installation
Kyle Steadman – Mini-Excavator

Instructors Byron John and Reese Nelson are firm believers in the benefits of getting students and industry together in close proximity. This high team placement marks the third time in recent years that BYU-Idaho has captured the national title.

Here are a few more fun shots of the trip, and the competition.

And after all their hard work, what else did they have to do? Well, go to Disneyland and show off, of course! Congrats to the PLANET team for making 2009 another successful year at Career Days!

Glover Landscape Services

Today in Horticulture Seminar, we heard from Steve Glover, a successful businessman formerly of Symbiot Business Group, and currently from Glover Landscape Services. Steve shared with us great information regarding how to run a business, and keep it growing strong. "Be creative in how you manage your business," he said, encouraging us to keep our heads up in the current economic crisis.

Symbiot Business Group has teamed up with a network of service providers that cater to property managers nationwide. Some of the services that Symbiot offers are:

Landscape
Snow Removal
PestControl
Parking Lot Maintenance
Custodial
Electrical/Lighting
HVAC/Plumbing
Painting
Fencing
Locksmith

What this means for property managers is that they only have to write one check a month for any of these services, and Symbiot arranges local vendors to provide the service. For more information about Symbiot, check out their website at http://www.symbiot.biz/, or call them at 888-233-5518.

In regard to Steve's new business venture, he and his sons have recently acquired a few landscape service companies in the Salt Lake area, creating Glover Landscape Services--which will provide landscape maintenance in the Greater Salt Lake Area. For more information about Glover Landwscape Services, or to speak with Steve, give him a call at, 801-918-6767, or email at sglover@gloverlandscape.com.

Del Conte's Landscaping, Inc.

Today in Horticulture Seminar, we heard from Tim Hawkins and Eric Hagburg from Del Conte's Landscaping, Inc. in Freemont, CA. Both Tim and Eric are former students of BYU-Idaho, and it was great to have them back on campus speaking to us.

Serving the San Francisco area, Del Conte's Landscaping, Inc. specializes in any kind of landscaping requests, which include landscape management, design, construction, irrigation, and even organic recycling of green waste. What this means is that their clients get both superior service and unbeatable efficiency. Their firm is large enough to deliver and stand behind any size project, yet because they are locally owned, they are small enough to care about every project they work on.

Tom Del Conte, founded the company in 1972 by providing rototilling services. Since then, his company has grown to over 100 employees, with a 75% growth in sales in 2007 alone. Although they now specialize in providing landscapes and maintainence to residential properties, Del Conte's Landscaping has also done commercial jobs for big names like the San Fransisco Zoo, the San Francisco 49ers, and the Oakland Airport.

Something that makes the Del Conte team so successful, is that they have weekly training sessions, to not only ensure that they are using the most up to date techniques, but also to ensure safety. They have only had one minor injury in the last five years.

Del Conte is also known nation wide as conservation specialists by using a central computerized irrigation management system, SMART controller technology, as well as conventional timer programming management by use of our own proprietary irrigation scheduling software.

For more information about Del Conte's Landscaping, Inc., check out their website at http://www.dclandscaping.com/, or give them a call at 510-353-6030.

Blanchford Landscape Contractors, Inc.

Today in seminar, we heard from Andy Blanchford, of Blanchford Landscape Contractors, Inc. out of Bozeman, Montana. Andy has been in Bozeman since 1994, and started the company in 1997 to, "Create exceptional environments for great experiences!"

Andy and his crew specialize in full-service landscape design, installation, and maintenance--typically working with private residences--and has award winning projects.

His biggest project took four years to complete, and cost 2.5 million dollars, but they also work on smaller projects in landscape design and installation, irrigation and lighting, and garden services and maintenance.

Andy's vision for his company is to make their projects sustainable, and believe that proper planning reduces waste. They use native and drought tolerant plants and grasses where appropriate, and they recycle all of their office waste and most of their construction waste. Andy also has an employee carpool incentive to minimize the miles driven to work.

Because of this conscientious effort to promote sustainability, Blanchford Landscape Contractors has been Ecostar (a pollution prevention program in Montana) winners the last three years, from 2006-2008. They are also graduates of UnCommon Sense, a Yellowstone Business Partnerships two-year leadership program that is helping businesses become more sustainable in all aspects of their operations.

For more information about Blanchford Landscape Contractors, Inc., check out their website at http://www.blanchfordlandscapecontractors.com/, or give them a call at 406-587-3057.

Mansion Gardens

This week in seminar, we had the pleasure of hearing from Carole Malia Sneider, of Mansion Gardens in Jackson, Wyoming. Carole Malia and her crew at Mansion Gardens provide design work, installation, and maintenance to private residences in the Jackson Hole area. She began working in the industry as a hobby, growing two veggie gardens in the area, and has expanded her business to having about 20 gardeners on her crew.

Carole Malia attributes the success and growth of Mansion Gardens to a few strokes of good luck. Aside from inheriting clients from a friend who was getting out of the business, she also hired someone to take care of her books, rather than trying to figure all the bookkeeping out by herself, AND getting her hands dirty. She took classes to familiarize herself with the business side of things, but by having someone specifically running the books, she feels like Mansion Gardens was able to grow to the successful business that it is today.

A few things that Carole Malia emphasized were:

• Don't have doubt about what you can do; just get it done
• Do have compost
• Learn from as many sources as possible

Carole Malia was a delight as a speaker, and we wish her well in her upcoming working season. For anyone that would like additional information about Mansion Gardens, you can contact Carole Malia at maliafish@aol.com.

Our Sucessful Alumni

Jared Ricks, a spring 2003 BYU-Idaho graduate, has recently become a Certified Landscape Technician (CLT), and was awarded his Softscape and Hardscape Certificates in September [2008]. As quoted from the January/February 2009 edition of The Taproot, A Publication of the Idaho Nursery and Landscape Association, Jared decided to become a CLT because, "I feel that it is important to continue my education and my prospect for the future . . . Also, I can back up my recommendations and work with this certification." Of the certification program, Jared also remarked that "It helps you understand and be aware of the safety issues you face in the field."

Jared has been working in the industry for eight years, and has been working for The Lawn Company in Treasure Valley for the last five years. His employer paid for his certification. We are happy to see our alumni out in the workforce continuing their education, and congratulate Jared for all his hard work in becoming a CLT!

Plant Culture Field Trip

November 6-7th, Brother Dewey's Plant Culture class took a field trip to the Salt Lake, UT area for some hands on experience in different areas of Horticulture. On their trip, they visited eight different establishments, including: Thanksgiving Point, Meadow Brook Design, Cactus and Tropicals, Temple Square, Roots or Huddart Flower Shops, Mountain States Plants, the USU Utah House, and Willard Bay Gardens.

Starting at Thanksgiving Point, the students participated in "hands on learning," by walking through the gardens with the head gardener, Tony Latimir.

Here are the Rose Gardens.

During the tour, the landscape crew was blasting the excess water out of the sprinklers, making them look like they were still on, despite the snowfall.

The students spent some time with a former BYU-I student, Ginger Belnap, owner of Meadow Brook Design, who designed this landscape:

For the third and last stop on Thursday, the students went to the Draper location of Cactus and Tropicals.
Cactus and Tropicals began in the garage of the owner, Lorraine Miller, who retired a few years ago. Now, there are two locations, each offering different plant specialties.

At the Draper location, there is a section devoted to European Designing, which combines plants in one container, but still in separate pots.

As you see, the plants can be quite ferocious!

At Temple Square, the group was up bright and early for a dewey morning view of the gardens in downtown Salt Lake City.

At Mountain States Plants, this is a greenhouse full of poinsettias, preparing for their winter harvest.

Here is a greenhouse full of Cyclamen, also preparing for a winter bloom.

Lastly, at Willard Bay Gardens, a retail nursery specializing in herbaceous perennials and annuals, the students snacked on popcorn as the sun went down, and were given paper-white daffodil bulbs.

Tiffany Jacox, a freshman emphasizing in Floral Design, said, "It was a great trip! I got to know my classmates a lot better, and really enjoyed seeing the different aspects of Horticulutre."

All Horticulture majors are required to take Plant Culture, so an exciting field trip like this one is something to look forward to as a Hortie!